Mak

Brioche Bread

Using Khapli Wheat Flour For The Best Homemade French Toasts

What Makes a Brioche Bread?

Brioche is much closer to being a pastry than actually being bread, in the way sandwich bread is different from your typical white bread. What makes a true brioche is down to the ratio of its ingredients, particularly butter and flour. Depending on the recipe, butter can be anywhere from 30% to 70% of the flour's weight, with sugar around 10-20% and whole eggs making up 50% or more of the flour weight. 

Milk replaces water in a brioche recipe. Such a high amount of fat and egg actively works to arrest gluten development and slows the yeast down, which is why most authentic brioche recipes start with a sponge, a small pre-ferment of yeast, milk, and a little flour, activated on its own before the richer ingredients ever touch it.

The other important factor when making brioche is the mixing time. Gluten has to be developed almost fully with just flour, egg, and a portion of the liquid before the butter goes in, in bits, kneaded until the dough turns smooth, glossy, and only slightly sticky. If this sequence is messed up or skipped, you will get a dense, flat loaf, because there isn't enough structure left to trap the CO2 gas the yeast produces. 

Brioche is typically baked like other enriched breads, but it's often removed from the oven when the centre reaches 82-88°C rather than the 95°C commonly used for lean breads. The butter and eggs keep the crumb soft, so the bread doesn't need to reach the higher internal temperature.

Khapli Wheat Flour Rewrites the Rules

This is where it gets a little tricky with khapli wheat flour, as it carries roughly 50% less gluten than commercially milled wheat flour, and the gluten it does have is structured differently: lower in gliadin and comparatively richer in glutenin, which translates to less elasticity and more resistance to stretching. Roti dough tends to be lean, which is why khapli atta chapatis feel lighter on the stomach. In an enriched brioche dough, where the bread depends heavily on a strong gluten network to hold butter, egg, and trapped gas, this can pose a challenge.

You might be scratching your head thinking, why force a rectangle through a circular gap? Nutrition is why, as khapli wheat flour brings noticeably higher fibre and higher protein, along with a glycaemic index low enough for those watching blood sugar. You can read more about how this ancient grain found its way into Indian kitchens in the first place, and why bakers are treating it as a genuine superfood rather than a novelty.

How to Adjust Technique When Baking with Khapli Atta

None of this rules out a proper loaf; it just means the process needs a few adjustments to make a brioche with khapli wheat

• Add extra liquid. Khapli's bran absorbs more than regular flour, so recipes typically need 2-4 tablespoons of extra liquid per cup of flour to reach the same silky, elastic dough stage.

• Let it proof longer. With a weaker gluten cage, the dough needs 15-25% more proofing time to trap enough gas for a proper rise.

• Rest before you knead. A short rest with warm water lets the flour hydrate fully and improves elasticity before shaping, which matters more here than in a standard brioche.

• Drop the oven temperature slightly. Because khapli browns faster, baking 20-25°F lower than a standard brioche recipe prevents a dark crust before the centre is done.

• Consider a blend. Many bakers use 60-70% khapli wheat with the rest mixed with a stronger bread flour to retain the fibre and flavour while keeping structure intact, which is a good place to start before working up to a fully khapli wheat flour loaf.

The Role of Eggs in Brioche

If butter gives brioche its softness, eggs give it everything else, from the colour, flavour, structure, and shelf life. The proteins in egg white and yolk interact directly with the flour's gluten network, reinforcing it, which is exactly the kind of support a lower-gluten dough needs most. Egg fat acts as an emulsifier, binding the water and butter into a smooth, cohesive dough rather than a greasy one, while the proteins in the yolk set during baking to create that custardy, tender crumb brioche is known for. 

Eggs are also why the crust browns so well, since their sugars and proteins caramelise faster than plain flour and water would on their own. When it comes to a khapli atta loaf, this is quite significant, since the flour has a naturally weaker gluten framework to begin with; egg protein does double duty, adding structure that the flour alone can't fully provide. So don’t skimp on the eggs here; otherwise, you'll end up with a denser bake and a brioche that barely tastes like one.

Brioche was Built for Soaking from Loaf To French Toast

French toast exists because someone wanted to eat leftover bread that did not taste stale, and brioche was, and still is, the bread used to make it. There’s good reason for it, because it has a more open, tender crumb that soaks up an egg custard without falling apart. Brioche is already rich, so dishes like French toast taste custard-like at the centre while the edges are caramelised, with little else required.

A khapli wheat loaf is similar but adds a natural nuttiness and a grainy taste, courtesy of the bran and germ in the flour. This flavour goes well with cinnamon, cardamom, or rich syrups, and because the bread itself carries more fibre and a lower glycaemic load than a refined-flour brioche, the usual French toast has a slightly better nutritional footing. If you want to try a fusion recipe, leaning towards a savoury application, try this Thai green curry French toast.

About Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta

Making brioche buns involves choosing quality atta, and these fusion recipes use Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta. Khapli wheat used to be a staple grain across black cotton soil regions of Maharashtra, Northern Karnataka, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh, but fell out of favour in the early 2000s due to low yield and difficult harvesting. But it's returned to kitchens owing to its nutrition profile, and people making micro swaps to add more nutrition to their plates, be it from atta or from carbs.

As for this brand, three chapatis made from Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta provide close to 34% of the day's fibre requirement and roughly 23% of the RDA for protein, alongside iron and Vitamin B1 to support energy metabolism. It's also naturally low in sugar, fat, and saturated fat, with no trans-fat, making it an excellent swap for everyday meals and even baking, without the need to give up familiar foods, brioche included.

Khapli Wheat Flour Brioche vs Regular Maida Brioche

Khapli Wheat Brioche Breads Made Easy

Brioche goes into French toast, the French Croque Monsieur and even gourmet burger buns. You don’t need a separate recipe when using khapli wheat, just knowledge about its properties and compensating for what it lacks to enjoy your indulgences with added protein, fibre and other nutrients. So, try khapli atta and bake bread starting with brioche and expanding into other bready delights.