In a pasticceria in Catania or Palermo, the pistachio brioche is not a pastry. It is breakfast. The brioche is baked plain, cooled, split at the equator, and filled cold with pistachio cream. That is the whole thing.
Our version adds a white chocolate and pistachio cream glaze over the top, which takes it from bar snack into something you would bring to a table. The dough is oil-based rather than butter-based, which gives it a lighter crumb and the characteristic Sicilian texture: slightly stringy, a little sweet, nothing like a French brioche.
The total time is close to four hours, but most of that is rising. Active work is about 40 minutes. Make the dough in the morning and you can fill and glaze before lunch.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Warm the milk to about 95°F, just above body temperature. Crumble in the fresh yeast (or stir in instant dry yeast) and let stand 2 minutes until dissolved.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, vegetable oil, and the yeast-milk mixture. Mix until the dough comes together, then knead on a lightly floured surface for 8 minutes until smooth and elastic. A stand mixer with a dough hook takes about 5 minutes.
Score the top of the dough with a cross, place in a lightly floured bowl, and cover with a cloth. Leave in a warm spot until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
Turn out the dough and divide into 10 portions of roughly 3.5 oz each. Roll each piece into a rope about 12 in long and curl both ends in opposite directions to form an S shape. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Cover loosely and leave to rise a second time for about 1 hour, until noticeably puffed.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before filling.
Melt the white chocolate and stir in 1 tbsp of Gusta pistachio cream to make a glaze. Set aside.
Split each cooled brioche horizontally. Spread 9 oz of Gusta pistachio cream evenly across all the open bases. Scatter 2.1 oz of chopped pistachios over the filling.
Spread the white chocolate-pistachio glaze over each top half. Press the remaining 0.7 oz of chopped pistachios onto the glazed surfaces while still wet. Serve at room temperature.
You made Brioche al Pistacchio. Time to eat.
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The dough should be soft and slightly sticky when it comes together. Resist the temptation to add more flour to dry it out: flour your hands instead of the dough. A stiff dough bakes into a dense crumb. The finished brioche should pull apart in strands.
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