This buttery brioche bread recipe is so fluffy it practically melts in your mouth. Serve it warm or toasted with salted butter and you will never want to try any other bread recipe after this one!
We love brioche so much that we made sure to incorporate it in our amazing bread pudding and brioche french toast.
Table Of Contents
- What is Brioche?
- Ingredients for this recipe
- How to Make Brioche Bread
- What makes it different from other breads?
- Brioche dough texture
- What to do if the dough isn’t coming together
- What is it used for?
- Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?
- Can I make brioche bread without a stand mixer?
- How long does homemade brioche bread keep?
- Try these other delicious bread recipes
- Full Recipe Instructions
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. The taste results in a richer, buttery flavor that just can’t compare to standard white bread. You can get creative with this bread by making it into a sweet breaded Nutella bread, or brioche douts, or even as brioche dinner rolls and hot cross buns! And then you can always go the savory route by making it into burger buns and serving it with a juicy homemade patty.
Ingredients for this recipe
- Dry ingredients – you will need basic bread essentials like bread flour, salt, yeast, and a tiny amount of white sugar.
- Wet ingredients – use warm milk to activate the yeast, vanilla for flavor, and butter and eggs to give the bread that irresistible buttery texture.
How to Make Brioche Bread
For the full printable recipe, scroll down to the recipe card
- Make the yeast mixture. Combine the milk, 1/4 cup of sugar, and yeast in a large measuring cup or bowl and leave in a warm place for about 20 minutes. Once it becomes frothy, give it a quick stir.
- Whisk the eggs. In a separate bowl, crack the eggs and whisk them just enough to loosen them up.
- Mix the ingredients (except butter). Add the flour, salt, and the rest of the sugar to the stand mixer bowl. Then pour in the yeast mixture. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat the dough with the hook attachment until it begins to come together.
- Knead in the butter. Now cut the cup of softened butter into slices and add them to the dough. Continue kneading the dough at high speed for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Let the dough rise. Now remove the brioche bread dough from the mixer and shape it into a ball. Grease a bowl with oil and place it inside, covering with a cheesecloth or plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place for an hour, or until it doubles or triples in size.
- Braid the dough. After proofing, divide the dough into two equal pieces (for two loaves). Divide each dough half into three equal balls. Roll the balls out into long strands and then cross them, forming a braid. At the ends, pinch the dough to seal it. (You can also skip the braid and just place the dough balls in a loaf pan.)
- Let it rise again. Butter a loaf pan and place the braided dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap or cheesecloth and let it proof again for an hour in a warm place, or until it doubles.
- Brush with egg wash and bake. Once it has risen, brush the dough with egg wash and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.
What makes it different from other breads?
Typically, most bread recipes like my multigrain harvest and rustic bread have yeast, flour, and water as the base. Brioche, on the other hand, has a lot of butter and eggs to aid in that soft and fluffy crumb.
Brioche dough texture
Your brioche dough should be slightly tacky because of all the eggs and butter, but not stick to your fingers. It should also be smooth and elastic. To test this, take a small amount of dough and slowly stretch it until it becomes thin and semi-transparent. This elasticity is what gives brioche that lovely chew.
What to do if the dough isn’t coming together
If your brioche bread dough is mixing, but is not coming together or is too runny, add another 1/4 cup of flour. This should solve the problem.
What is it used for?
The best way to enjoy a warm loaf of homemade brioche is by toasting it and slathering on a thick layer of salted butter and a drizzle of honey on top, YUM!! But you can always use the stale leftovers in french toast or bread pudding with vanilla rum sauce!
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?
Yes, you can use all-purpose flour to make brioche bread. But there will be a slight texture difference. All-purpose flour has less protein in it and will develop less gluten, which determines the chewiness of the bread. So, your brioche with AP flour will be slightly less chewy, but still soft and buttery.
Can I make brioche bread without a stand mixer?
You can, but it’s difficult. Because brioche needs to be mixed a lot and also at high speed, doing it by hand is a lot harder. The mixing process is what releases the gluten and gives brioche bread its texture. So if you do this by hand, it will take a lot longer and require a lot more effort.
How long does homemade brioche bread keep?
Keep the brioche in a plastic bag at room temperature for up to 4-5 days. The more airtight the bag, the fresher the bread will taste. And if it goes stale, pop it in the oven for a few minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit or make bread pudding or french toast out of it.
Try these other delicious bread recipes
- Nutella Brioche: Brioche bread with swirls of Nutella
- Poppyseed buns: Pull-apart buns with sweet poppy seed filling
- Pumpkin bread: Loaded with toasted pecans and pumpkin seeds
- Brioche bun recipe: Perfect for homemade burgers!
- Dutch Oven No-Knead Bread: Super simple to make!
Full Recipe Instructions
Buttery Brioche Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup warm milk 110 degrees Fahrenheit
- 1 cup granulated sugar divided
- 2 tsp dry active yeast
- 7 1/4 cups bread flour spooned and leveled off with knife
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 eggs (+1 egg for egg wash)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
Instructions
Make the yeast mixture
- 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.
Mix all ingredients (but butter) in a stand mixer
- Place 7 1/4 cup bread flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 cup granulated 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.
Knead in the softened butter
- Cut the 1 cup of unsalted softened butter into slices and add it to the dough. Continue kneading the dough at high speed for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough isn't coming together well enough after 15 minutes, add an additonal 1/4 cup flour.
Rise the dough in a greased bowl
- Remove the brioche dough from the mixer and shape it into a ball. Place it into a bowl greased with oil. Then cover with a cheesecloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until it doubles or triples in size.
Braid the dough and rise again
- 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 strands.
- Begin crossing over the three strands in a braid-like fashion. Once you get the end, pinch the dough to seal the braid. Repeat these steps with the other dough halve. (If you don't want to do a braid, just place the 3 dough balls on the loaf pan.)
Brush with egg wash and bake
- Butter a loaf pan with unsalted butter and place the braided dough into the pan. Cover with a cheesecloth or plastic wrap 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 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on April 5, 2017, but we have tweaked it a bit since then to improve it.
PS: Here are our old images.
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Noelle says
Thanks For sharing this recipe. The instructions were so clear. Thank you for that very delicious is a keeper in my recipe book. Turned out beautiful and definitely something I could wrap up and take to friends.
Dina says
You are very welcome Noelle! Happy to hear you loved this brioche bread recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your awesome feedback! 🙂
Cheryl says
Baked this last night and it’s really good. Has just enough sweetness to it. Sliced a couple this morning, heated them up and smeared on the butter…. It was so good, my finicky cat had to have some….. I also used AP Flour because I was out of Bread Flour. Next loaves will be made with the other stuff….
This recipe is a keeper. Thanks Dina….
Dina says
You are very welcome Cheryl! It makes me so happy to hear that people love my recipes! Awesome to hear you love this brioche bread 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog! 🙂