Before to start the butter and eggs should be taken out of the refrigerator and be at room temperature when incorporated into the dough!

In a stand mixer bowl, add flour, sugar, yeast, salt (be careful to not put salt near yeast!), the 2 eggs lightly beaten, and lukewarm almond milk. Blend well on low speed for 10 minutes until the dough pulls away from the bowl (scrape the bowl if necessary).

Add (in 2 times) the soft, diced butter. Knead until the dough pulls away from the bowl. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky.

Shape the dough into a ball. Put it back in a bowl lightly flour and cover it. Let it rest for 45 minutes in a warm place (I like to put the bowl in a lightly preheated oven to avoid air currents).   

Deflate the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour 30 to 2 hours or overnight. A long rest period allows the dough to grow well and keeping it cool allows for better shaping. 

Butter and flour two loaf pans measure 8 ½-by-4 ½ inches (I made one brioche in a loaf pan and the other on a baking sheet) or use a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces (for 2 small brioches). I use a scale to be sure that all the pieces have the same weight.

Roll each piece into a cylindrical shape and same length (8 inches - the size of the loaf pan).

Form two braids and place them in the two loaf pans or baking sheet.

Let rise 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 360 F. Brush the brioche with an egg beaten, mixed with 1 teaspoon of water (to make smoothing the egg yolk easier). Sprinkle some pearl sugar all over the dough.

Put in the oven for about 30-35 minutes, until light golden brown. Remove from oven and unmold if needed.