Brioche Bread Recipe

Brioche bread is the most luxurious loaf you can pull out of your own oven, with a buttery, pillowy crumb that puts any store-bought bread to shame. This recipe comes straight from my pastry school days at Oregon Culinary Institute and gives you all that rich, croissant-like flavor without any of the complicated folding. If you love homemade bread, this is the recipe that will ruin you for anything else. (Try my fast bread recipe if you want something equally satisfying on a shorter timeline.)

What Makes This Brioche Recipe Great

Brioche belongs to a family of breads called viennoiseries, the same category as croissants and cheese danish. What sets it apart from a standard loaf is the high ratio of butter, eggs, milk, and sugar in the dough. These ingredients give brioche its incredible richness and soft crumb, but they also create a challenge: fat and eggs inhibit yeast activity. If you just dump everything together at once, the yeast struggles to do its job.

This recipe solves that problem by using a sponge. The sponge is a small pre-ferment made from milk, yeast, and a bit of flour that you activate on its own before adding anything else. By the time the yeast hits the butter and eggs, it is already strong and active, which gives it the head start it needs to rise properly.

The other key is gluten development. Brioche dough needs to be mixed for a long time, anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes with the dough hook, to build the gluten network that traps the CO2 produced by the yeast. Under-mixed brioche will be dense and flat because the gluten is too weak to hold the gas. The windowpane test is how you confirm the gluten is fully developed: stretch a small piece of dough between your fingers, and if it stretches thin enough to see light through without tearing, you are ready.

Refrigerating the dough overnight is not strictly required, but it makes a significant difference. Cold temperatures slow the yeast down and give the flour more time to fully hydrate, which produces a more flavorful loaf and a dough that is much easier to handle and shape. This same principle applies to my homemade cinnamon rolls and master sweet dough, which also benefit from an overnight rest.

Brioche Ingredients

Brioche has a short ingredient list, but every single one of them matters for the texture and flavor of the final loaf.

Bread flour provides more protein than all-purpose flour, which builds a stronger gluten network. This is what gives brioche its structure despite all that butter. All-purpose flour can be substituted if needed, but the texture will be slightly less chewy and structured. I also use bread flour in my easy bagel recipe for the same reason.

Unsalted butter is the star ingredient and what makes brioche taste like brioche. It must be softened to room temperature, not melted. Melted butter will not incorporate properly and will result in a greasy, dense loaf. Do not substitute salted butter without reducing the added salt.

Eggs add richness, structure, and color to the dough. They must be at room temperature so they incorporate smoothly without shocking the dough.

Milk activates the yeast and adds tenderness to the crumb. It must be heated to 100 to 110 degrees for the sponge. Too hot and it will kill the yeast. Too cold and the yeast will not activate.

Instant yeast is used in this recipe because it does not need to be proofed separately before using. Active dry yeast can be substituted but will require longer proofing times.

Sugar feeds the yeast and adds a subtle sweetness to the loaf. The recipe calls for 26 grams as a baseline but you can increase it up to 100 grams for a sweeter brioche.

Salt controls the yeast fermentation and enhances all the other flavors. It is added after the other ingredients to avoid direct contact with the yeast during mixing.

How To Make Brioche Bread Step-By-Step

Bring your eggs, milk, and butter to room temperature. Place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes. Microwave the butter in 15-second increments until you can press your finger into it easily but it still holds its shape and has not melted. Heat your milk to 100 to 110 degrees using a microwave or the stove.

1. Make the sponge. Add the instant yeast and bread flour and mix until just combined. Cover the container and set it aside in a warm environment (roughly 75 degrees) until it doubles in size, about 30 minutes. This gives the yeast a head start on growing.

2. Add the sponge to your stand mixer with the paddle attachment attached.
   
   Add the eggs. While mixing on low, add in the room temperature eggs one at a time, letting each one incorporate before adding the next. Scrape the bowl as needed.
   

3. Add the dry ingredients. Switch to the dough hook. Continue mixing on low and add in the bread flour, sugar, and then salt.

4. Add water If the dough seems too dry, go ahead and add 1-2 Tablespoons of water until the dough starts to stick to the bowl.
   
   Mix for five minutes on medium speed or until the dough feels stretchy.

5. Add the butter. Add the softened butter one chunk at a time, letting each piece incorporate before adding the next.
   
   The dough will be very sticky after all the butter is in. Be sure to scrape the bowl as needed to make sure everything is mixing correctly.

6. Let your dough mix on medium until a smooth dough forms that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes depending on your mixer, your flour, and even the humidity in the air. Be patient. It will be a very loose and sticky dough.
   

PRO TIP: Adding the butter in really slowly, letting it incorporate all the way before adding in the next, ensures all the gluten strands are getting coated evenly with butter, resulting in the fluffiest brioche bread.

7. Perform the windowpane test to confirm your dough has developed enough gluten. Stretch a small piece of dough between your fingers. If it stretches thin and translucent without tearing, you are ready. If it tears, keep mixing.
   

8. Shape into a ball by gently folding the edges of the dough to the center with a bowl scraper.
   

9. First rise. Place the brioche dough into a buttered bowl, edges down, and cover it with a towel. Let it rise in a warm spot for 60 minutes or until it doubles.
   

10. Refrigerate. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours or overnight. The longer your dough chills, the easier it will be to handle and the more flavor it will develop. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 48 hours before shaping.
    

Braiding And Baking

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and place the oven rack in the lower half. If the bread is too close to the top of the oven, it will get too brown.

1. Divide and braid. Once the dough is chilled, divide it into three equal pieces.
   

2. Roll the braid. Roll each piece into a long strand that is about 1.5 times as long as your pan. Braid the three pieces together and pinch the ends.
   

3. Pan the dough. Tuck the ends underneath and transfer the loaf to a 5x9 inch ungreased non-stick bread pan. If you use any other non-stick pan, grease it first. You can also bake directly on a sheet pan with parchment paper, in cupcake pans for braided rolls, or in a cake pan.
   

4. Second rise. Cover the dough to prevent it from drying out and let it rise until it doubles in size at 75 to 90 degrees. This should take 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how warm the environment is.
   
   To test readiness, gently poke the dough with your finger. If the indent stays or only bounces back halfway, it is ready. If it bounces back immediately, it needs more time.
   

5. Egg wash. Brush the surface of the loaf with egg wash (one egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water) for a golden, shiny finish.
   

6. Bake until golden brown and the internal temperature reads between 180 and 190 degrees, 30 to 45 minutes. Start checking the internal temperature at 30 minutes.
   

Other Ways To Shape Brioche

Brioche Rolls: Divide the dough into 3-ounce pieces. Tuck the edges underneath and shape into a smooth ball. Place on a sheet pan with about 1 inch between the rolls. Proof until doubled. Brush with egg wash and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and the internal temperature reads 180 to 190 degrees.

Brioche à Tête: Divide the dough into 3-ounce pieces. Roll into a smooth ball. Use the side of your palm to form a small ball at the top called the hat. Pick the dough up by the hat and place it into a greased fluted brioche tin. Tuck the dough under the hat with floured fingers. Proof until doubled. Brush with egg wash and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 180 to 190 degrees.

Braided Brioche Ring: Perfect for a larger gathering or holiday table. Double the recipe and prepare as above. Braid the loaf into a long braid and then attach the ends together to form a ring. Place into a greased cake pan or on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Proof until doubled. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 180 to 190 degrees.

Brioche Pull-Apart Bread: Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a floured surface. Place the dough balls into a loaf pan, alternating in a zig-zag pattern. Proof until doubled. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 180 to 190 degrees.

Understanding How Yeast Dough Works

The basics of making a yeast-risen dough are all the same but different recipes may have slightly varied steps. 

1. Activate the yeast - Mix yeast with a warm liquid (90-100ºF) so that it starts growing.
2. Develop a strong gluten structure - Make sure you mix your dough enough. It should look like a smooth ball and pass the windowpane test. Kneading is very important because under-kneaded bread will not be strong enough to trap CO2 gases created by the growing yeas and therefore will not rise.
3. Warmth + Time - Give your dough time to rise (proof) in a warm spot (80º-90º) until it doubles in size. I like the oven with the light on or some ovens have a proofing option. If you're using instant yeast, the rising will happen a lot faster if you are using regular active yeast it will take longer. Cold environments will also stunt your yeast, and your dough will take a lot longer to rise. 
4. Shape your dough into a loaf, rolls, or whatever you want them to be. This is the point where you can put your dough in the fridge until you're ready to bake it. You can do this with any dough, not just brioche.
5. Let it rise until it doubles in size again and then bake!

When you add yeast to the flour and add in warmth and a little bit of moisture, the yeast begins to eat the starch in the flour. As it eats the sugar, it produces CO2 (yes, bread is made of tiny yeast farts). Then that CO2 gets trapped in the gluten we developed during the mixing stage and expands, giving rise to your bread. If you're missing one of these steps, your bread won't turn out. 

Brioche Bread FAQs