Easy Brioche Bread Recipe - Step by Step

This brioche bread recipe makes a yellow, buttery and tender bread. Step by step instructions show how to make this easy brioche recipe at home. 

If you are a budding bread baker, perfecting a french brioche recipe is one of the best ways to broaden your bread baking portfolio.

What is Brioche Bread?

Brioche bread is a French classic. It’s an enriched and buttery bread that's very tender with a delicate crumb. The brioche bread is not overly sweet. Use it for both for both sweet and savory dishes.

The first use of brioche dates all the back all the way to 1404. Back then it was likely a sourdough brioche, and leavened with wild yeast using a sourdough starter. However, this is a much more easy brioche recipe since it is using commercial yeast. 

What is Enriched Bread?

An enriched bread is one where there is the addition of fats and proteins to the bread dough. Brioche bread dough has a large amount of butter and eggs added into the dough. 

The addition of all this fat means the brioche bread dough reacts a little differently to a standard bread. The extra fat slows gluten development down so the initial kneading process is trickier than regular bread. However, what it lacks in gluten development it makes up in flavor. 

What Should Brioche Dough Look Like?

Brioche develops over several stages and the look and feel of the dough changes throughout. The first stage makes a thick dough that uses all the ingredients except for the butter.

In stage two, add in the cubed butter, a bit at a time. Butter brings in fat and liquid. The brioche dough will become slack and sticky with the addition of all this moisture and fat. 

Once the butter has been added, it is time to develop the gluten in the dough. This is done by kneading the dough, preferably in a bench mixer until it becomes glossy and strong, pulling away cleanly from the sides of the mixer. 

This is a slow and steady process. The dough will seem so sticky, but all of a sudden it will come together and become glossy and strong.

Can I Make A Brioche Recipe By Hand?

You can make brioche by hand, but you will need plenty of patience and elbow grease. With the addition of all the butter you may think ‘is my brioche dough too sticky?’ and you could be tempted to add more flour. Resist the temptation, and continue kneading. 

A slap and fold method works well for a very sticky dough. The dough can be slapped down hard on the bench and folded over itself. Use quick motions to avoid it sticking too much on your hands.

This brioche recipe features a video of brioche dough kneaded by hand. 

What Flour is Used in Brioche?

For this recipe, an all-purpose flour is used, one with a protein level of around 11%. This protein content is enough to develop the gluten but not too much that the bread becomes chewy.

All-purpose flour protein levels can vary between brands, and the name of the flour itself can vary between countries. It’s best to check protein levels rather than just the name of the flour.

What Yeast is Used in Brioche

The yeast used in this recipe can be instant yeast or active dried yeast. Instant yeast will rise faster than active dried yeast. Which ever one you use, it needs to be viable. Usually the instant yeast sachets are pretty full-proof, but sometimes active dried yeast can loose viability.

To test the viability of yeast before beginning, warm the milk (to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C) and mix in the yeast along with one tablespoon of the sugar. Leave it to sit for 5-10 minutes first. If it becomes foamy, it's good to go.

What Egg Size to Use in Brioche?

Eggs sizes vary in not only weight but also in name depending what country you're in. Some are labelled large, extra large, jumbo, while other's are labeled by number. The actual volume of egg within each shell varies a lot too within these labels.

It's easiest to use a scale to measure the eggs and go from there. Approximately 260-270g of egg is used in this brioche recipe. That's around 5 large eggs with volume between 1.75oz/52g and 1.9oz-/54g (measured without the eggshells.)

French Brioche Recipe - The Method 

Here is a run down of the brioche recipe steps.

Step 1 - In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the warm milk and stir in the yeast and sugar. To this add the eggs, flour and salt. Turn the mixer on low and combine until it forms a thick but slightly sticky dough. Mix this dough for around 5 minutes to begin developing the gluten.

Step 2 - Add in the cubed butter. Incorporate each cube before the next addition.

Step 3 - Turn the mixer on medium and keep it mixing until the sticky dough starts to strengthen and come together and pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. For the best gluten development and brioche crumb, keep the dough mixing for at least 15-20 minutes.  Proper gluten development will allow you to stretch the dough so thin you can almost see through it. This is called the 'window pane' effect.

Step 4 - Pull the dough out of the bowl onto a bench and form it into a ball. Place the dough ball into a clean bowl and cover it with a lid or plate, or a damp tea towel and let it proof at room temperature for 1.5- 2 hours until doubled in size.

Step 5 - Deflate the dough gently, and reshape it into a ball again. Cover it with a lid or plate, or a damp tea towel and place it in the fridge overnight. This step can be shortened, but a long cold proof of 8-12 hours gives the best flavor.

Cold Proof

If you want to skip the overnight proof, the dough will still need a couple of hours fridge rest after room temperature proofing. This cold rest will let the butter stiffen up and result in much easier shaping. 

Step 6 - Pull the proofed dough from the bowl and tip it onto a lightly floured bench. Divide the dough into two equal portions and line 2 x 1 lb tins with parchment paper. Let the shaped dough rise in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, for approximately 2 hours depending on your room temperature.

Shaping Options

• Option 1. Divide a portion of the dough into 8 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a tight ball and place the balls in a lined tin, side by side in two rows.
• Option 2. Divide a portion of the dough into 3 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a long roll, about 30cm in length. Braid the three lengths together, tuck in the ends and place the braided dough into the lined tin.

Step 7. Preheat the oven to 392°F/200°C regular oven, or 356°F/180°C fan-bake.

Whisk an egg in a bowl with a tablespoon of water and brush the proofed dough with egg wash. Bake the brioche breads for approximately 25-30 minutes until a deep golden brown. If the tops are browning too fast for your liking, the oven temperature can be reduced after the first 15 minutes.

Step 8. Once baked, allow the brioche bread to cool before slicing. Brioche stores in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days or in the freezer for up three months.

Uses for Brioche Bread 

By day two, and especially day three, brioche bread will start to firm up a bit. Use older brioche in recipes that bring in some extra moisture to the bread. Such as -

• Brioche French toast 
• Bread and Butter Pudding with Brioche
• Brioche Stuffing

Uses for Brioche Dough

Brioche dough makes the best cinnamon rolls!

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