Brioche Dough

This is purported to be Julia's favorite recipe--it's certainly one of mine. The dough that results from this is rich and supple and beautiful and a pleasure to work with and, if you follow the instructions, foolproof. I've doubled it with no problems (though my stand mixer does get very hot during the long beating period), made brioche loaves, tetes of all sizes, and the magnificent sticky buns (reviewed separately), all with great results. There are other brioche recipes which work well and taste delicious, but none compares to this. When calories and fat grams are not being counted, this is the recipe.