Brioche Bread

A delicious brioche recipe with step-by-step photos. Make this classic French brioche (Brioche à Tête) at home for breakfast or brunch.

Brioche Bread

If you live in France or Switzerland, brioche bread can be found in almost every bakery in every town, and it is quite a common treat for breakfast or morning tea.

Brioche buns tend to be quite popular with children, but I know many adults who would happily devour a brioche bun alongside their strong morning coffee.

What is a Brioche?

A French brioche is a type of yeasted bread which is sweetened and rich in butter. In other words, brioche is an enriched dough.

In Europe, especially in France and Switzerland, brioche breads are commonly sold as small buns which are intended to eat at breakfast. I regularly put a small brioche bun in my childrens’ lunch box as a snack.

Some bakeries also sell large loaves of brioche which can be sliced and served toasted or untoasted.

Brioche à Tête

The brioche buns commonly sold in Switzerland are called “Brioche à Tête” because the buns have a little “head” on top of the “body”. It is a funny, but cute, shape and my children always have a good laugh when they see me making this type of brioche.

This shape of brioche is also called “Brioche Parisienne“.

Brioche Recipe

Making French brioche is similar to making bread with yeast.

This brioche recipe requires you to start the day before because, due to the high butter content, chilling the dough will make it easier to handle and shape.

Making Brioche Ahead of Time

If I am making this brioche bread for brunch on the weekend, I like to start the night before.

You will need about 20-30 minutes to make the dough, but while it is proving for 1-2 hours, you can watch a Netflix episode or two 🙂 After that, you simply place the bowl of dough into the fridge and call it a night.

The following morning, get up quite early to transfer the dough to a buttered brioche pan (which you can also prepare the night before), and then let the dough prove again for 2-3 hours. You can either go for an early morning jog or crawl back under the duvet until the brioche dough is ready to bake.

How to Make Brioche Bread

Step 1

Measure the flour, sugar, yeast and salt into the bowl of an electric stand mixer.

This recipe uses instant yeast, so you can add the yeast directly to the dry ingredients.

Step 2

In a small bowl, lightly whisk together the milk and eggs. The milk should be warmed to blood temperature, and the eggs should be at room temperature.

Step 3

Using the dough hook on the stand mixer, mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and keep beating until everything comes together into a sticky dough.

You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice.

Beat on medium speed for 5-10 minutes until you have a ball of sticky dough.

At this stage, the dough should be loosely forming around the bottom of the dough hook.

Step 4

Slowly incorporate the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Repeat until all of the butter has been used.

Beat again on medium-high speed for about 10 to 20 minutes, or until you have a very soft and sticky dough which comes away from the sides of the bowl.

I also recommend doing the windowpane test, which is to stretch a piece of dough from the dough hook, until it is thin enough that you can almost see through the “window” of dough, and without the dough breaking as you do this test.

Beating (or kneading) the dough for a sufficient amount of time will allow you to develop the gluten in the dough, and it is the gluten which will give the dough some elasticity, which in turn will result in a nice chewy texture.

If you don’t knead the dough long enough, the resulting brioche will have a texture more similar to a cake than bread.

Step 5

Lighly oil a large bowl. You will need a bowl that is large enough for the dough to at least triple in size.

Use a dough scraper to remove the brioche dough to the bowl.

Place the bowl somewhere warm for the dough to prove for 1-2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Without touching the dough, cover the bowl with clingfilm, and place the bowl with the risen dough into the fridge to chill overnight.

The dough will rise some more overnight.

Step 6

Remove the bowl of dough from the fridge.

Punch down the dough and gently knead it into a smooth ball. The dough should be very cold and easy to manage.

Butter a large brioche pan, or use some non-stick baking spray.

The brioche pan I use is 22.5 cm/9 inches wide.

To make a Brioche à Tête, separate the dough into two pieces – about 2/3 for the “body” and 1/3 for the “head”.

For the body, roll the larger piece of dough in your hands until you have a smooth ball. Tuck in any seams underneath. Use your thumbs to gently create an indent in the centre of the ball, as if you are creating a donut, but don’t create a hole – just an indent. Place the dough into the brioche pan.

Step 7

For the head, roll the smaller piece of dough until you have a smooth ball. Then gently elongate the ball until it is shaped like a fat log. Insert the log into the indent of the dough already in the brioche pan.

Step 8

Place the brioche pan somewhere warm for the dough to prove for 1-3 hours, or until it has doubled in size. Ideally, the body of the brioche should rise until just under the rim of the brioche pan.

As the dough is cold at this stage, it may need up to 3 hours to prove, but much depends on how warm your room is.

Step 9

When the brioche is ready to bake, gently brush the top with some egg wash.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until it is lightly golden. If you have a digital thermometer, the brioche is cooked if the internal reading is 85°C/185°F.

If it is browning too quickly (check around the 10-15 minute mark), place a sheet of foil over the brioche to stop it from darkening further.

Tips for Making French Brioche

1. I recommend using bread flour when making brioche. Bread flour contains more protein, which is necessary to create more gluten. And it is the gluten which helps to give the brioche bread some elasticity, which will result in a nice, chewy texture.
2. The brioche dough requires at least 3 sessions of proving to develop flavour, as well as the chewy texture. I like to do one warm session of proving (which is “quick”, i.e. 1-2 hours), one overnight session in the fridge (about 8-10 hours), and then a final warm session before baking (about 1-3 hours).
3. You could substitute the overnight proving session in the fridge with another warm session of proving, but the texture will not be as optimal (it will still taste great!).
4. If, for whatever reason, your brioche dough deflates upon the final session of proving (this can happen if there is a sudden change in temperature in the room), simply punch down the dough, roll it into a smooth dough, and return it to the buttered brioche pan. Start the warm proving session again (about 1-2 hours). Your brioche will turn out even better for the extra proving time 😉
5. Sometimes, when making Brioche à Tête, the head may collapse upon proving, or even upon baking, i.e. it will sink into the body of the brioche. It takes a bit of practice to work out the proportion of dough needed for the head, and also how it should be attached to the dough.
6. For a quicker brioche bread, simply roll the dough into a large smooth ball, and prove as per the recipe above. After brushing with egg wash, sprinkle generously with pearl sugar before baking.

How to Proof Dough

Dough needs a warm environment for the yeast to activate and cause the dough to rise. If you don’t have a warm place in your home, try one of the following ideas:

• In the oven with the oven light switched on (works only for some ovens).
• In the oven with a tray of boiling water on the bottom shelf. Use about 1 litre (4 cups) of water, and top up after about 1 hour.
• In the oven at a low temperature of about 25-30°C (77-86°F).

Brioche Loaf

To make a brioche loaf, please see my recipe with step-by-step photos here:

What to Serve with Brioche

Jam is commonly served with brioche, but I love mine with a generous lashing of chocolate hazelnut spread.

More French Recipes

Chouquettes

French Madeleines

Kugelhopf

Print

Update

This recipe was first published on 21 February 2020. It has been updated with new photos and more comprehensive recipe notes.