A rich, buttery, and oh-so-soft brioche bread recipe is easy to make and much more cost-effective than buying a loaf! Enjoy it on its own, toasted, or topped with your favorite jam!
I love to bake homemade bread recipes! From homemade bread to whole wheat bread and this French bread, it’s the best fresh out of the oven.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Amazing texture. A favorite when it comes to yeast bread recipes, brioche is known for its soft yellow hue and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Rich and flavorful. Brioche is enriched with butter and eggs with a more tender crust than that of an artisan bread.
- Better than store-bought. The aromas wafting through your house will have it smelling like a bakery, but the results are better than a store-bought brioche loaf.
Substitutions and Variations
- Instead of an egg wash, brush it with maple syrup or honey for a sweet finish.
- Enjoy a slice of brioche is warm and freshly made with some butter and blueberry jam or strawberry jam!
- Use it for all kinds of French toast recipes, such as French toast sticks, overnight French toast, and Eggnog French toast.
- Transform these easy 1-hour cinnamon rolls by using leftover brioche to a little extra fluffy, buttery, soft texture.
- Use the dough to make brioche buns for sliders and for dessert make bread pudding.
How to Make Brioche Bread
In the bowl of a stand, stir the warm milk, yeast, and sugar together. Proof yeast for about 5-10 minutes until foamy. Using the paddle attachment, add eggs, 1 at a time, then yolks and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix for 3 minutes, before adding remaining flour and mixing 5 minutes.
Slowly add butter then use dough hook to knead for 8-10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.
To braid dough, remove dough from refrigerator and on a lightly floured surface roll each dough piece into an approximately 14″ log. Alternately, you can shape it into a loaf.
Place the three logs side by side and braid them together tucking the ends under to make the loaf nice and tidy.
Braid dough then place in a well greased loaf pan and then place an oiled piece of plastic wrap over top of the pan. This will prevent the dough from sticking and potentially falling. Place in a warm draft free area and let rise until doubled in size or about 1-3 hours.
Brush the tops with egg wash and bake in a preheated 375°F oven on the middle rack for 28-30 minutes until a deep golden brown color on top. Tap the crust to hear a hollow sound, and then you’ll know your brioche bread is ready to come out of the oven!
Storing
Keep leftovers at room temperature. Store in a brown bag or an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freeze the bread for up to 3 months! Wrap the entire loaf or whatever’s left in plastic wrap or foil then transfer it to a freezer bag. Thaw overnight to enjoy the next day.
More bread recipes you’ll love: rosemary focaccia, dinner rolls and cinnamon swirl bread.
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Brioche Bread Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 2 9×5-inch bread pans
Ingredients
- ½ cup warm whole milk (110°F)
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 5 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs , at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk , at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 4 ½ cups bread flour , or all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter , at room temperature
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1 Tablespoon water
Optional topping: Butter and Jam
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, stir the warm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes, or until nice and bubbly. If it doesn't foam, toss it and start over. The milk was either too hot or the yeast was not fresh (check the expiration date to be sure it isn't old).
- Add the eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Mix in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk 2 cups flour and the salt. Add to the mixer and stir 3 minutes on medium speed.
- Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in the remaining 2 cups flour until combined. Mix 5 minutes, stopping halfway to scrape down paddle and sides of bowl. Turn off mixer. If the dough is too sticky, add up to 1/2 cup flour and mix on low speed until incorporated. Dough should be soft but not wet.
- Slowly mix in the butter, 2 Tablespoons at a time. Swap out the paddle attachment for a dough hook and knead 8 to 10 minutes. Dough should be clinging to the dough hook in one ball. *Try window pane test (see notes).
- Transfer dough to a medium bowl sprayed with nonstick spray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
- Spray 2 9×5-inch bread pans with nonstick cooking spray.
- On a floured work surface, divide dough into two portions. Shape into loaves and transfer to pans. Cover and let rise 1 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size. In a small bowl, beat the egg and water together to make an egg wash. Brush the tops of the loaves with egg wash.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and place the rack in the middle of the oven.
- Bake 28 to 30 minutes, or until deep golden color. Tap on the crust to hear a hollow sound. Cover with foil the last 10 minutes if it's browning too fast.
- Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing from the pans to a cooling rack. Slice once slightly cooled. Enjoy with butter and jam, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Bread, Freezer-Friendly, Nut-Free, Vegetarian, Yeast Bread
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I would love to try this out. Can you please give me the metric measurements. Thank you
Hi Vasie! I haven’t tested this recipe using metric measurements.
I was intimidated to try this, but I love brioche and it’s expensive. This recipe turned out great for me even though it was my first time making it. Thanks!
Made this so I could make french toast and it turned out amazing! My whole family loved it. This recipe is a keeper.
I love brioche bread, but I never thought about how to make it, so when I saw this recipe, I just had to try it! thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe of my most favorite bread!
This recipe turned out great. The brioche was soft and buttery…delicious!
the dough is wet although i added 4.5 cups of flour.
Did you add too much water? Was your butter softened not melted? All of these will throw the ratio of ingredients off.