Easy Brioche Bread Recipe

Brioche bread is a rich, egg-based bread that you typically find at high-end restaurants, but it’s simple to make at home and ready in 90 minutes! This easy brioche recipe yields a soft, flakey brioche loaf (or buns!) and it’s perfect for making French toast or sopping up gravy at family dinner.

Homemade bread can seem daunting, but I promise you it’s the case where our brains make something seem harder than it actually is.

Plus as a wife, mother of two, business owner, AND homesteader, I simply do not have time for complicated or time-consuming recipes!

That’s one reason why I love this particular brioche bread recipe so much. It’s very simple and straightforward and yields a loaf of bread that will make you crave another piece in just under 90 minutes.

What is Brioche Bread?

Brioche bread is a rich bread that’s typically made with a lot of butter and a lot of eggs. Some brioche recipes call for a full dozen of eggs and multiple sticks of butter!

You can usually tell brioche bread apart from traditional bread because of the color. Egg yolks give brioche bread a yellowish color, and the more eggs, the darker the color.

Brioche bread feels flakey when you eat it too, almost like a piece of bread that tastes like a croissant. You can attribute that flakey texture to the butter!

Easy Brioche Bread Recipe Ingredients

This easy bread recipe calls for ingredients that will look familiar, with a few additions.

• Warm Milk. Swapping milk for water creates a softer and richer dough.
• Active Dry Yeast
• Granulated Sugar. You can use honey here if you’d prefer.
• Salt
• Eggs. Whole fresh eggs are best, and you need several. No powdered eggs or egg whites.
• Unsalted Butter. You’ll need a lot of butter too. This is what gives the loaf a flakey feel.
• Flour. I use all-purpose einkorn flour because my daughter is sensitive to gluten. You can use typical all-purpose flour or bread flour without any substitutions. I don’t recommend whole wheat flour in this recipe, as it can weigh the dough down and will negate some of the light and fluffy texture that’s signature of brioche bread.

How to Make This Sweet Brioche Bread Recipe

I’ve written this recipe to be made in a stand mixer because it’s one kitchen appliance that’s not only a workhorse but a staple in my kitchen, but you can easily use a large bowl and knead by hand. Be sure to follow the poke test in Step 2 to make sure your dough is kneaded enough.

Step 1: Warm the milk over the stove or in the microwave to 105-110F. Combine the milk, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together and let it sit until the yeast blooms. When the yeast creates bubbles that look a bit like beer foam, you’re ready to go (this takes about 5 minutes).

Step 2a: Add 1 cup of flour and whisk well. Add the remaining flour and salt, and using the dough hook attachment, mix the dough on medium-low speed until the dough starts to come together.

Step 2b: Add all of the eggs and continue to knead. When the eggs are incorporated, add 2 tablespoons of butter and knead until the butter is fully incorporated.

Step 2c: Continue to add butter 2 tablespoons at a time, waiting until each portion is incorporated before adding the next. This technique gives the gluten a bit of extra time to develop and yields a light and flakey loaf despite the heavy weight of eggs and butter. It also allows you to reduce the time needed to rise.

The dough is done when you’ve added all the butter and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl AND holds up to the poke test. (Press the pad of your index finger into the dough. If the indent stays, keep kneading. If the indent starts to rebound back, you’re good to go.)

Step 3: Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm place to proof for 30 minutes. The dough may or may not double in size during this time. That’s fine.

Tip: The top of the refrigerator, inside the oven, TURNED OFF with the light on, or in the oven on the “proof” setting are all good options.

Meanwhile, line a 9”x5” loaf pan with parchment paper (or butter and flour the bottom, edges, and sides of the pan, very well). If you only have an 8”x4” pan, divide this recipe into two and use two pans, otherwise, you risk the loaf baking over the edges of the pan.

Step 4: When the dough is proofed, sprinkle flour over your counter or work surface. I like to use Silpat mats because they’re much easier to clean dough off of than my counters!

Turn the dough onto the lightly floured surface and gently pull one outside edge up and over towards the middle of the loaf. Turn the loaf ¼ turn and repeat this process, pulling up from the same angle (i.e. always the top, or always the right side) and pushing the dough into the center of the loaf. You’ll need to do this about ½ – 2 full rotations to remove all the air bubbles from the dough.

Step 5: Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place it in one corner of the loaf pan. Roll a second ball of dough and fit it snugly next to the first ball. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of dough, fitting them into the pan so that you have two pieces of dough side by side, with four rows of dough.

Cover the loaf with a towel and let rise for another 30 minutes.

Step 6: Preheat the oven to 350F. Crack one large egg into a small dish, add 1 tbsp of water, and whisk with a fork. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash. Brushing the top of the dough is optional, but gives the dough its signature deep golden brown color during baking.

Step 7: Bake for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the loaf reaches 190F with an instant-read thermometer.

Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

Pro Tips for Making Brioche Dough

• Milk Temperature: Milk should be between 110F and 120F. Milk that’s too hot will kill the yeast, and milk that’s too cool won’t activate the yeast. Use an instant-read digital thermometer (like this one I recommend) to make sure the milk temperature is correct.
• Rise Temperature: The ideal temperature for the dough to rise is 75F to 78F. I’ve found that the inside of my oven with the oven light on is perfect (be sure your oven is OFF, and not cooling down from recently being used).
• Room Temperature Ingredients: Starting with room temperature milk, butter, and eggs will yield the best brioche dough, and in turn the best brioche bread.

How to Store Brioche Bread

You can store brioche bread at room temperature for two days, or in the fridge for two weeks. In general, brioche bread has a longer shelf life thanks to the butter. If you live in a warm and/or humid climate, you may need to store your bread in the fridge from the get-go to avoid the bread from going moldy.

How to Freeze Brioche Bread

You can freeze brioche loves in a sealed airtight container. I recommend wrapping it in plastic wrap and then placing it in a resealable freezer-safe bag. The double wrapping will prevent freezer burn and you’ll be able to easily see what’s inside the bag.

To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter until the bread has reached room temperature.

If you prefer to use one slice of brioche bread at a time, let the bread cool, slice it, then wrap it for the freezer. Then you can easily pull out one slice to thaw or toast.

This guide will give you more ways to freeze bread.

Brioche Loaf vs. Brioche Bun Recipe?

As you can see, this is written as a loaf, but you can easily place the shaped rolls on a baking sheet to make brioche buns. I suggest reducing the bake time to 15 minutes and still checking with an instant-read thermometer to ensure the buns are baked through, but not overdone.

A brioche roll makes a great brioche burger bun too!

Recipe for Brioche FAQs

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