Brioche is a classic French yeasted bread known for it’s high egg and butter content. It makes for a delicious sandwich bread or cut thick slices for French toast!
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Homemade Brioche Loaf
There is something magical about brioche.
The combination of butter, eggs, and flour come together to create a soft, fluffy, and flavorful bread that is perfect for both sweet and savory applications.
It’s great for French toast, Croque Madame (or Croque Monsieur), bostock, and more.
While many bakeries and supermarkets sell brioche loafs, I find it super rewarding to make brioche from scratch at home.
Brioche is a classic French yeasted bread known for it’s high egg and butter content.
The amount of butter and eggs lends to the bread’s iconic pale yellow crumb and thin golden brown, shiny crust.
Brioche can be shaped as a rectagular loaf, round boule, or in it’s most recognizable form- brioche à tête (a fluted muffin like roll topped with a smaller ball (head) on top).
Bread Assembly
Although a bit time consuming to make, it’s a rather simple process.
Much of the “time” is spent allowing the dough to rest and rise.
With the help of a stand mixer, creating the brioche dough is quite easy.
Since you are putting in the effort to make one loaf, you might as well double the recipe and make two loaves.
The baked and cooled extra loaf can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for a month.
Best uses for Brioche
Brioche is essential for a classic Croque Madame (or Croque Monsieur).
But in my opinion, brioche slices makes for the BEST BLT!
The salty, crunchy bacon with the sweet, juicy sliced tomatoes held together with the buttery brioche is pure heaven.
Interested in other enriched doughs? Check out: Japanese milk bread, Filipino Pandesal, Chocolate Babka.
This recipe was first posted on Recipe Girl.
Brioche Loaf Bread
Ingredients
- ½ Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water, , warmed to 110 degrees F
- 3 large eggs, , room temperature
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsalted butter, , softened, cut into tablespoons
Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir to combine and allow to sit for 5 to 7 minutes. The mixture will bubble and smell like beer once the yeast has activated. Whisk in eggs until thoroughly combined.
- Attach dough hook to stand mixer. Add salt and 2 cups flour to mixing bowl. Start the mixer on low speed until the dough begins to come together, about 2 minutes. The dough should look like a shaggy mess.
- Increase speed to medium and add softened butter one tablespoon at a time. Mixture will be very sticky. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of flour. Continue to mix for another 3 minutes until dough is shiny and smooth.
- Stop mixer and cover bowl with plastic wrap or kitchen towel. Allow dough to sit for 15 minutes. Mix on medium speed for another 5 minutes. At this point, the dough will be quite sticky. Do not add additional flour. Use a spatula or dough scraper to remove sticky dough from mixing bowl. Transfer dough to a well greased large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or kitchen towel. Allow dough to rise at room temperature for one hour.
- Punch down dough. Fold into thirds like a business letter. Place back in greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill in fridge overnight for at least 6 hours, up to 12 hours.
- Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Punch dough chilled dough. Divide dough into 5 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time, roll dough into a 5-inch square. Using the heels of your palms, gently flatten and stretch the dough to the desired size. Roll dough into a log and place seam side down in prepared loaf pan. Repeat with remaining portions of dough.
- Loosely cover dough with plastic wrap or kitchen towel and allow dough to rest at room temperature. Leave dough undisturbed until dough reaches the top of loaf pan. This will take anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on room temperature and humidity.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Mix egg wash by whisking together egg, salt, and water until smooth. Remove plastic wrap and lightly brush egg wash over the top of bread loaf.
- Bake bread for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating pan midway through baking. The finished bread loaf should be golden brown on top and the internal temperature of the bread should register at least 200 degrees F on an instant read kitchen thermometer. Allow bread to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and allow to cool to room temperature on wire rack. Once bread has cooled, use a serrated knife to slice. Store cooled bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
- This dough is best mixed using a stand mixer. This enriched dough requires heavy mixing and kneading, if done by hand.
- Overnight chilling of dough aids in the flavor development.
- Cooled brioche loaf can be tightly covered in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for up to a month. Defrost at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Okay, wow. Just wow. Every step along the way I was like: this isn’t going to work, this does not look right there is no way this is going to work. But I’m so glad I stuck with it. It is AMAZING! Everything brioche should be, and the texture is perfect. Thank you so much!
Can salted butter be used?
Numerous times baked this recipe. Perfect.
Thank you for sharing!
This is an excellent BRIOCHE! Have made it several times, not changing a thing and everyone loves it! Going to bake a loaf today just for fun!
That’s wonderful to hear! I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe! Happy baking :)
This looks delish! Can I use evaporated milk instead water and add a little bit more sugar?Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Yes, you can use evaporated milk instead of water. However, I would not add additional sugar. Too much sugar will kill the amount of yeast in this recipe.
If you add more sugar, you will have to adjust the yeast amount.
If I need to adjust the amount of yeast, do I lessen it or add more yeast if I add more sugar?Thank you again!
Also, is there a difference if I use a glass loaf pan instead of the regular aluminum or nonstick pan?
There is a time and temperature difference if you use glass loaf pan. All my recipes are tested using aluminum baking pans.
Most products take longer to bake in glass pan, which tends to result in dry or crusty exteriors.
You have to add more yeast if you add more sugar. I cannot give you exact amounts because I don’t know how much sugar you plan to add. For the best results, please follow recipe ingredients and instructions.