Name: Homemade Brioche Donuts
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American, French
Ingredients: 120g (½ cup) warm milk at 95-104°F / 35-40°C; 25g (2 Tablespoons) granulated sugar; 1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast or active dried yeast; 375g (3 cups*) all-purpose flour; 2 large eggs; ¾ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract; 113g (½ cup) butter at room temperature; Granulated sugar for coating; 300g (2 cups) fresh or frozen blueberries; 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar; 1 Tablespoon lemon juice; Pinch of salt; Neutral vegetable oil - enough to fill the pot at least 3" deep.

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Tender and fluffy brioche donuts. I love to fill them with homemade blueberry jelly, but they can be filled with whatever filling you like!

This brioche donuts recipe is one you want to up your sleeve. Brioche dough is something special in homemade donuts. It’s extra enriched with lots of butter and egg to bring amazing texture and flavor.

The filling in this recipe is a homemade blueberry compote, like a blueberry jelly/jam. You can fill yours with strawberry compote, pastry cream, lemon curd or toss them in cinnamon sugar. Whatever else you like!

Brioche dough

Real rich brioche dough is made from a very enriched dough with a large amount of butter and eggs. Traditional brioche recipes have a ratio of up to 50% butter to flour.

The donut dough in this brioche donut recipe has around 30% butter to flour, making it a little easier to work with than traditional brioche, but it doesn’t skimp on texture or flavor.

For the best-flavored fluffy brioche doughnut, make the dough a day ahead so it undergoes a cold refrigeration period, bringing extra flavor to the dough. This is optional; you can make them all in one afternoon if you like.

The ingredients

The ingredients amounts for these brioche doughnuts are at the bottom of this post in the recipe card, but here is a rundown of what you will need –

All-purpose flour – one with a protein level of around 11%. This protein content is enough to develop the gluten but not too much that the donut becomes chewy.
Yeast – Either instant or active dry yeast. Instant yeast will rise faster than active dry yeast.
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 this yeast mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes first. If it becomes foamy, it’s good to go.
Whole Milk
Large eggs.
Granulated sugar.
Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Salt.
Butter – There is plenty of butter needed as it’s an enriched brioche dough. You can use salted or unsalted butter at room temperature.
Homemade blueberry compote

Equipment

Stand mixer – The dough takes around 10 minutes of mixing to develop the gluten. This is easily done in a stand mixer, however, it can be done by hand too.
A cookie-cutter or jar lid – to cut the donuts, around 3.5 inches/9 cm in diameter.
Parchment paper – The donuts can be fried on parchment paper, which makes transferring them easier. If you don’t have parchment paper, you can transfer the donuts without it but it can be a little trickier as the dough is quite soft.
A deep fryer or large pot and candy thermometer – If you’re not using a deep fryer (which usually comes with a thermometer) you’ll need a candy thermometer for this. One that can handle reading a high temperature.

The method

The brioche dough

Add the warm milk and stir in the yeast and sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment or in a large mixing bowl. If using active dry yeast, let this mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

To the milk mixture, add the eggs, flour, vanilla and salt.

Turn the mixer on low speed or use your hands to combine until it forms a thick and fairly stiff dough.

Add in the room temperature butter, a few cubes at a time. Butter brings in fat and liquid so the dough will become sticky with the addition of butter.

Turn the mixer to medium speed and keep mixing until the dough strengthens and passes the windowpane test. In the mixer, it should pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.

If mixing by hand, knead the dough on a clean work surface until it becomes strong and smooth. Don’t be tempted to add flour, even if it feels sticky.

For the best gluten development and brioche crumb, mix the dough for at least 10 minutes. The dough should feel smooth, soft, and strong.

Shape the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a lid, plate, plastic wrap, or a damp tea towel, and let it proof in a warm place until doubled in size.

The blueberry filling

Combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a medium saucepan, and place the saucepan over low heat.

Let the blueberries warm up and begin releasing their juices.

Once a bit of liquid is released, you can place it over medium heat. Let the blueberries simmer for around 15, stirring regularly until the mixture thickens slightly.

Pour into a bowl and let it cool to room temperature.

Shaping

When the dough has risen, punch it down and pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a ½ inch/ 1.3cm thick rectangle.

Use a cookie cutter or jar lid to cut out round donut shapes about 3.5 inches/9 cm in diameter.

Place each cut donut onto a board or baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Any dough scraps can be kneaded back into a ball and rolled out again. Leave the dough ball rest for at least 10 minutes before rolling out again. This allows the gluten to rest again so the dough doesn’t spring back when rolled.

Let the donuts rest for another hour until they are puffy. Use kitchen scissors to cut around each donut on the parchment paper so each donut is sitting on an individual piece of parchment.

Frying

When ready to fry, pour the frying oil into a deep fryer or a saucepan and heat the oil to around 340°F – 347°F (171°C – 175°C.)

Carefully place 1-2 donuts into the hot oil and remove the parchment paper with tongs. Fry each donut for around 2 minutes on one side, then flip and fry for a further 2 minutes on the other side until deep golden brown.

Ensure the oil in the pot stays hot, but don’t let the oil temperature surpass 350°F / 177°C, or the donuts may burn before they can cook in the middle.

Remove the donuts using a slotted spoon, add each just-fried donut to a bowl of granulated sugar, and toss it to coat. Let the coated donuts cool down to room temperature on a wire cooling rack.

Filling

Insert the tip of a knife into the side of each donut to make a hole for the filling. Use a teaspoon to scoop the blueberry jelly into the hole of each donut.

Alternatively, scoop the blueberry jelly into a piping bag fitted with a large tip. Pipe the jelly through the hole into each donut. Ensure the tip is big enough to push the whole blueberries through).

Other filling ideas

You can also fill the donuts with –

Serving

The filled donuts are best immediately. Leftover donuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you are serving donuts the next day, wait to fill them until serving.