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1
Put milk in a small saucepan and heat to 130 degrees.
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2
Put 4 1/4 cups flour, the sugar, salt, yeast, 8 tablespoons butter and 1 cup egg yolks into the container of a food processor.
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3
Start blending while gradually adding the milk to produce very stiff dough.
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4
If blending slows, stop the machine and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board.
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5
Knead by hand about 5 minutes, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour to produce a spongy dough.
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6
Add as little flour as possible.
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7
When ready, the dough may be a trifle sticky.
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8
Lightly butter inside of a mixing bowl and add ball of dough.
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9
Cover with clean cloth and let stand 1 hour and 10 minutes or until double in bulk.
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10
Butter two 8-cup loaf pans.
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11
Divide dough in half and shape into 2 oval shapes.
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12
Put one oval in each buttered pan and press the dough, making it rounded on top.
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13
Place in warm, draft-free place and cover with clean cloth.
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14
Let rise about 35 minutes.
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15
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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16
Using scissors, clip the top lightly and uniformly in several spots up and down the center of each loaf.
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17
Beat the one egg yolk with the water and brush the top of each brioche with a little of the mixture.
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18
Place in the oven and bake 35 minutes to an internal temperature of about 200 degrees.
