Brioche is a classic french yeast bread known for its high content of eggs and butter. The combination of butter, eggs and flour makes a soft, fluffy bread and creates a pale yellow crumb with a thin golden brown, shiny crust. You can make Brioche in both sweet or savory flavor. Depending on your preferences.
I am a big fan of the sweet version and I love brioche toast with jam on it – a delicious way to enjoy the bread. You don’t even need butter because it is so rich, but I have to admit that I like extra butter on my brioche. It is perfect for french toast, grilled cheese or sandwiches. This dough is also fantastic for making burger buns or large cinnamon rolls.
Tools & Equipment
- 23x13cm / 9x 5-inch loaf pan
- Medium bowl
- Pastry brush
- Plastic wrap
- Rolling pin
- Silicone spatula
- Small bowl
- Stand mixer fitted with the dough hook
- Wire rack
Recipe Tips
Stand Mixer: the brioche dough is more difficult to work with because of its soft consistency, so I suggest to use a stand mixer. Of course you can knead the dough by hand, but you need patience to really work this sticky and wet dough until you get the right consistency. Do not use a hand mixer, because usually the motor is not powerful enough for making this dough.
Butter: use soft room temperature butter to make sure it is quickly and well incorporated into the dough and add the butter in small pieces at a time. Then knead for 4-6 minutes each time until fully incorporated. Use a dough scraper or a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. The dough will be loose and sticky after the butter is added. As you continue to knead, the dough will become smooth, shiny and still slightly sticky, but it will not stick to the sides of the bowl.
Kneading Time: Gluten gives the bread the structure it needs. It develops well in water, but not in fat. With an enriched dough like brioche, all the fat from the egg yolks and butter works against its gluten development. This is why the brioche dough has to be kneaded much longer for a good gluten development. The kneading time depends on the speed and type of your mixer and other environmental factors too. The total mixing time from start to finish can take 45-60 minutes.
Directions – How to Make Brioche
Generously grease and flour a 23x13cm / 9x 5-inch loaf pan. Set aside and weigh your ingredients.
In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk together flour, granulated sugar, dry yeast and salt. Add the eggs and knead on medium-low speed until the dough is smooth, for about 6 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
With the mixer running on low speed, add the butter. After each addition, increase the speed of the mixer a little to make sure that the butter is completely incorporated into the dough. This takes 4-6 minutes between each addition.
After the last piece of butter has been added and fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium and knead for 5-8 minutes, until the sides of the bowl are almost clean. Place it on an unfloured surface and work it into a smooth, taut ball.
1st Proofing
With the seam side down, place the dough in a buttered bowl, cover with plastic and let it sit at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.
Pour the dough back onto the work surface, punching it down and giving it a couple of folds. Start at the top of the dough, folding it towards the center and repeat all the way around the dough until you have completed 6-9 folds. Knead again.
2nd Proofing
Put the dough back into a buttered bowl, cover with plastic and let it sit in the fridge for 12-48 hours.
Carefully remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in two halves. Place half of the dough on a well floured surface and roll out to a rectangle. Roll it up lengthwise to fit into the loaf pan and hide the seams under the roll before you transfer it to the prepared loaf pan. Repeat with the second half.
3rd Proofing
Cover with plastic and let it rest at room temperature between 90-150 minutes. The size of the loaf should have doubled by then. Check the dough by poking it to make sure that it does not spring back. Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash.
Bake for 40-45 minutes and rotate the pan halfway through baking. Cover the pan with foil if the dough is browning too fast. Your brioche is done when it reaches an inside temperature of 90°C- 99°C / 195°F-210°F. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Storage: Brioche is best on the day of baking. Wrap leftovers tightly in plastic to maintain the moisture. Store at room temperature for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw the brioche at room temperature for about 4 hours.
My Summary for Brioche
Difficulty: simple-intermediate.
Taste: this brioche tastes so buttery and slightly sweet (you can also make savory versions).
Texture: the bread is super soft and fluffy.
PROS: it is not that difficult to make brioche once you understand how it works and what you have to pay attention to. The bread is absolutely delicious and you can enjoy it in a lot of different ways.
CONS: the bread making process is time consuming. After kneading there is not so much to do except to let the dough rest and rise which takes time.
