Classic Brioche

2 hours 0 mins Prep Time

40 mins Cook Time

Written By

Nadia Boachie

Brioche is a soft, buttery, pillowy French pastry bread. It is time consuming to make but the end result is well worth it. Serve it warm, at breakfast and slice it and enjoy with butter and jam. It is known as a viennoiserie, which means it is classified as a baked good made from leavened yeast dough, like croissants. What makes brioche so tasty is all the butter and eggs that go into making it, not so different from other traditional French desserts we are familiar with. This loaf needs to proof twice to get that perfect fluffy final texture. The best part about brioche is that like most breads, it can be sliced, frozen and it keeps well. I love using brioche for French toast or bread pudding so perhaps if you find yourself with a whole loaf and are looking for creative ways to use it up, just know the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients

Classic Brioche

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 tablespoons whole milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup eggs (approximately 2 1/2 eggs)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
10 1/2 tablespoons (150 grams) unsalted butter, softened
Butter, for greasing pan
Oil, for greasing plastic wrap
1 egg, for egg wash

Directions

Classic Brioche

20 Steps

Step 1

Make dough: In a small bowl, mix 1 teaspoon of sugar, yeast and milk together. Set aside for 10 minutes until foamy.
Step 2

Use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and add flour, eggs, salt, the rest of your sugar and your yeast mixture, mix on medium speed until all ingredients are combined. Mix for 15 minutes.
Step 3

Add your butter a tablespoon at a time every 30 seconds until all butter is incorporated. Trust the process and keep mixing. The dough will get sticky and pasty but keep mixing on speed 1 for about 4 minutes until your dough comes together. You will need to scrape the sides of the bowl periodically.
Step 4

You may need to trouble shoot if your butter is not incorporating completely. Add one tablespoon of flour and keep kneading until it comes together. Trust the process and just keep kneading.
Step 5

Mix on speed 2 for an additional 20 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl every now and then.
Step 6

After 20 minutes, your dough will be soft but you should be able to pick it up.
Step 7

You should be able to stretch your dough out very thin without it ripping.
Step 8

Rise: Shape your dough into a ball, place in your mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. It should double in size. This is the first rise.
Step 9

After the dough has risen, punch down, place on a floured surface and divide into three. Shape into three balls which should be about 225 grams each.
Step 10

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for 1.5 hours or overnight.
Step 11

After an hour and a half (or overnight) remove from fridge and on a floured surface form each ball into a log about 14 inches long.
Step 12

Braid the three logs together tucking in the end.
Step 13

Place the braided loaf into a buttered loaf pan.
Step 14

Spray cling wrap with oil and cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place for 3 hours until just over doubled in size. It may need more than 3 hours to rise if you place in fridge overnight. This is the second rise.
Step 15

When ready to bake: Preheat oven to 390°F when dough is almost ready.
Step 16

Place shelf on the lower 1/3 of the oven.
Step 17

Gently brush your brioche with a whisked egg.
Step 18

Bake for 15 minutes, uncovered, until golden and then bake covered loosely with foil for another 20 minutes. Depending on your oven, you may only need to tent with foil for 10 minutes if your brioche does not look that brown after 15 minutes.
Step 19

Turn out of pan and onto cooling rack and let cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing.
Step 20

Slice, serve and enjoy!