Filled with butter, this easy brioche bread recipe – with a fluffy, moist texture and flaky sea salt topping – is the most luxurious bread out there. You can shape it differently and bake it into a beautiful loaf that will most certainly wow your friends and family.
Jump to:
Ingredients and substitutes
Bread flour - There are brioche recipes that you can make with all-purpose flour, but I went the more classical route and used bread flour. You can't replace bread flour with all-purpose flour in this recipe.
Yeast - Both active dry yeast and instant yeast will work great to make this homemade brioche bread. If you're not sure how to swap one type of yeast for another, check out this handy guide: 'Types of yeast and how to use them in baking'.
Milk - Use lukewarm whole milk to wake up the yeast. If you want, you can measure the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. It should be no more than 100F (38C) or your yeast will die from the heat.
Eggs - You should use large eggs (at room temperature, of course) if you want to have some leftovers for the egg wash. Each egg with a shell should weigh around 2.22oz (63g) for you to have 150g of egg mass for the bread and an extra half tablespoon that you'll preserve for the egg wash.
Butter - Your unsalted butter should be at room temperature. I would recommend cutting it into 1 tablespoon portions at least one hour before you need to add it in. However, if it's hot where you live, you might need less time. The butter should be very soft. If you press it, you'll leave a distinct indentation in it.
Sugar - You can adjust the amount of sugar you add to our brioche dough. You can go as low as 15g or as high as 60g of sugar. I wanted my bread to be sweet but not so sweet that it became a dessert, so I went with 30g of white granulated sugar.
Salt - For flavor development, you need to add salt. Additionally, I went ahead and sprinkled flaky sea salt on top of my bread right as a topping before baking. Additional salt brings out the sweet taste of French brioche bread.
Cooking tips
Weigh your ingredients using a digital kitchen scale. I can't stress it more, you have to use a real weighing device when you bake. If you add too much egg mixture and milk, your dough will be very difficult to work with. Too much flour and your bread won't be that soft and fluffy.
Wait until your sponge develops. Making the sponge helps with activating your yeast as well as with developing the flavors. Don't forget, the more your dough degrades, the more flavor your bread will have. So, when we wait one hour for the yeast to do its magic, it creates a very distinct acidic – or you may call it yeasty – smell. Another way to understand that your sponge is ready is when it's very bubbly, doubled in volume, and really looks like some kind of grey sponge. So if after an hour you don't see enough bubbles on the surface, give it an extra 15 minutes. Don't rush!
Add the butter gradually. You want to add one piece of butter at a time and wait before it disappears into the dough before adding the next one. If you add too much at once, some butter will incorporate but some of it will start melting from the friction and heat in the stand mixer bowl and sink to the bottom.
Don't rush with the kneading. Brioche is a labor-intense bread when it comes to kneading, so it’s good that we have our stand mixers! And even with stand mixers, we need approximately 35 minutes in total to spend on kneading. Don't rush the process. Let the mixer do its job and develop all those gluten bonds that we need for the amazing texture that brioche is famous for.
Chill the dough well. Brioche dough can be difficult to work with because it’s very soft and moist, with all the butter that’s inside. The best way to make it a little easier to work with is to chill it in the fridge. The butter will set and you’ll have enough time to shape it before it starts becoming soft again. Additionally, you can pop it into the freezer briefly, for 20 minutes, before shaping it.
You can chill the dough overnight to have freshly-baked bread in the morning. If want to do so, proof your final dough at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then, place the bowl (make sure it's two to three times larger than your dough) covered with plastic wrap in the fridge overnight. It will still proof, but much slower as yeast doesn't like cold. The next morning, take it out, deflate it, shape it, and proof it one last time in the loaf pan before baking.
Make an egg wash without cracking one more egg. I use large eggs for this recipe for a reason. Usually, if you crack all three large eggs in a bowl that stands on a kitchen scale, it will be more than 5.3oz or 150g. Then, you can whisk them with a fork and take out the excess egg mass into a separate bowl. It won't be much, but ½ tablespoon will be more than enough to brush your bread with before baking. Don't forget to add 1-2 teaspoons of water, mix it, and store it in the fridge covered with plastic wrap until you need it.
How to shape the dough
Braiding is a very popular way of shaping when it comes to brioche bread, but it's not the only way to do it. You can also make 3-4 coils and place them to proof into your loaf pan. They will expand and attach during baking. After, you will be able to tear them apart or cut them, as with regular bread.
Another way of shaping is to make 4-5 even balls and place them in a checkboard pattern on the bottom of your loaf pan. They will also expand and attach well to each other during baking. After, you will have an amazing brioche loaf that you can tear apart instead of cutting with a knife.
No matter what shaping method you choose, first-time making and shaping brioche bread can be challenging since the dough is very soft and moist. Even chilling it sometimes doesn't help if it's too warm in your kitchen. If you couldn't shape your brioche loaf bread to perfection, don't be upset – it won't affect the taste and the texture will be amazing anyway!
Interested in more bread recipes? You might enjoy these: Challah bread, Cranberry walnut bread, or Japanese milk bread.
How to make brioche bread
Making the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour and yeast. Then, add the lukewarm milk and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume and looks bubbly.
- Place the bowl into the stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment. Add the eggs, flour, sugar, and salt and mix on low until the dough has formed. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula and switch to medium-high. Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is shiny, silky, looks hydrated, and is a little bit sticky to the touch.
- Lower the speed to medium-low and start adding the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl and remove the dough from the dough hook attachment a couple of times during the process.
- Once all the butter is in, knead the dough on medium-high for 15 minutes or until you can stretch a small piece of it into a square, creating a film thin enough for light to pass through.
- Transfer the dough to a large bowl lightly greased with oil. Cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to proof for 30 minutes. Then, place it in the fridge for 2 hours or until well chilled and doubled in volume. If planning to bake the next day, keep it in the refrigerator overnight.
Shaping and baking
- Remove the dough from the fridge, punch it down to deflate it, and place it on a lightly floured surface. Press down with your hands, forming an approximately 11" by 7" (28cm by 18cm) rectangle.
- Cut lengthwise into three even lines and roll them into ropes. Braid them, seal the ends, and tuck them under. Place the braided dough into an 8" by 5" (20cm by 13cm) loaf pan greased with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and leave to proof for one hour or until doubled in volume and springy to the touch.
- While the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
- When the dough has risen and the oven is hot, brush the top of the loaf with an egg wash and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top.
- Bake on the lowest ⅓ of the oven for 20 minutes. Then, rotate the pan and cover it loosely with a piece of foil. Bake for additional 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 190F (88C). The top should be a deep golden brown color and the bread should sound hollow inside when you tap on it.
- Remove from the oven and let it rest in the pan for a few minutes. Then, remove it onto a cooling rack. Serve slightly warm!
Flavor variations
Different toppings - You can sprinkle your bread with crushed nuts or seeds like sesame seeds instead of flaky sea salt.
Fillings - You can add chocolate chips, raisins, and nuts inside your dough if you want. The best way to do it is to make 3-4 rectangles, sprinkle the filling of your choice on top of each, and roll them creating coils (like you do when you make Cinnamon rolls). Then, you place those coils in your loaf pan and proof the dough one last time before baking.
Make brioche rolls instead - This recipe is great not only for a loaf of bread but for making dinner rolls. You'll need to split your dough into smaller pieces and roll them into balls. Then, place them in a baking dish that you would use to bake your rolls, proof, and bake. If the buns touch each other during baking, they will attach but will be easy to tear apart after they cool down.
Serving variations
The best way to serve this bread is while it's still warm. The texture will be so soft and buttery, you can absolutely have it on its own with a cup of coffee. I also like to make brioche bread French toast and have it with sweet jam or honey, or a brioche bread sandwich with extra butter, cheese, ham, tomatoes, and salad leaves. It's also great to make regular toast with it and have it with sunny-side-up fried eggs or scrambled eggs.
FAQ
Yes, you can if you are familiar with fraisage and slap and fold kneading techniques.
If you have a powerful hand mixer with hook attachments, you can absolutely use it. It might take a bit longer to knead the dough, so keep an eye on it and perform a windowpane test every now and then.
After it has cooled down completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Wrap the leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and then in a piece of foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then heat for 10 seconds in a microwave to soften it. Thawed bread can't be frozen again and should be used the same day.
More recipes you may like
Recipe card
Brioche bread
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- 8" by 5" (20cm by 13cm) loaf pan
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 60 g bread flour
- 60 ml whole milk lukewarm
- 6 g instant dry yeast
For the dough
- 150 g eggs 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 260 g bread flour
- 30 g white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 180 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- Egg wash read notes at the bottom of the recipe card
- Flaky sea salt for topping optional
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour and yeast. Then, add the lukewarm milk and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume and looks bubbly (1h).
- Place the bowl into the stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment. Add the eggs, flour, sugar, and salt and mix on low until the dough has formed (it will look gritty). Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula and switch to medium-high. Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is shiny, silky, looks hydrated, and is a little bit sticky to the touch.
- Lower the speed to medium-low and start adding the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Don’t add another portion until the previous one has been incorporated into the dough. The whole process will take approximately 10 minutes. Scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl and remove the dough from the hook a couple of times during the process.
- Once all the butter is in, knead the dough on medium-high for 15 minutes or until you can stretch a small piece of it into a square, creating a film thin enough for light to pass through. The dough should not tear at all or tear just a little bit only on the edges while performing the so-called windowpane test.
- Transfer the dough to a large bowl lightly greased with oil. Cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to proof for 30 minutes. Then, place it in the fridge for 2 hours or until well chilled and doubled in volume. If planning to bake the next day, keep it in the refrigerator overnight.
- Remove the dough from the fridge, punch it down to deflate it, and place it on a lightly floured surface. Press down with your hands, forming an approximately 11" by 7" (28cm by 18cm) rectangle.
- Cut lengthwise into three even lines and roll them into ropes. Braid them, seal the ends, and tuck them under. Place the braided dough into an 8" by 5" (20cm by 13cm) loaf pan greased with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and leave to proof for one hour, or until doubled in volume and springy to the touch.
- While the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
- When the dough has risen and the oven is hot, brush the top of the loaf with an egg wash (read notes about egg wash) and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top (optional).
- Bake on the lowest ⅓ of the oven for 20 minutes. Then, rotate the pan and cover it loosely with a piece of foil. Bake for additional 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 190F (88C). The top should be a deep brown color and the bread should sound like it’s hollow inside when you tap on it.
- Remove from the oven and let it rest in the pan for a few minutes. Then, remove it onto a cooling rack. Serve slightly warm!
Leave a comment