This brioche bread recipe is so fluffy it practically melts in your mouth. Serve it warm or toasted with salted butter. You will never want to try any other brioche bread recipe after this one!
Most Slavic people make a bread similar to brioche around Easter time. We call that bread (paska). Paska bread is a little denser than brioche.
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What is Brioche
Brioche is a French origin bread made with flour, yeast, and a high egg and butter content. The high butter content is what gives brioche that fluffy and tender crumb.
Ingredients for brioche:
- warm milk (110 degrees Fahrenheit)
- granulated sugar
- dry active yeast
- all-purpose flour
- salt
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- unsalted butter
How to Make Brioche Bread
- Add milk, sugar, and yeast into a bowl or large measuring cup. Then let the mixture sit in a warm place for about 20 minutes. In the bowl of a mixer, combine flour, salt, and yeast mixture.
- Whisk eggs and vanilla, then add them to the bowl. Also, add softened butter and combine using the hook attachment until the dough forms into a ball.
- Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead it. Place the brioche bread dough into a greased bowl and let it rise covered until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
- After the brioche dough is done rising, divide it into 6 equal pieces. Using three of those pieces create a braid and place it into a greased loaf pan. Then let it rise covered for 1 hour. Brush with egg wash and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Brioche Bun
If you prefer not to do the braiding method, you can just roll three brioche buns and place them side by side into the loaf pan.
Try these other delicious bread recipes
Nutella Brioche: brioche bread with swirls of Nutella
Poppy seed buns: Pull apart buns with sweet poppy seed filling
Pumpkin bread: Loaded with toasted pecans and pumpkin seeds
This fluffy, buttery, yeast bread goes perfectly with salted butter.
- 1 1/4 cup warm milk 110 degrees Fahrenheit
- 1 cup granulated sugar divided
- 2 tsp dry active yeast
- 7 -7 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- In a glass bowl or large measuring cup, combine milk, 1/4 cup sugar, and yeast. Leave this mixture in a warm place for about 20 minutes. Once it becomes frothy, give it a quick stir.
- Place the flour (start with 7 cups) and salt, and 3/4 cup sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Then pour the warm yeast mixture into the bowl.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and give them a quick whisk just to loosen them. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla extract to the rest of the ingredients in the mixer bowl.
- Using the hook attachment, beat the dough until it begins to come together.
- Cut the butter into slices and add 1/2 cup. Continue kneading the dough until the butter is well incorporated.
- Add the remaining 1/2 cup slices butter and kneed the dough on high speed for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough isn't coming together well enough, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour.
- Place the dough onto a light floured surface and round it into a ball. Place it into a bowl greased with oil (lightly grease the top of the dough as well). Then cover with a cheesecloth and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
- Once the dough has proofed, divide it into two equal pieces. These two halves will make two loaves of bread.
Starting with one of the two dough halves, divide that half into three equal balls. Roll those three balls into long stands.
- Begin crossing over the three strands in a braid like fashion. Once you get the the end, pinch the dough to seal the braid. Repeat steps 8-9 with the other dough halve. (If you don't want to do a braid, just place the 3 dough balls on the loaf pan.)
- Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray and place the braided dough into the pan. Cover with a cheesecloth and let it proof in a warm place for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
- Once the dough has proofed, brush with egg wash (1 beaten egg + 1 tsp water) . Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes until golden brown.
PS: This brioche bread recipe has been adjusted, here are our old images.
what temp do you heat the milk to?
Heat the milk to 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Such soft, melt in your mouth deliciousness!! Thank you Dina for another great recipe.
You’re so welcome Julie! Thank you for the kind review 🙂
Does anyone make a French Brioche bread mix for a bread machine? I am unable to knead the dough anymore due to my arthritis. Thanks for your help. srichsmith@gmail.com
Hi Shari, you can use the bread machine just for kneeling.
I have made this a few times and loved it. I add 2 sprigs of rosemary per loaf and it makes the best herb bread. Thanks for the recipe. it wouldn’t let me choose 5 stars so here they are *****
Thank you Josh! I’m glad this was a five star recipe for you 🙂
okay so I’m a 57 year old guy who has always known my way around the kitchen except when it comes to baking. Lately, I’ve made a concerted effort to learn to bake properly. I tried this bread today and it turned out wonderfully. I had to leave the house in the middle of the process unexpectedly so I punched the dough down and just did an extra rise. The dough turned out to be so wonderfully soft and pliable. Thank you so much for this recipe and your clear directions.
I’m glad to hear the brioche turned out well for you Bobby!
I just tried this and it turned out beautifully. Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! That’s awesome Courtney!
I used some of this for some french toast. Talk about kick french toast up to a whole new level.
room temp butter or cold?
Hi Tania, use softened room temperature butter.
I made this recipe but rolled the dough out and cut it in to strips. I put apples n cinnamon on the strips, rolled them n put muffin tins to bake. Apple cinnamon brioche rolls at their best!
That sounds heavenly Emily! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Do you use bread flour or all purpose flour?
Hi Mares, I used all purpose flour.
I’d like to know how to incorporate a cream fruit into the brioche bread? So the bread is flavored? Please advise.
Hi Ta, do you mean you want to use jam instead of Nutella? The bread is not flavored other than with sugar.
My friend I want to make this for has celiac, has anybody ever used Bob’s glutton free flour blend?
Hi Patty, I’ve never used glutton free flour for this recipe so I’m not too sure how it will turn out.
Am I able to half this recipe?
Hi Katie, you can divide the recipe in half. Just cut each ingredient in half, but maybe keep a closer eye on the bread as it may bake faster.
I am done making this bread. So delicious! My wife make it for me and it taste good. She loves bake now and want to know if she can use other half of the dough for cinnamon roll?
Hi Mark, I’m glad you and your wife enjoyed the brioche. She can most definitely make cinnamon rolls out of the other half of dough.
Wow!!! I made this today.
For Dairy Challahs. Amazing texture as making & Aroma! Look forward to Friday.
Thank you.
Hi can this bread come out well just by mixing with a wooden spoon ?
Hi Kenny, I wouldn’t recommend making brioche with a wooden spoon. If you do not have a stand mixer, your best option would be to work the dough with your hands. The dough will need to be kneaded really well though.
Hi, Do you know how many serving sized rolls this would make using the single serve brioche tins?
Hi Donna, I wish I could tell you how many it would make but I’ve never made them in small single serve tins so I’m not too sure.
Would it work to make the dough and then leave it in the fridge overnight in order to bake it fresh in the morning? Or would that mess up the rising time?
Hi Ren, I’ve never left it overnight so I’m not too sure. I’m afraid it will rise too much.
Hello
This looks yummy. Do you think I can divide the recipe in half? Do you happen to have the measurements in grams? I’d rather work with my scale for baking.
Thank you 🙂
Thank you Beatrice! Yes you can definitely cut the recipe in half. Unfortunately I don’t have the recipe in grams, but there are many conversion websites out there that can help with that 🙂 Here is an example https://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/cooking/
Thank you Dina. I will try a let you know the results. I am french, living in the USA, and brioche turns out perfect back home (fluffy, triple the size after baking) but here it’s a disaster. I was told it’s because of the flour quality. Although I follow recipes step by step, the dough rises normally when proofing but it doesn’t when baking….
I was also told to try Canadian all-purpose flour that is supposed to be the same (or better) quality than the US flour.
In any case, I will let you know the results 🙂
Thank you again and have a lovely afternoon,
B 🙂
Please do let me know how it turns out Bea! 🙂 I almost always use Canadian Flour. I’ve also heard the quality is better too.
Are you in DC? I live there 🙂
Beatrice
Can I use bread flour?
Hi Diana, yes you can use bread flour. I’ve personally never tried it with bread flour, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work.
Your recipe calls for 6 eggs. Is that 6 eggs into the dough mixture, + 1 for the egg wash or 5 eggs for the dough mixture and 1 for the egg wash? Thanks for the help.
Debra
Hi Debra, sorry for the confusion. That’s 6 eggs in the bread plus 1 extra egg for the egg wash.
I plan to halve the recipe but only have 2 loaf pans. What do you suggest I do with the extra dough while the first 2 loaves bake?
Hi Rachel, if you halve the recipe, you should only end up with one loaf. The full recipe makes 2 loaves total. So I think you should be good to go 🙂
Can you use Instant yeast instead of active dry with this recipe?
Hi Jilly, you can most definitely use instant yeast for this brioche bread recipe 🙂