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Homemade Brioche

Soft, fluffy, buttery, and oh so delicious. That’s the perfect way to describe this Homemade Brioche! Made with pantry staples – flour, salt, sugar, yeast, a few eggs, a splash of milk, and some butter. All you need to do is mix the dough and refrigerate overnight, shape, braid, and bake! It’s simple, but truly has an incredible flavor. Every bite is soft with a perfect amount of crunch from the crust, buttery, and just SO. GOOD. You’ll definitely want to keep this bread stocked in your fridge for every occasion. Serve with with a generous smear of butter, as a delicious french toast, for sandwiches, or just when you want a delicious slice of bread!

brioche on wire serving tray with crumbs around, a knife, and a slice in front

→ This post is also available as a Web Story: The Best Homemade Brioche

About The Recipe

Homemade brioche is a must-have staple in our pantry. It’s such an easy bread to make that tastes great, too!

Actually, the very first thing we made with this was actually our Pumpkin French Toast. It seemed like a great way to really kind of kick off the mornings with a seasonal treat! But, after making the french toast, we realized that we hadn’t shared our brioche yet!

Which, we needed to remedy asap! This bread is the best kind of bread for really anything. It’s soft, fluffy, buttery, and just kind of melts in your mouth.

The best part? The bread only needs seven pantry staple ingredients! From there, you mix everything together and then knead until smooth. It’s refrigerated overnight because the dough is very soft. It helps with shaping, but also develops some wonderful flavors.

Homemade bread is always a good idea to make, but especially when it’s something this simple! Oh, and don’t worry about the braiding if you’re not too good at it. We did a simple twist braid to keep it simple, but still have that WOW! factor.

brioche on serving tray with knife, cup of flour behind, and wheat

Equipment Needed

  • A Mixer
  • Small Pot
  • Dough Rising Buckets
  • Sharp Knife or Bench Knife
  • Small Loaf Pan
  • Thermometer

Ingredients

  • Bread Flour
  • Salt
  • Granulated Sugar
  • Instant Yeast
  • Unsalted Butter
  • Whole Milk
  • Large Eggs
butter, sugar, eggs, flour, milk, salt, and yeast on marble counter

How To Make Brioche

Combine milk and butter in small pot. Place over medium-low heat until the butter is melted. Set aside.

Mix together flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a mixer bowl.

Stir in the butter mixture.

Mix in the eggs. Change to a dough hook and knead for 10-12 minutes, or until the dough is smooth.

Place in a greased container and allow to rise for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight.

dough in plastic container

When you’re ready to bake, place dough on a lightly floured surface and cover for 20-30 minutes. Uncover and shape the dough into a small loaf. Cut in two even strands.

Pinch the ends of the stands together. Place the right strand over the left strand, then repeat. It should look like it’s twisted. Pinch the ends again and tuck under.

Place in loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature, about an hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes, or until done.

baked brioche on marble counter

Brioche: FAQ’s and Troubleshooting


I don’t have a mixer. Can I make this by hand?
This bread really needs to be made in a mixer! While it’s doable, it takes twice as long to knead and it’s a whole lot of work. It’s always best to use a stand mixer.

Can I make more than one loaf?
Actually, you can! We have a button in the recipe card to double or triple this recipe.

Why is my dough sticky and wet?
This brioche is an ENRICHED dough! This means there is a lot of butter and a lot of eggs, which also means it’s a lot softer dough than most other bread doughs!

How can I tell when my dough is kneaded properly?
A properly kneaded dough should be smooth and shiny. The bowl of the mixer should also be VERY clean and the dough should lift out of the mixer in one piece, rather than ripping into two pieces.

The dough is still soft! Do I need to add more flour?
Have you been kneading the dough long enough? Is it smooth and shiny? If it’s not, keep kneading! You really don’t need to add anymore flour to this recipe. It’s an enriched dough, which it means should softer.

Can I skip the overnight proof?
For this recipe, do not skip that overnight proof! It really allows this bread to develop amazing flavors and helps with shaping of the dough.

My dough isn’t rising in the times stated in the recipe card!
The recipe card/post states the times it took our dough to rise. We live in Texas. So, it tends to be a bit warmer here and doughs generally take less time to rise. I promise there’s nothing wrong with the dough! Just let it do it’s thing, but if you really need it done, try placing near a warm oven. The warmth from being near the oven will help it rise faster. Just don’t put the dough in the oven!

My dough didn’t rise at all.
 Is your yeast in-date? If not, then you need to get new yeast and try again. If it is, did you check the temperature of the butter/milk mixture? When the mixture is over 120-130 degrees, it’ll kill your yeast! Be sure to have a thermometer on hand.

How To Store

Once this dough is baked, you can actually wrap it in tinfoil and freeze for up to two months! If you don’t want to freeze this recipe, store in a zip-top bag and keep in the fridge for a week or so. If you leave it out on the counter, it will be come stale much quicker.

close up of sliced brioche loaf on tray

What To Make With Brioche

The most wonderful thing about brioche is that it goes with anything! Here are a few of our favorite things to make:

  • French Toast
  • Bread Pudding
  • Holiday Stuffing
  • Bread Crumbs
  • Sandwich
  • Croutons
two slices of brioche laying in front of the loaf

Expert Tips

  • Do NOT boil the milk and butter.
  • The dough will pull away from the sides and bottom of the bowl when it is done kneading.
  • This is a very soft and wet dough. Do not add more flour.
  • Make sure you use instant yeast.
  • Don’t skip the overnight prove!
  • To tell if you bread is fully baked, poke a thermometer in the center of the loaf. It should read 190 degrees.

When you make this Homemade Brioche, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

brioche on wire serving tray with crumbs around, a knife, and a slice in front
4.75 from 4 votes

Homemade Brioche

The BEST Homemade Brioche! This bread is actually super simple to make, only requiring pantry staple ingredients, and tastes absolutely delicious. Buttery, soft, lightly sweet, and just SO. GOOD.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Proofing Time 18 hours
Total Time: 18 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients
 

  • 2 Tablespoons milk
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups bread flour
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 egg yolk

Instructions
 

  • In a small saucepan over low heat, heat milk and butter just until butter melts.
  • Set aside to cool.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
  • Add lukewarm butter mixture.
  • Stir in eggs and egg yolk.
  • Mix well.
  • Knead dough until smooth, about 8-10 minutes.
  • Spray a lidded container with cooking spray.
  • Place dough in container and cover.
  • Allow to rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
  • Place in refrigerator for 12-15 hours.
  • When ready to bake, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
  • Cover with a clean cloth or plastic wrap.
  • Allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
  • While dough is resting, spray a 7" loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Roll dough into a cylinder that is 12"-14" long.
  • Cut dough in half lengthwise.
  • Twist dough together.
  • Place in prepared pan, tucking ends under.
  • Cover with plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Leave dough to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until crowning the top of the pan.
  • While dough is rising, heat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

Notes + Tips!

  • Do NOT boil the milk and butter.
  • The dough will pull away from the sides and bottom of the bowl when it is done kneading.
  • This is a very soft and wet dough. Do not add more flour.
  • Make sure you use instant yeast.
  • Don’t skip the overnight prove!

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 265kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 259mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 537IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

When you make this recipe, remember to tag @bakerstble or hashtag it #BakersTable!

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5 Comments

    1. Hi Isabella! Are you making the recipe as written? Are you making rolls instead of a loaf? Are you using instant yeast? Is it in date? Was you milk and butter mixture too warm when you added it to the dry ingredients? Did you skip the overnight proof? Did you skip the 30 minute resting time? If you can tell me exactly what you did, I’ll be happy to help you troubleshoot.

    1. Hi Hassaanah! You need about 6 ounces of egg. You can use whatever size you like just as long as it comes out to the correct amount. Let me know if you have any more questions!