Brioche Loaves

I am not one to turn down sweet, delicious pastry. Having it in the form of a sandwich is even better:
A friend had turned me on to brioche as a sandwich bread when he brought it to me from a wonderful bakery in Prospect Heights about a year ago. Making something like it on my own has been on my mind since I started baking bread again.

The trick to brioche? Butter. It is the last thing mixed in before you knead your bread and set it to rise:
For a really rich pastry instead of sandwich and toasting bread, about four times the above amount of butter would be used.

You can see the dough after kneading below. I had to use more flour than usual because the butter made this dough so soft, but once the consistency was right it didn't stick to the counter at all:

The loaves are coated with an egg wash for a shiny finish before a final rise:

And let the toasting begin!