How to Make Brioche

This classic brioche recipe is incredibly rich and buttery resulting in a very tender bread. It can be shaped into a loaf or rolls and is perfect for sandwich bread, bread pudding, French toast, or any soft bread you like! Follow this in-depth step-by-step guide to make this classic recipe at home.

OVERVIEW

• Skill Level: Intermediate
• Component Used: Enriched Dough

There’s nothing more Parisian than classic brioche. It’s iconic in color, texture, and richness. Although yeast breads can be intimidating, I’m here to break it down for you.

My recipe for brioche includes step-by-step instruction on making the enriched dough plus ideas for different shaping techniques. This recipe can be used to make a brioche loaf or rolls which can then be turned into sandwich bread, French toast, cinnamon rolls, and so much more.

What makes brioche so special

• When you see the iconic golden color of brioche you know it’s going to be an ultra rich, buttery, and soft bread.
• Brioche dough is so versatile! You can make it into a savory sandwich loaf, dinner rolls, and burger buns or something sweet like cinnamon rolls and bread pudding.
• Technically, brioche is a cross between pastry and bread. It is prepared like a bread but it’s sweet like a pastry.

What is Brioche?

Brioche is a type of enriched dough of French origin that contains a high amount of butter and eggs. These fats enrich the dough resulting in a slightly sweet and tender crumb. It is much softer than a lean dough which does not contain any fat. Due to the eggs and butter, brioche is pale yellow in color.

The ingredient list in brioche is the same for all other enriched doughs: flour, salt, yeast, milk, eggs, sugar, and of course, butter. What makes brioche different than other types of enriched dough is the higher ratio of butter and eggs.

Traditionally, French brioche is baked into loaves or brioche à tête.

Brioche à Tête

The classic French bread is made using this same brioche dough but using a different technique to make the iconic shape. A “tête” means head in French so it’s simply a fluted round brioche with a head on top.

This recipe makes 2 brioche à tête. With each half of dough, remove about a quarter of it and shape both pieces into round balls. Place the larger dough ball into a fluted brioche mold. Use your thumb to create a hole in the center of the dough and add the smaller dough ball on top. Bake as directed.

You can also make mini brioche à têtes by dividing the total dough in this recipe into 12 rolls and then shape using the same technique. Place the dough into mini fluted brioche molds.

How to Make Brioche

This recipe for brioche can be used to make a traditional loaf, a braided loaf, rolls, or brioche a tête.

Proof the Yeast

While technically optional, this step of proofing the yeast is done to ensure that your yeast is active. There’s nothing worse than going through the process of making dough only to see that it’s not rising and the yeast is in fact dead or inactive. This can happen if your liquid is too hot, killing the yeast, or if the yeast is too old.

Stir a large pinch of sugar and the instant yeast into the warmed milk. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until bubbly and foamy. This means your yeast is active and good to go!

Make the dough

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the bread flour, salt, and the rest of the sugar. Add in about 2 tablespoons of the butter (save the rest for later) along with the eggs and the milk/yeast mixture. Stir with a spatula to combine and then work with your hands until all of the flour is hydrated.

Cover the dough and let rest for about 10 minutes. This time will help the flour to hydrate and the dough to relax, making it easier to knead.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 4-5 minutes until a smooth elastic dough forms. You can also use a stand mixer with the hook attachment.

Place the dough back into the mixing bowl and gently flatten it out with your hands. Add half of the remaining butter on top of the dough, then use your fingers to dimple it in. Fold the edges of the dough toward the center until the butter is enclosed. Continue folding the dough over itself. Use the heel of your hand to knead the dough against the side of the bowl until the butter is cohesively worked in.

At first it will look as if the butter will never be incorporated but keep going and the slippery dough will eventually absorb the butter and become silky and less greasy. When it does, do exactly the same thing with the remaining butter. At this point I change tactic, scooping my hand underneath towards my body, stretching the dough UP and FORWARDS before going back in for another scoop. It will take a few minutes of kneading the dough until this second addition of butter is absorbed.

If you are using a stand mixer, add the butter in two additions, kneading it with the dough hook until the butter is absorbed and the dough is silky.

Shape the dough into a smooth ball with the help of a little dusting of flour and place it back in the bowl. Sprinkle the top with flour, cover and rest at room temperature until doubled in size, which should take about 1 ½ – 2 hours.

Do not rely on the timing but instead check to see if the dough has risen, even if it takes longer than 2 hours. If it feels like it’s taking forever to rise, place in a warm spot in your home.

Alternatively, you can refrigerate the dough immediately after kneading for 12 – 24 hours. In addition to developing more flavor, refrigerating the dough will make it slightly easier to work with when shaping.

SHAPE THE DOUGH

If you refrigerated the dough, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before shaping.

After proofing, press down on the dough to degass it and then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape the bread into your desired shape. 

Here’s a quick video on how to shape a traditional loaf.

How to make a braided loaf

Divide the dough into 3 or 4 equal pieces and roll the pieces into logs that are about 2 inches (5 cm) longer than your loaf pan. Lay the logs beside each other and pinch the top of each piece together. Braid the sections and pinch the bottom ends together. Tuck in each end and place in a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours.

How to make rolls

Divide the dough into 12 or 16 equal pieces (12 for larger rolls, 16 for smaller). Working with one piece of dough at a time, use your hands to gently flatten it out, then pull the edges of the dough into a center point creating a seam. Place the piece of dough seam-side down on an un-floured part of the countertop. Keeping the seam-side down, cup your hand over the dough and roll it under your palm until it tightens into a round ball and the top becomes smooth.

Place the shaped rolls seam-side down onto a parchment lined sheet pan or into greased fluted brioche molds. Loosely cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature until doubled in size. This will take about 1 – 1 ½ hours.

BAKE

Brush an egg wash (one egg whisked with about 1 Tablespoon of water) over the top of the loaf or rolls. If making rolls, I like to sprinkle the tops with coarse salt or pearled sugar nibs for a classic French look.

Bake as directed until the color is a deep golden brown.

Storage

Room Temperature: Leftover brioche can be stored at room temperature either in a container or wrapped in plastic wrap for 3 – 4 days. Place in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.

Freezer: Let the baked brioche (loaf or rolls) cool completely, then place in a zipper freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To refresh the frozen bread, wrap in aluminum foil and place into the oven at 400°F / 205°C for 6 – 8 minutes until warmed through.

You can also freeze individual slices of brioche and then use the toaster to refresh straight from frozen.

My favorite ways to use brioche

Brioche is a versatile dough that can be used in a number of different ways. Here are my favorites!

• Cinnamon Rolls: roll out the brioche dough, fill with cinnamon sugar, and roll up to make cinnamon rolls
• Perfect French Toast: bake the brioche dough as a loaf, slice, and soak in a custard mixture to make the best French toast
• Sandwich Bread: bake as a loaf, slice, and toast to make a soft and rich sandwich bread
• Bread Pudding: bake the brioche dough as a loaf and then slice into cubes
• Soft Dinner Rolls: bake as rolls and sprinkle with melted butter and coarse salt

MORE RECIPES FROM BAKER BETTIE!

If you enjoyed this tutorial, you might like to try these other delicious bread recipes.

• French Baguette
• Basic Challah Bread
• How to Make Focaccia