- 1¼ pounds (5 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 ounce cake yeast, or 1½ packages active dry yeast
- 10 large eggs, beaten
- 2 egg yolks
- 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard, at room temperature
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, at room temperature
- 1½ cups soy oil
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups crisp cold greens, such as romaine, frisee, red leaf lettuce
- 2 fresh ripe tomatoes, sliced (cold)
- 16 slices apple-smoked or double-smoked bacon, fried crisp
- 1 pound cooked, cold lobster tail meat, sliced on the bias ½ inch thick
- Make the brioche: Cream together the butter, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the flour and beat until the mixture resembles small peas.
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk to lukewarm. Remove from the heat and stir in the yeast. Set aside until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. (If the yeast doesn’t foam, start over with fresh milk and yeast.)
- Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and stir well. Add the beaten eggs. If you have a mixer with a dough hook, process at low speed for 10 minutes. If you are mixing by hand, beat until the dough has a sheen and pulls away from the sides of the bowl into a rough ball. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky. Remove to a clean bowl, cover, and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, 3 hours.
- Punch down the dough. Cover and refrigerate until doubled in bulk, overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and allow to soften for about 15 minutes. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece into a cigar shape on a lightly floured board. Wind each brioche into a tight coil and press the seam closed with your fingertips. Bake on baking tiles or a baking sheet until the bottoms sound hollow when tapped, 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- Make the lemon mayonnaise: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, mustard, and lemon juice until thick. Add the oil drop by drop, whisking constantly, until the mayonnaise begins to emulsify. At this point the remaining oil can be added in a thin stream, until the mayonnaise is thick. Fold in the lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until you are ready to proceed with the rest of the recipe.
- Assemble the sandwiches: Slice each brioche lengthwise into 4 even slices. Toast lightly. Spread mayonnaise on each toasted slice. Layer each bottom slice with the lettuce, then the tomato, bacon, and lobster. Top with a slice of toast and repeat the layering 2 more times to make 4 triple-decker sandwiches.