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Basic Brioche Bread Recipe

Basic Brioche Bread Recipe is made with an egg and butter enriched yeast dough that is very fluffy, yet moist and perfect for so many uses! Serve it sliced for regular or French toast, shape and bake it into an Easter Bread, or serve it as brioche buns for dinner. If you have any leftovers, which is unlikely,  use them to make bread pudding.

I hope that my detailed guide and tutorial will take the intimidation out of working with yeast dough and allow you to bake with joy, instead of fear 😀

Brioche Bread on a cutting board with one bun pulled off.

Whether you decide to slice the brioche bread for sandwiches, or tear it apart and serve as dinner rolls with dinner, this recipe is a must-know for anyone who wants to try their hand at yeast bread making. Understanding how the yeast dough works will take away the intimidation factor out of working with the yeast.

I have tested this recipe in every way possible so that I can share everything you need to know to have a successful batch every time. Whether you have a stand mixer, a bread maker, or decide to make it by hand, you can make brioche at home!

This brioche bread is also the base for my Easter Bread, which you have seen me test out gazzilion times on Instagram. 

Tip – if you just want the recipe, scroll all the way down, otherwise, read on to learn all about mastering brioche.

Brioche Bread being pulled apart by hands.

So, what is Brioche? 

Brioche is a lightly sweetened French bread that is a cross between a bread and a yeast-based pastry. The egg and butter-rich brioche dough is soft, fluffy, and beautifully tender. This type of pastry bread can be used for both sweet and savory purposes like french toast, or a simple egg sandwich.

For a fancier savory version, try a Croque Madame sandwich with brioche bread, ham, cheese, creamy béchamel sauce, and an egg. Can you say “yumm”?

But! Don’t think that this brioche needs anything to “fancy” it up. It’s good just as is! The dough has a pleasant buttery rich flavor, akin to croissant which doesn’t need any dressing up at all. So, a cup of tea or milk and a slice of brioche and you’ve got a perfect breakfast or a snack.

It doesn’t hurt that all that butter in the dough makes this brioche bread stay fresh for as long as 4-5 days! And I don’t mean barely soft, I mean still as good as ever soft!

Brioche Roll is torn open, exposing beautiful strands of rich brioche dough.

The ability to peel the brioche buns in layers is due to the well-developed gluten strands in the dough. The proper gluten formation is achieved when the dough has been kneaded until smooth and tacky to touch.

How to make the Best Brioche

A proper brioche dough needs to be kneaded until soft, smooth, and elastic, then allowed to rise for 1 hour. Next, the brioche dough needs to be refrigerated for 4 hours or up to 2 days. After that, you remove it from the fridge, punch it down and shape it. After the brioche proofs one more time it is ready for baking.

This is a tedious process that does yield the best tasting results. During the refrigeration process, the flavors of brioche deepen, mature, and fully develop. The flour has the time to fully absorb the liquid and the butter can solidify. The cold brioche dough is easy to shape and that’s important since warm, butter ladened dough can be runny and harder to work with.

Brioche Buns with a couple bulled off exposing beautiful bread strands.

Speeding up brioche:

BUT! What if you want brioche, but don’t have the time for refrigeration? Well, go ahead and skip the cold-fermentation in the fridge and just allow it to proof once, before shaping and giving it a final proofing.

I have done this and the flavors and texture were not as good as when you do refrigerate it, but still – very good! So, feel free to skip it, if you must.

The easiest way to make Brioche Dough: 

There are 3 ways to make the brioche dough and there are pros and cons to each. Make your choice depending on your needs and equipment availability.

  • By hand – you most likely already have the equipment (hands), but it is the most labor-intensive. If you have some built-up frustration that needs a way out, this is a good way to get it out! Still, this particular dough starts out very sticky and runny which makes it a bit difficult to knead.
  • With a stand mixer this one is a good choice since it frees up your hands for other things. Do keep an eye on your dough tough, and stop kneading as soon as the dough stops sticking to the sides. Kneading past that point will stretch the gluten too much and the over-kneaded dough will produce tough flat bread.
  • With a bread maker this thing is built just for bread, so naturally, it’s the best and easiest choice for making brioche or any other kind of yeast-based dough. Also, the bread machine doesn’t need a lot of supervision, like the stand mixer method. Out of the three methods, this one is my favorite because the shape of the mixing paddle creates the best motion for stretching those gluten fibers.

Tips for Success: 

  • Check your yeast: if you haven’t used your yeast in a while and don’t know it is still active, dissolve the yeast in a little bit of warm water with a teaspoon of sugar and leave to proof or puff up for about 5-10 minutes. If it gets bubbly and puffy, use it. If not, do not even attempt the recipe until you get unexpired yeast.
  • Use Canadian or bread flour if available. The increased protein/gluten content of these flours is best for yeast-based baked goods.
  • Use Red Star Platinum yeast. This yeast is very forgiving and will provide phenomenal results even if you’re a novice baker. If you try it once, you’ll never go back to any other, just like I haven’t. It is more expensive than other yeast, but only about 1$ per batch, so not too bad.
  • Make sure to knead the brioche dough until it looks very smooth and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl as it spins around. This is a sign that gluten is well developed. If it doesn’t look smooth, just continue mixing and it will!
  • Use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients for consistent results. Using a cup to scoop flour (sifted or unsifted) will yield different amounts every time. Using a scale is your golden ticket to success.
Brioche dough has lots of butter and eggs, which makes it rich an delicious. This yeast dough is perfect for sandwiches, toast and dinner rolls.

One of the most delicious ways to enjoy these Brioche Buns is to tear them apart, then spread some butter and top with jam – apricot or peach jam is my favorite!

I would like to finish this super long pre-recipe post with uses for brioche dough or loaf –

Brioche Dough & Bread Uses:

  • Hamburger Buns
  • Easter or Panetonne type holiday Bread
  • Hot Dog Buns
  • Filled Pastries
  • Hot Cross Buns
  • French Toast (stuffed w/ Nutella & strawberries? 😀 )
  • Grilled Cheese Sandwich
  • Bread Pudding
  • Brioche Croque Monsieur & Croque Madame Sandwiches

Now that you’re armed with all this knowledge, let’s get to the recipe itself!

Brioche Bread Recipe

Brioche Ingredients

  • Brioche dough uses classic ingredients: flour, eggs, milk, butter, sugar, yeast, and salt. I add vanilla and more sugar if I know the brioche bread will be used as a dessert. I omit the vanilla and use less sugar if the bread will be used for savory purposes.

How to make Brioche Bread

  • Combine all ingredients except for butter and salt in a mixer bowl, or the bread maker. Knead for about 20 minutes or until smooth and pulls away from the sides. The dough should look smooth, pull away from the sides and be very soft without holding shape well. If the dough still looks runny even after kneading, add a little bit more flour, one tablespoon at a time. Do not add too much flour or the brioche will be dense and heavy.
  • Do not overknead or the brioche bread won’t rise as well and will be dense and heavy.
  • Add the butter in halves, then the salt. Allow the dough to knead it in. You might have to break the dough into chunks to help the mixer or the bread machine to knead the butter in. This might take about 10-15 minutes.
  • Tip: If using the bread machine for the kneading and proofing, you can add the butter and salt when the machine beeps, signaling that it’s time to add the “add-ins”. This usually happens bout 20 minutes into the kneading.

    If the butter doesn’t fully incorporate before the bread machine stops kneading and starts the “proofing cycle”, turn the dough cycle OFF and ON again and let the dough go through one more kneading cycle (another “DOUGH” cycle). The extra kneading time will be perfect to finish the kneading.

  • Tip: To save time, all ingredients (including butter and salt) can be added together and kneaded until the gluten is well-developed, the dough is elastic and stops sticking to the bowl. Adding the butter and salt right away, can make take longer to get to the point where it doesn’t stick to the sides.

From left to right: 1 – liquids added; 2 – flour & yeast added; 3 – dough comes together but looks chunky; 4 – the dough is smoother, but not there yet; 5 – the dough is smooth AND doesn’t stick to sides, time to add butter; 6 – the dough is torn into chunks to help the butter incorporate; 7 – more butter is added; 8 – salt is added; 9 – the dough looks smooth and ready for proofing.

  • If you’re planning to make the brioche with dried fruits, chocolate, citrus zest, or other add-ins, knead them in after adding the butter just until they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Brioche dough has lots of butter and eggs, which makes it rich an delicious. This yeast dough is perfect for sandwiches, toast and dinner rolls.

The process for making the dough with add-ins (Add-ins: dried fruits soaked in hot water or rum, then drained or chocolate & orange zest) is the same as making the regular brioche, except for the addition of add-ins after the incorporation of the butter into the brioche dough.

Shape & Bake Brioche Bread

  • Once kneaded, allow the dough to proof for 1 hour, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
  • Next, split the dough into 16 or 8 pieces and roll into tight balls. Divide between 2 pans if making smaller (16 pcs) loaves, or arrange in one 9″x5″ bread pan and allow to proof again. Next, brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with poppy seeds if you’d like, then bake until golden.

  • Allow the brioche bread to cool, then tear or slice and enjoy! Whether you make it as one big loaf or two smaller loaves, now you’ve got the most delicious piece of rich, buttery bread you’ll ever have. Enjoy!

Brioche dough has lots of butter and eggs, which makes it rich an delicious. This yeast dough is perfect for sandwiches, toast and dinner rolls.

Check out these other yeast-based baked goods:

Brioche Bread Recipe

Brioche dough has lots of butter and eggs, which makes it rich an delicious. This yeast dough is perfect for sandwiches, toast and dinner rolls.
4.66 from 44 votes

Basic Brioche Bread Recipe is an enriched yeast dough made with lots of eggs and butter. This buttery pastry bread is perfect as dinner rolls or the best french toast among a ton of other things.

Author: Marina | Let the Baking Begin
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: French
Keyword: brioche bread, brioche dough, brioche rolls, yeast dough
Calories: 181 kcal
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 16

Ingredients

Brioche dough Ingredients

  • 35 ml water or milk (35 ml = 2 tbsp+1tsp)
  • 1 packet instant dry yeast (1 packet = 2 1/4 tsp)(use Platinum Yeast for best results)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3-8 tbsp granulated sugar (use less for savory, more for sweet dough)
  • 350 g bread flour works best, but all-purpose flour will work too (350 g = about 2 1/3 scooped cups)
  • 3/4 cup soft, but cold temperature, cubed unsalted butter (3/4 cup = 12 tbsp)
  • 1 tsp kosher salt (use 3/4 tsp if using table salt)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (use only if brioche will be used for dessert)

Optional Add ins for Sweet Brioche

  • 1 cup dried and rehydrated in hot water or alcohol fruits (do this 30 minutes or several days ahead)
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1 tbsp orange or lemon zest

Instructions

How to make Brioche Dough

  1. Prep: Grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray, set aside. 

    Measure and prep all of the ingredients. Weigh the ingredients for best results.

    Check your yeast to make sure it's active, if you need to (Note 1).

  2. Combine and knead: Add 4 eggs, 3 to 8 tablespoons of sugar (Note 2), 1 tsp of vanilla (if using), and 2 tbsp + 1 tsp of water in a mixer bowl or the bread machine. Top with 350 g flour and 2 1/4 tsp of instant yeast (note 2) and knead on low speed until it barely comes together. Then, knead on medium-low speed for about 20 minutes (on a KitchenAid stand mixer - speed 3) or until the dough looks smooth, and doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl (tacky to touch). If you keep kneading past this stage the dough will start to look chunky and flow into a puddle, all a sign that it has been over-kneaded.

    If using the bread maker for kneading the dough, keep the lid open to prevent the dough from warming too much and melting the butter. When the gluten is fully developed in the dough and it looks smooth, elastic and doesn't stick to the bowl as it spins around the bowl, stop kneading. - The dough will still stick to hands and everything else if allowed to stay for longer than 1 second, but when it spins around the bowl, you will see it pull away from the sides. 

  3. Check for gluten development: Another way to make sure the gluten is developed (windowpane test) is to stretch a small piece of the dough into a square, creating a "window" - if the dough gets very thin, smooth and translucent and doesn't' tear in that window, the gluten is well developed. 

    Brioche Dough Proper Gluten Development - Windowpane Test. The dough looks smooth and stretches into a thin film.
  4. Add butter and salt: Next, add butter in halves, in small cubes and continue kneading until the butter is fully incorporated about 15-20 minutes. You might have to break the dough into small chunks to make the incorporation with the butter easier. 

  5. Add optional add-ins (Note 3)

    Add the dried and re-hydrated fruits, citrus zest,  chips or any other add-ins halfway through the butter being incorporated into the dough. 

  6. Rise and chill: Allow the dough to rise at room temperature*** for 1 hour (or until almost doubled in size), then cover and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days (note 4). 

  7. After that, remove from the fridge and shape working quickly as not to warm up and melt the butter in the dough.

Shape

  1. This amount of dough will make either one big loaf, two smaller ones, or 16 dinner rolls.

    For two smaller loaves, split the dough into 16 pieces, then roll each piece into a tight ball and arrange 8 pieces in each of 9"x5" parchment-lined bread pan.

    For one larger loaf, divide the dough into 8 and roll each into a ball. Arrange the shaped balls in one 9"x5" parchment-lined pan.

    For dinner rolls, divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll into tight, smooth balls. Add to a 9"x12" baking pan spacing evenly.

    Allow to rise until at least doubled in size, about 3 hours (Note 5). This rise is longer since the dough needs to come to room temperature before it can start rising.

    Lightly brush the tops with the whisked egg yolk and sprinkle with poppy seeds if you wish.

How to bake the Brioche:

  1. Place in a preheated to 350°F oven and bake until golden-brown in color. The more sugar the dough has, the deeper brown in color it will be.

    ~20 minutes for 2 loaves.

    ~35-40 min for 1 loaf, or until the inside registers 185°F degrees and the tops are golden in color. 

    ~or until the tops are evenly golden brown.

    If the dough browns too fast, loosely tent the top with foil. 

    Remove from the oven and leave in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

How to store Brioche

  1. Store the Brioche Loaves in a ziplock bag for up to 4 days or tightly wrap with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month. 

Recipe Notes

Note 1: how to check if the yeast is active:

  • Do this if you're not sure if the yeast is still active, or if using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast.
    Dissolve the yeast in the water (amounts in the ingredient list) with 1 tsp of sugar. Allow to proof in a warm place for 5-10 minutes. If the mixture gets foamy and bubbly, use it (add with the liquid ingredients). If not, do not attempt the recipe until you get good, active yeast.

Note 2: sugar amount

  • Use more if using the brioche for dessert-like purposes or less if using it for savory purposes.

Note 3: adding dried fruits

  • Soak the dried fruits (blueberries, cranberries, chopped apricots, raisins, etc.) in warm water or rum (Bacardi rum works well) for at least 30 minutes, or better yet - up to several days ahead. Keep refrigerated if soaking more than a couple of hours ahead. Then drain and shake off or paper towel dry all excess moisture.
    Knead the dried fruits into the dough right before all the butter is kneaded in.

Note 4: 

  • The refrigeration can be skipped if short on time. Do not skip if possible. Refrigeration firms up the dough and makes it easier to work with as well as deepens the flavor.

Note 5: places for proofing the dough:

  1. Oven with the light on is a great place for proofing dough, it is draft-free and the light makes the temperature slightly warmer than room temperature.
  2. The top of the fridge or cabinets is another good place. The temperature is higher, the higher up it is.
  3. Boil water in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Then remove the water and quickly place the bowl with the dough inside. Shut the door and do not open until the dough has doubled in size.

If making dinner rolls with Brioche Dough: 

Bake in a 9"x12" buttered baking pan.

Nutrition Facts
Brioche Bread Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 181 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 63mg21%
Sodium 237mg10%
Potassium 45mg1%
Carbohydrates 19g6%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 325IU7%
Calcium 12mg1%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Marina | Let the Baking Begin

Welcome to Let the Baking Begin! I'm Marina and my love and passion for eating only the most delicious foods drive me to share that love here on Let the Baking Begin (since 2009). With over 20 years of experience in the kitchen, you know the recipes are tested and retested until perfect. I'm so happy to have you here. Enjoy! Read more...

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  • Shawna Dane

    This recipe is wonderful and tastes great. I baked it yesterday (with chocolate chip in it) and it turned out great. Thank you for sharing all your recipes.

    · Reply
  • Christine Jefferson

    This recipe is phenomenal. I’ve made it several times and used it for brioche Rilke and Babka.

    I was intimidated to make brioche, but the directions were very easy to follow. Be sure to weigh ingredients and use European butter and bread flour.

    Also, I found that dough chilled for 36+ hours was much better than dough chilled for 24 hours.

    · Reply
  • Christine

    This looks really good please send me the website thank you

    · Reply
  • Edward

    Hi, thanks for sharing your recipes, we make these brioche bread all the time. We mostly add aniseed to the mix and then we dry them out after they had been separated. We do it like the old pioneer’s way back when they trekked for many miles. Like them we dry them out and store them, then dunk them in our tea or coffee in the morning, it is and old tradition by us.

    · Reply
  • Sarah

    LOVE this recipe, it’s my go to for brioche and is always big hit with everyone who has it. I now make a double batch whenever I make it and keep the dough in the fridge for a week-week and a half, just taking out a small amount whenever I want to have some. The second proofing from the fridge takes at least 4 hours and ideally longer. I usually roll the dough into balls in the morning around 9 or 10 and bake around 5 or 6. It is worth noting I live in San Francisco so the weather is seldom warm, which may contribute to the longer proofing time before baking.
    I do have a question, I never add the butter until the dough has passed the window pain test but then after adding I wait until it can pass the test again, is the gluten able to further develop after the addition of butter or does that only happen prior?

    · Reply
    • Hi Sarah,
      Thank you for such a nice review and feedback.

      As to the windowpane test, typically if you have reached the windowpane test before adding the butter, you should be able to achieve the windowpane test as soon as the butter is well incorporated. Does this not happen for you?

      · Reply
  • Jason L

    You ask for a greased bowl at the very start, but I don’t see anywhere in the directions for the dough to be transferred to the greased bowl. Which step should that be at?

    · Reply
  • Jana

    I just made this recipe for the first time. Yum! I made it in my bread machine and had to make a few adjustments but I’m happy with the results. I added the butter a bit too late in the kneading cycle so I was worried it wasn’t fully incorporated. Following the directions, I stopped and restarted the dough cycle and checked after a few minutes. Soup! I decided to try to save it by adding more flour until the dough began to pull away from the sides. Success! I let it do the first proof in the machine, dumped it in a bowl, and refrigerated for about 2 hours (I had limited time). Formed it into 16 rolls and let them raise in the microwave with a boiling cup of water until doubled. Baked for 18 minutes. Lovely and delicious! Thank you! I’ll keep tweaking it a bit but I think this is a winner.

    · Reply
  • Baker With No Time to Waste

    So much to scroll through to get to the recipe. So many ads. Yuck. Unpleasant to read.

    · Reply
    • Hello “Baker with no time to waste”, I appreciate you sharing your valuable feedback.
      For such busy people as yourself I have included a “jump to recipe” button right at the top of the page which will bypass all of the valuable tips that I include for free to you with all of my recipes to ensure that you have a successful experience the first time around, straight to the recipe printout.

      Creating and perfecting recipes requires a lot of time and effort on my part, because I put my heart and soul into what I do and because I care for you to succeed. To offset the cost of my time and effort (cuz you know, what we all got to eat) this site is being supported by ads.

      If clicking the “jump to recipe” button or scrolling through the ads to get to the recipe that is free to you is too much, I guess purchasing a cookbook with your own heard earned money money is your next best choice.
      Because after all, all recipes you find online use the same method of offsetting the cost of running such a website.

      · Reply
      • Onebadcookie

        Very well said! As the old saying goes, ” You can satisfy some of the people some of the time but you can’t satisfy all of the people all of the time”! I wonder if the Baker With No Time to Waste watches TV? I will be trying this recipe out as we love Brioche in any way, shape or form. Thank you for taking the time and energy to post and share all of your wonderful recipes to all of us.

        · Reply
  • Monique Lim

    Hello, came across your recipe, thanks for sharing!

    Can you tell me how many grams is 3/4 cup butter?

    Will certainly give it s try soon. Love brioche!

    · Reply
  • Ana

    Hi,
    Are the optional add-ins of dried fruit and white chocolate chips supposed be added in those amounts together at the same time? Is it recommended that any add-ins total 1 and 3/4 cups? Thank you!

    · Reply
    • Hi Ana,
      Yes, when I want my brioche to have those additional add-ins I add all of them. The brioche becomes a little more heavy from the addition, but it adds so much in flavor that I’m ok with the change in texture. If you’d prefer for it to be lighter, then you can reduce the amount of add-ins by 1/4 or even half.

      · Reply
  • Linda

    After reading instructions, I did not see anything about baking bread in the bread maker. Would that be not a good thing.

    · Reply
  • Hugo

    Wait, why did I grease up a large bowl? Should I transfer the dough from the mixer’s bowl to it? I put the whole thing in the fridge.

    · Reply
  • Irina

    Do I mix the butter another 20 minutes that I already mixed it or it’s 20 minutes all together?

    · Reply
    • The timing is only a suggestion, you should go by the looks of the dough. Knead the dough until it is smooth, elastic and stretches into a thin window. Then, mix the butter until it is thoroughly incorporated, probably around 5 minutes.

      · Reply
      • Irina

        Oh ok thanks!!

        · Reply
  • Sandy Reiber

    Marina, I’m not sure, from your instructions…. I want to use my bread machine, but to you do all the mixing using it and then everything else by hand and bake in a regular oven….not the machine?
    Can’t wait to try this. Brioche is my favorite bread!

    · Reply
    • Hi Sandy,
      Yes, you mix the dough in the bread machine and let it rise, then shape it, let it rise again and bake it in the oven.

      I have tried to bake it in the bread machine, but it tends to rise high and then kind of shrink after removing it from the bread pan. It still has all the great flavors, just a little crooked if I can say that. That’s why I baked it in the oven.

      · Reply
  • Leslie Korngold

    This was my first bread effort. I actually made the brioche in muffin cups. The taste was incredible, but the texture was more like a corn muffin than a pull-apart bread. What could have caused that, please?

    · Reply
    • Hi Leslie,
      thank you for your honest review.

      I wonder if the dough was over-proofed, or possibly not proofed enough? Did it double in size after proofing?

      · Reply
  • Rose

    I followed the recipe exactly and it went great until I tried eating it. The texture was nice but it smelled and tasted like pure alcohol. Not a yeasty beer flavor but straight up vodka. It’s edible but doesn’t taste like brioche.
    What did I do wrong????

    · Reply
    • Hi Rose,
      Sounds like the dough was over-proofed. Next time you try it, make sure to only proof it until it doubles in size. When you poke the dough, it should spring back slowly, and still leave a small indent.

      If you poke it and it doesn’t fill in at all, it means the dough is overproofed and if baked it will smell very alcohol-y and yeasty, and it will most likely bake flat, not fluffy.

      · Reply
  • Jessica

    Disaster. Followed the recipe to a T. I even had bread flour. The dough never became anything more than a gluey mess. I went through an entire roll of paper towels trying to get the dough out of my mixer bowl. It was like cement. Something is not right with this recipe.

    · Reply
    • Hi Jessica,
      I’m sorry to hear things didn’t go well 🙁

      Here are a couple of reasons why that might’ve happened:

      • The dough does start out with a runny texture, but as it is kneaded and the gluten is stimulated it should stop sticking to the bowl and form a smooth ball around the kneading hook that flattens out as the mixer is stopped.
      • If the dough never got to that stage it could be that it was not kneaded enough, or it could be that after reaching the gluten formation stage, it was kneaded past that at which point the gluten strands tear and the dough looks like a chunky thick batter.
      • The last reason, which is a more rare case but I did have this happen for the first time about a year ago, so I’ll mention it – If the bread flour was of bad quality. I have been buying the same brand of flour for the last 15 years. Last year I bought a new 25lb bag and everything I made turned out heavy and dense. I thought that I was doing something wrong until I bought a new bag of flour and everything went back to its normal, fluffy texture. So, I think it’s worth noting that this can happen.
      · Reply
  • Betty

    Thanks for the careful details about brioche! I will try it out, definitely! I was looking for a recipe I used many years ago. It was for a square loaf sandwich bread. The butter is thin sliced cold and incorporated as it is kneaded. The resulting texture is smooth as pound cake and can me sliced 1/4 inch thick without falling apart. It is baked in a lidded pan like Pullman bread. I just wanted a refresher on exactly how to work the dough. I tried it recently but couldn’t get the cold butter to incorporate thoroughly and the texture didn’t turn out as fine as I remembered. The recipe called for a large proportion of butter may be similar to the proportions in brioche, but the texture was quite Smooth and very delicate

    · Reply
  • Dani

    How long do I keep them in the oven when making buns?

    · Reply
  • Karen Basallote

    Hi Marina!!!

    Thanks you for sharing your recipe!!! It’s the best!! My family loves it so much! Im from the Philippines. And can’t wait to share this to everyone. Stay safe!

    Karen

    · Reply
  • Catherine

    Also, I wonder if I can use active dry yeast instead of instant?

    · Reply
    • yes, you can, just make sure to dissolve it in milk from the recipe for 5-10 min before using.

      · Reply
    • I followed the recipe exactly. Used my bread machine on the 1 1/2 lb setting. The bread would be very tasty except the crust is thick and a little burned. What can I do differently?

      · Reply
      • Hi Amanda,
        This brioche bread has a good amount of sugar which makes the crust darker. If you want to try it again, I would reduce the sugar amount by may be half, since it sounds like your bread maker is baking it at a bit higher temp than mine.

        · Reply
  • Catherine

    Hi Marina, could I use some whole wheat flour in this recipe?

    · Reply
  • Mannie

    The dough was super runny after the second knead cycle in the bread machine. It was pretty much like custard. I added extra 75g of all purpose flour and it came together right away. The dough doubled in an hour as well. I have put it in the fridge (the machine pan itself) to shape and bake tomorrow 🙂

    · Reply
  • Steff

    Thank you very much for this delicious recipe. I love the detailed instructions and the pictures of the different steps for the dough, it was very easy to compare to mine. I had to do 2 complete 24 minutes kneading cycles (48 minutes total) to get my dough look like yours though. The dough took a very long time to not stick to the sides, I followed the recipe, weighed and measured carefully each ingredients. It is maybe because it is very hot in Texas at the moment, I am not sure, but it eventually formed a ball and stopped sticking. I skipped the 4h fridge, it didn’t have any impact when baking. I’ll make more soon and refrigerate it this time to see if the difference in taste is worth the wait. I really enjoyed making it, and my family, eating it ! Needless to say it was a success ! It was fluffy and very very good !

    · Reply
  • Ee Mun

    I’ve tried your recipe a few times. It is very delicious and very forgiving even if I made some mistakes.

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  • Mouna

    I am in the process of making it in my bread maker and I have added the butter but it’s still not coming off the sides should I keep kneading it until it does or shall I let it rise in the fridge as the butter must be warm now

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  • Beatrice

    Hey, I’m gonna try this recipe, it looks soooo good! But I was wondering, I only have normal/small size eggs. Should I use 5 eggs? Or maybe one extra yolk? Thanks!

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  • Sarah Siegel

    Brioche is one of my very favorite indulgences, and since San Francisco has been sheltering in place since mid March I haven’t been able to get it. I finally decided to just try making it and went with your recipe. It was absolutely perfection! Your instructions were so clear and helpful, thank you!! I’ve already made it 4 or 5 times and my family and neighbors all agree it’s amazing!

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  • Iris

    After I tried a bunch of brioche recipes on the Internet. I might say this one is a keeper for brioche making from the bread machine so far. Success every single time I made without adding additional flour or eggs. I did twisted it to be Matcha brioche/ Pandan brioche/ Mocha brioch or even pumpkin brioche and everyone so I love with it. One of my friend even said it’s the best bread I’ve ever bake. THANK YOU!!!

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  • Zoey

    Amazing recipe! The bread came out great, very good flavor, light and fluffy! Unfortunately, it didn’t rise evenly. The 2 rows tilt to the side so it’s off centered, anyone know the reason why?

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    • Hi Zoey,
      For an even rise you need to make sure that your braid strands are all even. If they’re uneven in any part, the finished braid will also be uneven.

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  • Ashleigh

    I am giving this 4 stars not because this is bad but simply my own stressfull experience, thinking I had killed the yeast at least twice, it looked like pudding while I was hand kneading as I don’t have a stand mixer or bread maker.

    The dough was VERY sticky before the butter and made worse after, not sure if it is suppose to be like that ( first time making any kind of bread) it’s in the oven now waiting for it to be done, I had to scrape it off my hands the counter, the scraper haha.

    All In all I am pleased with the way it smells probably won’t forget this experience though.

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    • Mike

      Brioche is a really unfortunate first bread! It starts out like a sticky, elastic cake batter where every other dough is a malleable, soft, solid ball of mmmm. I’m pretty sure everyone’s first brioche is fraught with dread and panic haha.

      If you had a stand mixer or bread machine, then you could’ve watched the dough come together into a more traditional dough that doesn’t coat your hands when you touch it. I can’t even imagine trying to knead that mess by hand!

      If you try brioche again without a stand mixer or bread maker, then you could try a hand mixer. It may get you through the worst of the stickiness! It may also climb up the beaters and make a hell of a mess haha.

      I can’t recommend a kitchen aid stand mixer enough, though! Very practical appliance that can do myriad things, not just bread 😀

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  • Mary Murray

    I wish I saw this recipe before making brioche bread in my bread machine for a crumb coffee cake. I did not knead long enough. I should have turned the machine off and then on again for more kneading. Next time I will follow your recipe. The dough also didn’t rise very much. The crumb cake was a bit dense and yeasty tasting. Not my best cooking! Great post!

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  • Katy

    So I have a question….I didn’t use this exact recipe, but I did try making brioche. While the inside was soft, the outside was like a bread hard and crunchy (though less so than a typical bread). Any idea what could have gone wrong?

    On that note I’ll have to give your recipe a try – it looks DELICIOUS!

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    • Mike

      There are several possibilities. Insufficient moisture, overly hot oven temp, too long in the oven, etc…

      I recommend experimenting with parchment paper in the pan, using an egg wash, and baking until preferred level of brown and then covering the pan with tin foil. If it’s still crusty, then try adding fluid in 5% increments per bake. Whole milk or mixing whipping cream with lower fat milks preferred!

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  • Lena

    One more thing to add My bread machine was done with the kneading but the dough wasnt ready to add the butter yet. I quickly moved the dough to the mixer and continued kneading until it was ready to add the butter in.
    This is a very convenient recipe because you can prep everything one day, put it in the fridge and bake it the next day…
    Fail proof recipe from the very first time.
    I felt so proud of myself that I was able to do it successfully. Thank you
    For providing all the tips for succsess !!

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    • Thank you so much for sharing such detailed feedback! Good thinking on moving it to the mixer to get it to the proper gluten development before adding the butter!
      In the past, I have also just turned the bread machine cycle one more time so that I don’t have to dirty up the mixer in order to finish the kneading.

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  • Lena

    Hi Marina! Yesterday I made the recipe. Followed the instructions precisely, i.e. purchased the yeast, bread flour and a scale.
    This recipe is a winner!!! My family all had a taste, and my Dad said that he has never tasted this kind of bread in his lifetime, so soft and melt in your mouth.
    This was my first time trying baking brioche type of bread. I had a feeling it would turn out perfect because all your recipes always turn out successfully.
    Thanks again!!!

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  • Gita

    My brioche came out so good! I let the dough chill in a greased bowl for a couple hours until I realized that in the picture description at the top it seemed like the recipe called for dividing the dough into balls, placing them in their pans and THEN putting them in the fridge. So then I did that and left it overnight. In the morning I took them out, re-shaped the balls, and let them proof in the turned-off oven with my oven light on for 2 hours, which let them rise considerably. The loaves came out great! Wish I could post pictures as proof! Thanks Marina!

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    • I love hearing about your success with this recipe. I appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback! Thank you Gita!

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  • Jaia

    I followed the recipe but my dough is not rising at all. I left it room temperature for an hour and the fridge for 4 hours but its dense and not bouncing back. Is there any hope for thia batch?

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    • This is an indication that you either forgot the yeast or your yeast is not active/expired. You’d need to start over with good yeast 🙁

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  • Va

    Hi Marina,
    SOS I’m making your paska right now, i measured and weighted everything but the dough was so runny in the bread machine i cant even hold it in my hand it just drips off my fingers. Then i thought maybe I’ll have a different result in my Kitchen Aid and almost same results there, maybe just slightly thicker but it still drips off there is no way i can shape into anything at all. What am i doing wrong? I followed the directions to the T. I am using all purpose flower though, could that play such a big role? Please help, thank you

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    • Hi Vera, if it’s very warm in your house it could be that the butter is too soft and it’s making the dough too runny. Just knead it for the appropriate amount Of time then refrigerate. It will shape up in the fridge and be easier to work with.

      If you have Instagram you can shoot me a message with the picture of the dough.

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  • Marina

    I am a little bit confused with the process because it is described in different ways throughout your post. In one place it says to refrigerate the dough before shaping it. In the other place it says to shape right away and then refrigerate, take them out and reshape the rolls. If I refrigerated my dough before I shaped the rolls, do I bake them after they rise, or I need to put them in the fridge and reshape? Thank you

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    • Hi Marina,
      The post discribes different methods to getting to the end result.

      If you have the time, do refrigerate the dough, then punch it down, shape it and let it rise again before putting in the oven to bake.

      If you do not have the time for the refrigeration, then knead the dough, let it rise (skip refrigeration), punch down the dough, shape and bake.

      The shaping before refrigeration is an optional step. I like to split the dough before refrigeration, that way I don’t have to dirty up my table to divide the dough hours later. Instead, you just remove the ball pieces out of the baking pan, reshape them and put them back into the pan, then allow to rise and bake.

      Hope this helps!

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  • Ira

    In the prep step, you mention to grease a bowl and set aside. Am I using the greased bowl to let the dough rise? Or to place the ingredients for mixing? Also, my dough seems a little sticky, it’s not pulling away from the bowl when kneading (I have kitchenaid 6qt pro 600), I used bread flour, and I don’t gave a scale. Do I need more flour?

    · Reply
    • Grease bowl is to let the dough rise in it.
      The dough will be sticky, but when it’s being kneaded and rotating around the bowl you will see a change in the consistency and how it stops sticking to the sides. If it hasn’t changed, continue kneading until it does.

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      • RC

        Hi Marina!

        What type of bread machine are you using? I have the Cuisinart Convection which is an amazing machine but I’ve had others in the past that were not. It’s worth spending the money on a good machine as the belts break when kneading heavier doughs in the more inexpensive machines.

        I also want to say that in reading your responses you must be the most patient person. Your responses are clear, honest and respectful and your knowledge is tremendous.

        Thank You and Great Job!!

        RC

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        • Hi RC,
          I have had my bread machine for 15 years and it worked without fail. Now that I got a new one I noticed that the new one bakes the bread a bit darker, which I love. I agree with you, a good bread maker is a great investment since it can last quite awhile.

          Thank you, so much, for your kind comment! I love what I do and my main purpose is to help people get better at cooking at baking. I hope that by answering people’s comments I’m achieving that goal

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  • maureen silverwood

    What are the cup measurements in grams pls?

    · Reply
    • Click the “Metric” right below the ingredient list in the recipe card and it will list the ingredients in the metric system.

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