Pearl Sugar Brioche Buns

Ingredients

• 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm milk
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• For topping:
• 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• 1/2 cup pearl sugar

Directions

1. Combine the yeast and warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, stirring until the yeast dissolves. Add the water, flour, eggs, sugar, and salt, and mix until the dough comes together. Drop in the butter a piece at a time, waiting for each piece to disappear into the dough before adding another. Knead on medium speed until the dough looks glossy and smooth, about 10 minutes. Drape a kitchen towel over the bowl and leave the dough somewhere warm until it has doubled, about 1 hour.
2. Press the dough down, shape it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it overnight.
3. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut it into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and arrange the buns evenly on the prepared baking sheets. Cover them with a kitchen towel and let them rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
4. Set two oven racks in the upper and lower middle positions, then preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash, then scatter pearl sugar over each one. Bake until the buns are golden, about 45 minutes, switching the pans from front to back and from top to bottom midway through. Cool the buns completely before serving.