Authentic Brioche Bread Recipe
Brioche has a reputation for being tricky, but this recipe makes it approachable. I’ve got clear and simple steps, and you’ll see exactly what the dough should look like at each stage. While a stand mixer definitely makes things easier, I’ll also show you how to make this brioche completely by hand if you want to get a real feel for the dough.
A traditional brioche is made with eggs as the only liquid, but my version includes a little milk too. This softens the crumb and makes the dough easier to handle, while still keeping all the richness and buttery flavor.
The butter makes up about 38% of the flour weight and it gives the rich flavor and tender crumb. The eggs add protein that strengthens the dough’s structure and helps it rise tall, but they also bring in extra fat for softness. The milk provides a little more protein and fat, but most really it’s there for hydration, which makes the dough easier to work with than an eggs-only version.
Adding butter to brioche dough
When making brioche, the temperature of the butter is important. I use cool room-temperature butter, not fridge-cold, and not soft and melty. Butter that’s too cold will tear the dough instead of blending in, while butter that’s too warm will turn greasy and separate, and the dough will be a greasy mess.
Add the butter piece by piece rather than all at once. This keeps the dough from being overwhelmed and ensures it gets fully absorbs each addition. The dough will loosen and feel sticky as the butter goes in, but with continual mixing it will get strong again and become elastic and shiny.
The development of brioche dough
Brioche develops over several stages, and the look and feel of the dough change throughout.
- First stage: Mix together everything except the butter. This creates a thick base dough.
- Second stage: Add in the cubed butter, a little at a time. This adds fat and liquid, and the dough will become slack and sticky.
- Kneading: Once the butter is in, knead the dough (ideally in a stand mixer) until it becomes glossy and strong, pulling cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
This is a slow process (so don’t give up!) The dough will feel sticky for a long time, then suddenly transform into a silky, stretchy dough.
Step-by-Step Method
- Begin with mixing together your yeast, sugar and warm milk to let it activate.
- Add in the eggs, flour and salt and mix it for 5 minutes to form a dough.
- Add in the cubed butter a little at a time until it’s all incorporated. Then keep mixing.
- For the best gluten development and brioche crumb, mix for at least 15-20 minutes.
- To test for proper gluten formation, let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then grab a piece and stretch it out til it’s see-through without tearing.
- Proof the dough at room temperature for a short while, and then again in the fridge where it will rise slowly.
- The next day, shape the cold dough and let it rise.
- Brush the risen dough with egg wash.
- Bake until deeply browned.
Making brioche by hand
You can absolutely make brioche by hand, but be ready for a workout. When making it buy hand it’s extra important that you add the butter slowly. If you add too much at once it will become really tricky to work with. If I am making it by hand I will slice the butter rather than cubing it because it makes it easier to work into the dough. I grab the dough with my hands and press it with my fingers against the heel of my palm, which smears the butter into the dough.
A slap-and-fold method works really well for a sticky dough too. Once the butter is incorporated, Slap it down on the bench, fold it over itself, and repeat in fast movements to avoid too much sticking.
Choosing the Right Pan Size
This recipe works in either a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan or a 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan. Both give beautiful results, but the loaves will bake up slightly differently:
- 8.5 x 4.5 inch pan– This one is my fave, it gives a taller, more domed loaf.
- 9 x 5 inch pan– makes a slightly wider, lower loaf.
I’ve included a side-by-side photo so you can see how the finished loaves look so you can compare.
Storing
Fresh brioche can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. You can also freeze it, wrapped tightly for up to 3 months. I like to pre-slice it before freezing so I can grab one or two slices as needed.
Uses for brioche
By day two, especially day three, the bread will firm up a bit. Use older brioche in recipes that add some extra moisture to the bread.
Here are 21 great ways to use brioche, including french toast, bread pudding, savory recipes, and more! You can also use this dough recipe to make burger buns, cinnamon rolls, and biscoff babka.
You can make enriched bread without butter, like these challah buns. They use oil instead.
Authentic Brioche Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 125 g milk lukewarm(95-104°F / 35-40°C)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dried yeast
- 65 g granulated sugar
- 600 g all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs approx. 260g-270g excluding shell.
- 230 g unsalted butter cool room temperature, cubed
Egg wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook, add the milk and stir in the yeast and one tablespoon of sugar. Leave it to sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. Add to it the remaining sugar, flour, eggs and salt. Turn the mixer on low and combine until it forms a thick but slightly sticky dough. Mix this dough for 5 minutes to begin developing the gluten.
- Add in the butter, a cube or two at a time, ensuring each cube has been incorporated before the next addition. 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, mix the dough for at least 15 minutes. Proper gluten development will allow you to stretch the dough so thin you can almost see through it. This is called the windowpane test.
- Pull the dough from the bowl onto a bench and form it into a ball. Place the dough ball into a clean bowl, cover it with a lid or plastic wrap. Let it rise on the bench for around an hour until just puffy, then lightly deflate it and place it in the refrigerator overnight where it can rise more slowly and develop flavor. You can also refrigerate the dough immediately after kneading. The room-temperature rise first just gives a bit more flavor.
Shaping
- Pull the cold dough from the bowl and tip it onto a lightly floured bench. Deflate it, then divide this into two equal portions. Line two loaf pans with parchment paper, they can be 9×5 or 8.5 by 4.5 inches (see the above post for comparisons.)
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.
- Let the shaped dough rise in a warm spot (around 75–80 °F/ 24–27 °C) until it has doubled in size. The dough should double in size and feel airy, but not so warm that the butter melts.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180 °C and gently whisk an egg and one tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the dough with the egg wash.
- Bake the brioche bread for approximately 30-35 minutes until a deep golden brown. If the brioche is browning too fast, loosely cover it with aluminium foil.
- Once baked through, it should sound hollow when tapped. If you have an instant-read thermometer, you can check for an internal temperature of 195°F / 90°C. Let the brioche bread to cool before slicing.
I live in the U.S. and my oven goes up by 10s so if I can’t do 392F could I do 350F or 375F?
350 🙂
Love your recipes ( I have two questions at the end of this)
When I made this bread. It was on a very cold day so my kitchen was not warm, however, during the first proof of sitting covered on the counter it to let it rise and it rose within an hour. For the second proof in the refrigerator it also rose quickly and was almost going over the side of the bowl within two hours. I then shaped into small balls for buns (using a muffin pan) and then did a braid for the loaf pan, covered to let is rise for a third proof. It more than doubled in 30 minutes. The bread is good and cuts like butter. Makes wonderfully tasty French toast. The buns worked out good and the kids loved them with a little butter and a slice of ham or even just plain. I do plan on making this bread again, however I do have a couple of questions.
First, How come during the proofs it rose so quickly. I followed the measuring and mixing instructions word for word (I even bought a scale to weigh out the ingredients).
Second: For this brioche bread are you able to add dried fruit and nuts to it at all after you do all the proofs when you are forming it into a loaf?
Hey, did you use instant yeast? That proves quite quickly! It’s not a problem though, as long as it doesn’t overproof on the last rise just before you bake it :).
You can add fruit and nuts after it has been kneaded, before the first rise.
I made 2 batches of your cinnamon rolls the first time, they turned out so tasty and beautiful. I froze a few to enjoy later and shared the rest equally with four other siblings and their family. I was requested to bring the dinner rolls for our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. So today I’m making two more batches of the recipe for our thanksgiving dinner. I know they’ll be a hit at our dinner.
I am trying this recipe for the first time this morning and I got about 80% of the way through the mixing process when my stand mixer broke! The pin that hold the mixer head on worked its way out and I didn’t notice until it was too late! So I turned it out and started the first proof. The problem us, the dough never became less sticky and glassy! Will it still work??? I’m so sad. 😔
Hey Beth, sorry to hear about your mixer! Your bread should still work out though.
I made it exactly and weighed everything. I didn’t have instant yeast so used regular active yeast. It is in the refrigerator now, been there for about 4 hours. It is almost over the sides of the large bowl. I make regular sourdough bread weekly and have never had one rise this much.
I’m afraid by morning it will have escaped the bowl, lol. What should I do?
Punch it down and place it back in the fridge, it will rise again so maybe a bigger bowl too but will be fine to shape in the morning 🙂
Thank you for responding. I light punched it part way down and went to bed. This morning it had not rose back up and I was afraid I had messed it up. But I followed the rest of the recipe and wow. It is fantastic. My fresh eggs are such a wonderful color that made a beautiful bread. I wish I could attach a picture.
I am a novice at making bread, but this recipe was easy to follow. During the first and second rise, the bread doubled in size, but it never rose during the third proof. I took it right out of the refrigerator and plopped it in a loaf pan (I did half the recipe). There is no kneeding or shaping before I put it in the pan. I baked it anyway but it turned out like a brick. What could I have done wrong? Thank you for the recipe!
Hey Jane, it’s essential to deflate the dough after it rises, then shape it before putting it in the loaf pan. If you just put it in the loaf pan right out of the fridge after it rose in there, the structure of the dough will be fragile and full of large air pockets that can’t expand anymore. Therefore, the dough won’t rise anymore and will most likely collapse (and you end up with dense bread). Deflating and then shaping the dough helps create a new structure for the dough and provides ‘a new place’ for the yeast to work and the gases to expand during the final rise.
Can this recipe be used for dinner rolls?
Can you make and then freeze and bake later?
Trying to bake for Thanksgiving today, my only day off.
Thank you
Hey Nancy you could use this for dinner rolls, but I’ve not tried freezing the dough so I can’t give you any tips on that i’m sorry! I usually freeze the baked bread only.
Just a quick question I plan on making this in a few days but using it for French toast Can I bake it in Loaf pans? and would I need one or two?
Hey I do bake this in 2 loaf pans
Consistently fluffy and yummy! I add Nutella to mine and braid it and it’s a croud pleaser
I am making your brioche. In the top instructions it says to let it rise in the counter before putting it in the frig, but in the recipe portion it says to put straight into the frig. Is a counter rise missing?
Hey Mary thanks for the question! You can do either or, and I had forgotten to write that in the recipe card. The initial room temperature rise , then fridge gives a bit more flavor to the dough. But it’s also fine to put it straight in the fridge for its first rise. I have updated it now, sorry about that!
Thanks for answering so promptly. I did a counter rise and then punched it down for a frog rise and will do another ride after shaping. We’ll see what happens!