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Fluffy, soft, and rich in flavor – that’s how an authentic French Brioche Bread must be! Let me show you how to make the best brioche bread recipe at home!
What Is Brioche Bread
Brioche bread is one of the most known and most authentic French bread that exists. It’s made with eggs and butter, which gives this bread a very rich flavor.
The texture of this bread is similar to soft toast bread or challah bread, but much fluffier. Furthermore, it has a very intense flavor and is due to the use of a high amount of butter quite buttery. Some like it, others don’t.
Because French Brioche Bread is so buttery, it’s an excellent bread to use for making Brioche French Toast, Baked French Toast Casseroles, or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
I love to toast it and use it for sandwiches or spread it with Nutella or jam in the mornings.
How To Make Brioche Loaf
The loaf is basically a yeast dough with extra butter and eggs. The dough is hard to handle and quite sticky (different than regular bread). Therefore, I can highly recommend you to use your stand mixer!
I have never made the dough from hand and would never try it, to be honest with you.
Also, you need to knead your dough for 20 minutes, and I wouldn’t want you to spend that time on kneading, your stand mixer can do this for you!
The key to a very fluffy and airy brioche bread is to let it rise for at least 4 hours up to a maximum of 16 hours. My tip is to start with the dough in the early evening and let it rise in your fridge overnight.
The next morning, you can form it into a loaf, let it rise again, and bake it. Your French brioche will be ready around noon (depends if you are an early bird or like to sleep in).
The second option is starting in the early morning, let it rise in the fridge during the day, finish and bake it in the evening!
I always bake my brioche as a loaf in a loaf pan. But you can also use the dough to make brioche buns or burger buns (sprinkle with seeds). If so, reduce the baking time and take the buns out of the oven when golden brown.
French Brioche Recipe
Ingredients you need:
- Fresh yeast, or active dry yeast → I always recommend using fresh yeast if available in your supermarket, don’t spin your head if it’s not available and use dried yeast instead
- Milk, can be substituted with plant-based milk, preferably soy or oat milk
- Sugar, necessary for the yeast and a light sweet taste
- Eggs → can’t be replaced if you are following a vegan diet, sorry
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Butter, needs to be cold → can be substituted with a plant-based butter
How to make it:
- Mix the yeast, milk (need to be lukewarm, but not hot → warm up in the microwave or a small pot), and sugar until the yeast starts foaming. → This takes about 5 minutes, you will see the process very well when using fresh yeast.
Foaming yeast
- Mix in the eggs.
- Give it with the flour and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer and knead for 5 minutes at speed level one using the dough hook. → The dough is quite hard to handle, don’t add more milk.
Place all the ingredient into the bowl of your stand mixer! Very sticky dough after 5 minutes kneading!
- Now, add the butter in pieces and knead for another 15 minutes at speed level two until the butter is well incorporated and your dough is smooth and still slightly sticky but comes easily from the bowl if using a silicone spatula.
Adding butter pieces to the dough! That’s how your dough looks like after kneading, still a bit sticky! The dough comes easily from the bowl using a silicone spatula!
- Grease a bowl with oil (olive, sunflower, or canola oil).
- Add your dough, turn it around once until fully covered with the oil, and cover it with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap.
Dough in greased bowl! Cover with a damp tea towel!
- Leave your dough to rise for one hour at room temperature.
- Place in the fridge and leave to rise for 4-16 hours. → Overnight is perfect.
- The next morning, your dough is very airy and has a lot of bubbles. Place on a lightly floured surface and divide into five equal pieces (using a knife or dough scraper).
- Fold each one into a log:
- Form it first into a rectangle → slightly press the dough with the palm of your hands and stretch using your fingers.
- Then roll it up into a log using your fingers.
Form into a rectangle! Roll up! A perfect log!
- Place the logs in a with oil greased 10×5-inch loaf pan (25x12cm). You can push them carefully together if they don’t fit.
Place logs in the loaf pan! Logs need to rise again before baking!
- Cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and let it rise again for 1.5-2 hours until it has grown significantly to the top of the loaf pan. Start preheating your oven (395°F/200°C) after 1.5 hours.
- Brush your brioche with a beaten egg (use a baking brush). → This ensures a golden top and keeps your dough from drying out during baking. Vegan egg wash alternative: 2 tbsp unsweetened soymilk, 1 tbsp agave nectar, 1 pinch ground turmeric.
- Bake the brioche for 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven until it’s golden brown.
- Take it out, place on a wire rack, and let it cool down for at least 15 minutes before you take it out of the pan. Leat if cool entirely before slicing.
French Brioche Recipe FAQ
How To Store Brioche?
Store your brioche wrapped in a tea towel or plastic bag for three days.
Can I Freeze Brioche?
You can freeze the whole loaf or cut in slices (easy to defrost in a toaster). Place them in freezer friendly zip bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in your oven or toaster before serving.
Can I skip the overnight freezer rise?
You can, but I don’t recommend it. If you do so, your brioche is still delicious, but it’s not as airy and fluffy when skipping this significant step.
Can I make this brioche recipe vegan-friendly?
Unfortunately, you need eggs for this recipe to work. But I give options for all other dairy products used which can be easily swapped with the non-diary version.
This recipe takes so much time, can I shorten it?
Most of the time is just dough rising time, and only little is actual active time in the kitchen. Give it a try, and you will be amazed by how simple it is making quality bread at home.
More Authentic French Recipes
- Authentic French Crepes
- Brioche French Toast
- French Croissants
- French Chocolate Croissants
- White French Dressing
- Vegan French Dressing
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📖 Recipe
French Brioche
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Ingredients
French Brioche Dough
- 1 tbsp (15 g) fresh yeast or 2 tsp active dry yeast
- ¼ cup (60 ml) milk lukewarm, use soy or oat milk as a non-diary option
- 2 tbsp (30 g) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2.5 cups (320 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter chilled, use plant-based butter as a non-diary option
Egg Wash
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Mix the yeast, lukewarm milk, and sugar, and let it sit for 5 minutes until foaming. Mix in the eggs until well combined.
- Place it with the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, and knead at speed level 1 for 5 minutes (your dough is very sticky). Add the butter in pieces and knead for another 15 minutes at speed level 2 (your dough should be sticky but comes easily from the bowl using a silicone spatula).
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and let it rise at room temperature for one hour. Refrigerate for 4-16 hours ➝ makes your brioche soft & airy.
- Take the dough out of the fridge, place on a lightly floured surface, divide into five pieces and fold each one into a log (punch down the dough gently with the ball of your hand, stretch into a rectangle, and roll up into a log). Place them in a greased (or with parchment paper lined) 10×5-inch loaf pan (25x12cm), cover with a damp tea towel and let it rise for 1.5-2 hours at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 395°F/200°C. Brush the dough with the egg wash and bake it for 30-35 minutes until brown.
- Allow the brioche to cool down on a cooling rack before slicing.
Notes
- Use a plastic wrap instead of a damp tea towel to cover your dough.
- The temperature in the recipe is for the use of a regular oven. If you use a convection oven (fan-based), set the temperature to 355°F/180°C.
- Brioche is the best if fresh, but can be stored in an airtight container for a few days or up to three months in the freezer. Defrost in the oven or toaster.
I followed the recipe precisely and had a very dry dough and it really didn’t rise. Should i have increased the milk?
Hi Rita, sorry to hear that! There might have been a few reasons your dough didn’t rise. The yeast might have been too old, not appropriately activated, or the added milk was too hot. Also, I always recommend using a scale for baking recipes, as measuring with cups is not as exact! If you stick to the recipe, it should work just fine. Although, If you think your dough is too dry, add some more milk.
It came out amazing and delicious,I gave a loaf to a friend and she asked a million questions it was so fun!
Happy to hear, Elaine! 🥰
Hi! I share your love of baking, particularly bread. I make Brioche every couple of weeks. We eat it for toast mostly. I love trying different recipes. I have a question about your recipe. I make 2 loaves at a time. When this recipe is converted, the amount of active dry yeast never changes. Just a typo? I’m gonna give it a try with 5 tsp of active dry yeast for two loaves. Wish me luck. Thank you for this recipe.
Hi Lou, so glad you like baking so much! Unfortunately, the substitutes (smaller & lighter font) can’t be converted when using the serving size converter. You need to calculate it by yourself. If you double the recipe, 4 teaspoons would be the appropriate amount, but it also works with 5 teaspoons. So you should be good! 💕
I followed the recipe exactly and got no rise at all on my bread. The yeast was active and bubbly when added but after an hour on the counter top no increase in size. I put it in the fridge and continued the recipe but when I pulled it out it was consistency of cut and bake cookies. What did I do wrong?
Hi Anastasia, I assume the bread was too cold (the temperature of your fridge might be very low). Leave it for 30-60 minute on the counter, then continue with the recipe.
loved the recipe i tried it this morning it took most of the day. but it was worth it it came out really good. putting it in the fridge really helps it rise. I love this recipe i will be making it again.
So glad to hear, Caroline! Thank you for your lovely comment! 💕
I like a pretty sweet brioche. Would it affect the overall result negatively if I upped the sugar to 1/3 cup?
Also, I see some brioche recipes add an extra yolk or two. Again, I think the richer,, the better. Not being a baker, I could be wrong, though! If I added one extra egg yolk, would I need to make any other adjustments to the recipe, and if ao, what?
Thank you!
Hi TJ, you can easily up the sugar to 1/3 cup. It won’t affect the recipe, despite the fact that the brioche will turn out sweeter! 😉
Regarding the extra egg yolk: the brioche is already made with 3 eggs, which is plenty in my opinion! Therefore, I would suggest you stick to the recipe (with extra sugar). Anyhow, I have never made it with an extra egg yolk and therefore can’t give you any recommendations, which would need some more recipe testing.
I hope it turns out how you like it! 💕
I have tried at least 10 other brioche recipes…always something wrong. It didn’t raise, there was a weird taste, rock hard the next day…this is finally the perfect brioche recipe. The texture, the fluffiness, the taste – its all perfect and actually quite an easy recipe. Just need patience. My french husband loves this brioche and he is very fussy when it come to brioche. Thanks so much!
So glad to hear, Liza! 💕 Thank you for your kind comment and enjoy the Brioche Bread!
Great recipe! I used it for cinnamon buns and am going to try it again today! Thanks for sharing.
So glad to hear that, Jacqueline! 💕
Fantastic presentation. I’m a newbie baker and you make this very fancy bread look doable. Hope to make this soon! By the way, may I ask what app you use for your video? I love how it’s done.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for your lovely words! ❤️ I used Animoto for this video, for all others I use Final Cut Pro.
Easy and great recipe. The first attempt turned out well and everyone at home loved it!
Can I make two batches at one time as one loaf is never enough for us 😀
Hi Liz, I am happy to hear that. Of course, you can double the ingredients (choose “scale 2x” for automatic calculation 😉) and divide the dough between two loaf pans.
Hi. I wanted to make this for hamburger buns. Do you know how many it will make? And will the rise time be shorter?
Hi Megs. I never made burger buns with this dough, but you should be able to make around 10ish buns! You can shorten the rise time if you see that the shaped buns have risen considerably, otherwise, stick to the times in the recipe. Have fun baking!
I haven’t made this yet but it looks amazing. I am from New Orleans and I have a Brioche receipt that’s not as good as your’s look. I make King Cakes, because I am not living in Louisiana for a little while, will this dough work if I roll it out so I can braid the dough, first I have to put the melted butter and cinnamon sugar. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Hi Cheryl, I am glad to hear that you like my recipe! 😉 I have never made a King Cake and therefore can’t give you advice here, sorry. Make sure to let it rise for 1-2 hours after you rolled out & braided the dough! 👩🍳
Would it be possible to freeze these after the first rise and thaw out in the fridge over night before using them? I’m guessing letting them rise on the counter for the hour or so before baking would be needed just as in the original recipe. I made buns with these last night and they were delicious and turned out perfectly. I noticed in the comments that people were having trouble with the butter incorporating. Easy way to make this better is to weigh out the butter and make sure its cold and then use a grater on the butter so its in nice small pieces . This worked very easy using my bread maker for kneeding and first rise
Hello Leanne, thank you for sharing your baking experience and tips! ❤️
I wouldn’t freeze the dough during the rising time! Make the recipe from start to finish, and freeze the brioche right after baking! You can then rebake the frozen brioche (without thawing first) for 10-15 minutes in the oven (355°F/180°C), and it will taste almost as freshly baked.
All the best,
Aline
I’m making this brioche for a second time. My first one turned out delicious. Every one is asking for more. The only problem I had was that the second rise took about 2 1/2 hours. Any advice you could give me? Maybe, my kitchen is too cool.
Hi Ellen, I am so glad you like the recipe! 😍 It also might be that your fridge is set to very cold, which will lead to a longer rising time. Next time, try if storing the dough on the top shelf in your fridge (where it’s the warmest) helps and also search for a warmer place (maybe a window with direct sunlight). Yeast dough can be unpredictable and doesn’t always rise as fast due to various reasons. But let’s try out those two suggestions. I hope this helps! 👩🍳
All the best,
Aline
This recipe is everything, the taste is divine, not too sweet, just perfect. Tnk you Aline
I am so happy to hear that, Karina! Thank you for your lovely comment and enjoy your homemade Brioche! ❤️
I’ve made the bread twice now and it doesn’t rise in the fridge over night. The bread tastes good but it hard to kneed the dough into the rectangle shapes. Any suggestions?
The dough should be soft after the overnight rise and be easy to shape! It could be that you used too much flour, or that it’s too cold in your fridge! Make sure to always use a kitchen scale and not cups for the best baking result! Also, if your fridge is very cold, let the dough sit for a few minutes at room temperature before shaping. This should help! 😉
Hi, that happened to me to. I left 1 Hour out of the fridge than I made the logs, it works..
Thank you for adding this! I had the same issue!
Hi!! I made this yesterday night and decided to leave it overnight in the fridge (instead of 4-16 hours) I checked and it had risen a lot and was very fluffy and beautiful however I left it inside because I will not be able to finish making it until later this afternoon. I just checked and it has deflated ;( Is this bad? It has also hardened around the edges! Do you know why this happened?
Hi Tamara, you might have left it for too long in the fridge, which caused the dough to get dry at the edges. Cover it with a damp towel, this could help a little. Otherwise, there isn’t that much you can do, just go ahead with the recipe. And next time, stick to the timeframes according to the recipe. 😉
I have always been interested in bread baking and decided now is the perfect time to do it. Recently I’ve conquered sandwich bread loaves and Dutch oven artisan bread. After careful consideration, I’ve decided brioche is next on the list. But I don’t have 10″x5″ loaf pan. Do you think this is still achievable with a 8″x4″ pan?
Correction:8.5″x4.5″ pan
Hi Michelle, the smaller pan should work too, but the dough will rise quite a lot out of the pan. Option number two: Use a little bit of the dough to make one small brioche bun and use the rest of the dough according to the recipe. If so, keep an eye on the bun when baking and take it out of the oven as soon as it’s golden brown. You don’t need to bake it for as long as the bread. Please let me know how it turned out!
We enjoyed making this today. We did not do the overnight process but plan to next time. We were to eager to try it. It tasted great.
Thank you for letting me know. Make sure you don’t skip the overnight rise next time, THIS IS what makes the bread so incredibly fluffy and airy! Enjoy it! 😉
Not easy, having trouble just getting yeast to foam
Are you using fresh or instant yeast? Instant yeast doesn’t foam a lot. Have fun baking!
Can you do this bread without the pan, braid it like a challah? Wonderful recipe so far!!
Hi Susan, I never tried it, but I am sure it would work too! 😉
Hi, was so anxious to try this recipe BUT my dough did not raise. Wondering if my butter might have been to cold and do you spoon your flour in a measuring cup or just scoop it up?
Hi Teddie, I am sorry to hear that your dough didn’t rise. I doubt it is because of the butter. It could be that either the milk was too hot (it kills the yeast), or your yeast was old. If the ingredients are too cold, it just takes a little longer for the dough to rise, but it definitely rises! I am always using a scale to measure ingredients for baking, as cups are just too inaccurate. I hope it works better the next time you try to make brioche!
Help! What am I doing wrong? My dough isn’t very “wet” or “sticky”? I’ve tripled checked my measurements and ingredients.
Did you use a scale or cups to measure the ingredients? Unfortunately, cups aren’t as accurate as a scale and thus can lead to a different result. Add a little more milk if you have the feeling that the dough is too dry!
Thanks! I used cups to measure. But, I’ll give it another try tonight with a scale and additional milk. Have a good day.