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Vanilla Brioche

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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the yeast and milk in a small bowl
and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add 1 cup flour and mix to blend well. Using
a knife, scrape the vanilla bean and stir the pulp into the yeast mixture.
Let sit at room temperature in a warm, draft-free place for about 2 hours to
allow fermentation. Put 2 cups of the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add 4
of the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly into the flour using a wooden
spoon with each addition. The dough will be sticky, thick, and spongy. Add
the water, sugar, and salt and mix well, beating vigorously. Add 3 sticks of
the butter and work it into the dough with your hands until it is well
blended. Add the remaining 2 eggs and mix well into the dough. Add the
remaining 2 cups of flour and blend into the dough, breaking up any lumps
with your fingers. Add the yeast mixture. Using your hands, knead and fold
the starter into the dough. Continue kneading and folding until all is well
mixed, about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky and moist. Cover with a
clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in
size, about 2 hours. To make loaves, lightly butter two 9- by 5- by 3-inch
loaf-pans with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. To make rolls, butter 12
standard-size muffin cups. With your fingers, lightly punch down the dough.
Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and place in the pans. For rolls,
divide the dough into 12 equal portions and place in the muffin cups. Brush
the tops with egg yolk. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until
it doubles in size, about 1 hour. Bake the loaves for 25 to 30 minutes and
the rolls for 20 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove the pans from the
oven and cool on wire racks. Turn the loaves or rolls out of the pans and
cool completely on the wire rack. This recipe yields 2 loaves or 12 muffins.