The Best Brioche Bread Recipe (for Beginners!)
Brioche is the perfect mix between bread and pastry. This recipe for Brioche bread makes it easy to enjoy the light, fluffy and buttery flavor of brioche at home.
Servings 12
Calories 207kcal
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Stand Mixer with a Dough Hook Attachment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup milk 2% or whole
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar divided
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 eggs beaten, + 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened + cut into ½ tablespoon-sized pieces
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat ¼ cup milk on the stove or in the microwave for 35-40 seconds. The milk should not boil, try to keep the temperature between 100 - 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a small bowl, add 1 Tbsp of granulated sugar into the milk along with the package of dry, active yeast.
- Allow this to sit for 10 minutes or so to activate the yeast. Ensure that your yeast has risen before moving on to the next step.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the 2 ¾ cup flour, 1 tsp salt, and remaining 1 tbsp sugar. Mix to combine.
- Add in the milk/yeast mixture as well as the 3 beaten eggs (only use THREE eggs + 1 egg yolk for this step. The remaining egg will be used in an egg wash before baking). Using a spatula, stir the resulting mixture well. It will be sticky and soft.
- Attach the dough hook and knead this dough on the lowest setting for about 5-6 minutes.
- Add the ½ cup softened butter into the dough a few pieces at a time. Add some butter, allow the mixer to incorporate it, then add the next round of butter. The whole process should take around 5 minutes or so.
- Once all of the butter is incorporated, put the mixer on medium speed and knead the dough for 10 minutes. If a large part of the dough remains on the edges of the mixer bowl, add 1-2 tbsp of flour. The dough will be sticky, but you can easily remove it from the bowl using a silicone spatula. It should be soft and tacky to the touch, but should not stick to clean fingertips.
- Place the dough in a glass bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel, and leave at room temperature for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
- After the dough has doubled in volume, place it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. This will make your bread soft and airy.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator, punch it down several times, and divide into 6 equal parts. Shape the parts into balls. After kneading, flatten each of the balls with your hands.
- Arrange in a 10x5-inch loaf pan. Arrange the pieces of dough so that there is enough room for them to rise. Leave the dough at room temperature, covered, to rise for 1 ½ - 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- After the bread has doubled, crack the last egg into a small bowl and add 1 tbsp of water. Whisk to combine. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the bread with an egg wash. Sprinkle the dough with the 1 tsp sesame seeds.
- Place the bread in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until you get a golden brown crust, the bread sounds hollow when you knock on it, and an internal temperature reaches 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the loaf tin. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve and Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only.
- Warm Milk: I recommend 2% or whole milk. You do not want to use skim as it will not have the fat you need. You also don't want to use cold milk or hot milk. It needs to be just warm enough to activate your yeast but not too hot to kill it. The perfect temperature is between 100 - 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Active Dry Yeast: Be sure and check the expiration date on your yeast. You need fresh yeast to make this recipe work.
- All-Purpose Flour: You could use bread flour for brioche, but the higher protein content in the flour will result in a slightly chewier bread. All purpose flour gives your brioche a nice soft crumb
- Eggs: This recipe calls for four eggs and an extra egg yolk. This is critical to a really rich bread.
- Unsalted Butter: Allow your butter to soften at room temperature before using in your dough. Butter provides a rich flavor to the dough. Your softened butter should be around 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Sesame Seeds: These are optional for topping your bread!
- It is very important to use butter that is soft but not melted. Allow it to soften at room temperature until you can easily leave a mark in it with a light press of a finger. This will help it incorporate into your dough fully. Your eggs will also incorporate better if they are at room temperature.
- The egg wash on the top of your loaf gives it a beautiful, shiny finish. You could skip it if you want but for truly beautiful bread, do it!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 218mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 324IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 2mg