This easy brioche bread is so airy and flaky that it literally melts in your mouth. Perfect for everything from jelly sandwiches to classic French toast.
Hosting a burger night? Use the same dough to make brioche buns.
This French brioche recipe is quite simple to make. The most time-consuming part is waiting for the dough to rest and rise. But, when you open your oven and your house is filled with the smell of fresh brioche, you’ll be happy you put the time in!
What is Brioche?
Brioche is a classic French yeast bread with a high amount of eggs and butter. This combination makes the bread light yellow and fluffy on the inside, and golden brown on the outside. Below, find an overview of the flavor, texture, and time it takes to make our rendition.
- Flavor: The flavor of brioche is the perfect balance of savory butter and eggs with a slightly sweet note from the sugar.
- Texture: The texture of brioche is airy, fluffy, and soft. Unlike traditional bread, the high level of eggs and butter makes it sweeter and denser.
- Time: From start to finish, this recipe takes just over an hour of prep and cook time. That said, you’ll need to account for 2 total hours of rising and resting in addition.
How to Make Brioche Bread from Scratch
Making homemade brioche bread is quite a forgiving process – the dough can be tweaked until it’s the perfect texture and the braiding process is no different than braiding hair!
- Activate the Yeast: First, whisk the warm milk with yeast, sugar, and two cups of flour. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow it to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Build the Dough: Next, whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the whisked eggs, vanilla extract, and melted butter to the dough mixture. Whisk in the remaining flour in small portions. The brioche dough should be soft and slightly sticky.
- Knead the Dough: Knead the dough by hand on a floured work surface or in a stand mixer with a dough hook until elastic. Cover it with a towel and let the dough rest and rise for an hour.
- Divide & Braid the Dough: Next, divide the dough into two pieces. Then, divide each half into 3 equal pieces and roll each of them into a long rope. Connect the ends of the ropes and braid them.
- Bake the Brioche: Place the braided brioche on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow the bread to be proof for 30 minutes and brush the tops with egg wash. Bake the brioche at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Enjoy!
3 Tips for Perfect Brioche Bread
Like all bread-making, there’s a little science and technique at the core of the process. To nail this simple brioche bread recipe, follow a couple of simple tips and tricks along the way.
- Use warm milk. You’ll want to use warm milk to help activate the yeast. You’ll want it to be around 110°F. To take the guesswork out, check the temperature with a candy thermometer.
- Adjust the flour as needed. The dough texture should still be soft and slightly sticky. You may need to add more flour, depending on the brand you use. Depending on the brand of flour you use, the dough will come out a touch differently. If it’s too sticky, add a bit more flour until it’s not. Brioche is hard to mess up, making it one of my favorites to bake.
- If your flour is on the older side, sift it first. If your flour has been sitting in the pantry for a while, sift it in a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps and clumps. You don’t want these to bake into the bread and ruin the texture!
Hot Tip: Use Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Flour or any Canadian brand – they will give you the best result due to their high protein content.
Different Ways to Use Brioche Bread
Now for the fun part – figuring out how to put your brioche bread to work! Here are a couple of our favorite ways to use this decadent bread.
- Enjoy it with jam and butter. Brioche has a perfect eggy taste that goes great with jam and butter. Our favorite combination is apricot jam and European butter like Kerrygold or Plugra.
- Make brioche french toast with your leftovers. You have probably seen brioche french toast on a brunch menu before, or you are already in love with it. Put those leftovers to good use and make a batch!
- Make brioche sandwiches. Grab your favorite cured meat (prosciutto, mortadella, salami, etc.) and some swiss cheese. Spread your brioche with a bit of dijon mustard and have yourself a perfectly simple European-style sandwich.
- Bake a decadent brioche bread pudding. The combination of sliced pears and chocolate chips in this recipe is to die for. The perfect item to bring to brunch!
Storing Brioche Bread
Keep your brioche fresher for longer by following these storage tips:
- Refrigerating: Refrigerate your brioche by wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap or placing it in a Ziploc bag. It will stay fresh for up to a week when stored in the fridge. Since this bread is heavy on the eggs, it is not recommended to store it at room temperature.
- Freezing: Brioche bread can be frozen for up to a month. The best way to keep it fresh is by wrapping it tightly with a plastic wrap before placing it in the freezer. Thaw to room temperature before serving. Reheat as desired.
FAQ
What makes brioche different from other breads?
So, what’s the difference between brioche and other breads? Brioche is a French yeast bread that uses a lot more eggs than other breads, giving it a pretty, yellow color on the inside and a golden brown color on the outside. The result is a light and fluffy texture that is to die for.
Is brioche just white bread?
While brioche is technically made with white flour, it isn’t considered a standard white bread. This is because it’s fortified with eggs and a ton of butter to give it that light and flakey crumb texture.
Can brioche bread be made in a bread machine?
You can make brioche bread in a bread machine, but it doesn’t turn out as golden brown as it would in the oven. For best results, bake it straight on a baking sheet to get the right coloring and texture.
Is brioche bread healthier than white bread?
Brioche is more decadent than typical white bread. It contains more butter and egg, making it higher in calories.
Other Similar Recipes to Try
- Best Challah Bread Recipe – Classic Jewish-style loaves
- Pampushky – Ukrainian-style garlic bread
- Classic White Miche Bread – Easy country bread
- Easy Focaccia Bread Recipe – Italian flatbread with herbs
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
- 6 cups flour may need more, depending on the brand
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 200 grams unsalted butter
Brushing tops
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp water
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients for brioche bread.
- Combine the warm (110°F) milk with yeast, sugar, and two cups of flour. Whisk the ingredients together. Cover the bowl with a towel and set it aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and melted butter to the dough mixture. Whisk in the remaining flour in small portions.
- Knead the dough by hand or in a stand mixer until it becomes elastic. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Cover the dough and let it rise for about an hour.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into two even pieces. Next, divide each piece into three pieces. Roll each piece out into a long rope. Connect the ends of the ropes together and braid them.
- Place braided brioche on a lined baking sheet, cover it with a towel, and let it rise for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and water to create the egg wash. Brush the brioche with the egg wash.
- Bake the brioche at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.
If I just wanted to bake the Brioche in a 9 x 5 loaf pan to make it like a sandwich bread, how many loaves do you think this recipe would make?
I just came across your site and can hardly wait to try a lot of your DELICIOUS looking recipes; thank you for sharing.
Hi Robbie, I think this would make 2 loaves in a 9x5 loaf pan, but I have not tested it out myself that way. If you give it a try, I would love to know the results! Thank you!
This was INCREDIBLE! I needed 8 cups of flour to get it to the right consistency which stressed me out at first. I left the dough in the fridge while I went out and then baked it and this bread was so fluffy, soft and delicious.
Ivy, this is so amazing to hear. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
I did this bread today with my son. I followed the directions to the dot, even buying the recommended flour in the comments. The starter dough came out perfectly. But once I added the eggs and rest of the flour, the dough never reached the consistency of the dough from the video. I used my stand mixer with the dough attachment and mixed for 15 minutes but it was too wet. I had to add 3/4 cup extra flour to the mix and it finally looked like the one in the video. The dough rose in one hour, right out of my largest bowl, all over my counter. I think it would be a good idea to divide the dough into two bowls so it doesn't spill. I collected the dough from the bowl and counter and divided it into two. It was hard to work with because it was so sticky. I had to add more flour (just dusting) so it would not stick everywhere. I was able to make braids (not very pretty due to the sticky dough). The bread came out good, but not store-bought brioche good. It was a little dry, probably because of the extra flour. It looked pretty, but, to be honest, not worth the effort.
Try putting doe if fridge for an hour to help the butter get stiff before separating it and braid. This will help the ability to work it.
Hey Brenda, Thank you for sharing your feedback. With breads its always a learning curve and you have your own dishes in the kitchen. And your own tools, it can take a practice run to learn how to manage baking. I think by adding extra flour it did become more dry and also the flavor wasn't as good. It also helps to oil hands when working with the sticky dough. Thanks again for your feedback!
I have to review after reading some mixed reviews that made me nervous!
First time trying this recipe- third time making brioche. This is by far the best bread I’ve ever had Omg.
I made it with the listed amount of flour, and hand kneaded which was difficult bc it’s such a wet dough. After about 10 minutes it still didn’t seem quite the consistency described so I sprinkled a touch more flour and kneaded more and it was perfect! It’s def not like any other bread dough I’ve made which explains the comments likely adding way too much flour.
Every other step was flawless and it’s SO SOFT! Also they’re huge which I did not expect lol but makes up for all the ingredients.
Thank you !
Hi Sarah, It warms my heart reading such wonderful reviews. I am thrilled to hear that the recipe was a success! Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. Enjoy!
What a waste of ingredients. That is the softest dough I have ever tried to work with and I have made bread for 6 decades. I used a total of 8.5 cups of flour and it was still like soup. I could barely braid it and had to just flop it onto the baking sheet. It did not really rise after that, it just spread out across the pan. Even baking it did not work right, I had to go ten extra minutes and it flat and doughy inside and starting to burn on the edges. The flavor is just bland, not at all like any brioche I ever bought. Is there any chance this was supposed to use ONE cup of milk? This is my first brioche so I went for the recipe that said it was easy, but now that I look at other recipes they have about 4 cups of flour to 3/4 cup of milk on average. I am stunned no one else has had this kind of trouble.
I tried this recipe today and it is the best brioche recipe till now 🙂
Maybe next time I add a little bit sugar 😄
Hey Taline, adding a bit more sugar may require a slight increase in flour because sugar makes the dough runny. keep that in mind when you make it. Enjoy!
I am also scratching my head trying to understand how on earth this recipe got so many great reviews. I tried this recipe twice. Once yesterday, once today. I followed the recipe to a T and yet still my dough was so soft and wet it was impossible to work. I added several additional cups flour just to have a chance at shaping the dough. Yesterday I added so much flour that the bottom of the bread burned, and all I could taste was flour.
Today, I gave the recipe another go. Just in case! Brand new fresh yeast, everything measured carefully, and again, I ended with unworkable dough. I ended up adding a few extra cups flour just to be able to do anything with this dough. After a while I finally managed a few floppy braids and I'm waiting on this batch to go into the oven...already is it starting to sort of flatten and melt into the baking pan.
With eggs being $5 a dozen and everything being so expensive, I'm not a happy camper right now. 🙁
Maybe you can list the weight of the flour for this recipe? I see the weight of the butter, but it is flour that can be measured so differently between households.
Justine I totally agree with you on everything! This is my 1st time trying this recipe and I must say it was very wet and I had to add about 2 1/2 cups of bread flour, I also add 1/2 tsp of yeast to compensate for the extra flour. I was able to work the dough much better. Mine turned out well but not sure I will attempt this recipe again my POV.
Hey Justine, Did you get a chance to watch the video for the dough? Also, brand of flour matters a lot, can you share what you used? Thanks! I just made it a few weeks ago and had zero trouble, I am trying to understand where you are having trouble. Thanks
Hello can you share the link of the video
Hi Taline, here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch…, this is for buns but you can see the dough process. Enjoy
Hey Clair, I am sorry you had a bad experience with this recipe. I actually made it last week and it was wonderful. First question that comes to mind is which brand of flour did you use? Also, with any brand, if the yeast is fresh it would still rise so I am wondering if the yeast was fresh. We have a video of the recipe process, I think it might be helpful, https://www.youtube.com/watch…. Thank you!
Is that calorie/fat count CORRECT? If so, most of us should PASS.
Hey there! Thank you for that question. The serving size is 2 loaves. So yes the nutrition facts are correct. I Hope you give it a try!
I've made this twice now and it is officially the most dangerous thing I make. It calls my name from the kitchen and my whole family just chows down. I mostly make it to make French toast casserole. I'm usually really intimidated by yeast breads despite being an avid baker of all other things and this is the first yeast bread I can confidently make, it's so easy! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hi Amy! I love reading reviews like this! I am so glad this recipe is a hit! I appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback, Enjoy!
I also like to suggest that you say what sort of flour? Protein bread flour or cake flour?
Hi Rose, I do mention in the recipe that I personally recommend Bob's Red Mill All purpose flour. I appreciate you reaching out. Happy thanksgiving!
Can you please give everything in grams- not by cups. Your measurements may be different
Hi Rose, I appreciate the suggestion. That may be a little more helpful with our bread recipes. Thank you for reaching out. Happy holidays!
This is by far the best bread I have made in my entire life. I divided the recipe in half so ended up with one loaf.
Won’t make anything else from now on!
Hi Sue, Thank you so much for your feedback! So glad to hear this recipe was a hit! Enjoy!!
Good recipe for a beginner but fair warning if you add extra flour to get the consistency right you will end up with (delicious) Frankenstein-loaves.
Haha, your comment made me giggle. I'm glad they came out delicious for you, Bess!
I halved the recipe and it came out fantastic!! The bread was soft, sweet, and we ate it up in no time.
What's with 200 grams of butter? Can you give me a Tablespoon equivalent? I don't see why you switched from Tablespoons and cups throughout the recipe to grams. Very confusing.
Typically butter comes with 50 gram increments on the packaging, pretty standard in every recipe
Hey Wendy, this recipe needs 14 tbsp of butter. Enjoy it!
I want to try this! My granddaughter loves brioche bread. Do I have to braid it? Can I make just a regular shaped loaf (or two)? Will I need to adjust the baking time? Thanks.
Hi Lynn - Yay, I hope you do - it's a great recipe. You don't have to braid it and that shouldn't affect the baking time, but to be honest, I always do braid it because it's such a simple process. Hope this helps.
Is the calorie chart above truly for just one serving? Or is it a whole loaf?
The whole loaf, Olivia. Apologies for the confusion. We will get this fixed. Thank you!
This is a lovely bread but for me it needed salt.
I made it with salted butter and in turned out perfect! Maybe that’s all it needs for you 🙂
Hi Sue, Thats a great tip, Thank you!
Hi Sue- ah, thank you for the feedback. In the future you are welcome to add salt to taste to this recipe!
Is there no salt used in this recipe?
Hi Donna- no, there is not. You're welcome to add some if you'd like!
Wonderful recipe. The dough is very easy to work with and my results were lovely. I used 7 cups of flour to get the correct consistency. I got two huge loaves. I am happy to have enough to share with family.
The dough should be relatively soft though.
So glad to hear your bread came out beautifully, Holly! Enjoy!
Just put together the dough and it took an extra 2 cups flour not to be soupy. And yes, I live in Canada and use Canadian Costco flour. Not all Canadian flour are high protein ones, only organic ones(like Red Mill, Anita's etc.). Try experimenting with regular flour to fix the recipe cuz looks it's not just me having this issue.
Hi Olga- thank you for taking the time to give feedback. Those are great tips. I do recommend adding more flour as needed, depending on climate or type of flour some people find they don't need any extra flour while others do! How the flour is measured is also a big factor here. Did your brioche come out in the end? I hope you loved it! 🙂
can I let this rise overnight in the refridgerater? at what point would i do that? Please let me know ASAP
Hi Deb- I haven't tested this recipe with refrigerating the dough overnight, so I don't have any advise on that. I'm sorry!
I left it overnight and it came out really good!
Ah, thanks for sharing that tip, Veronika! This will be helpful for others 🙂
Hello, I was wondering if you can replace the butter with olive oil?
Hi there- I haven't tested the recipe with just olive oil instead of butter, so I'm not sure! I think the butter gives it a richness that no substitute can compare with. If you try it with olive oil, let us know how it came out!
This was delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe. A suggestion might be to update the "Total Time" indicated of 1 hour and 10 minutes to include all rising time. I started this recipe thinking I'd found a miracle quick way to make brioche 🙂 The first couple steps alone take an hour and a half. I should've read the whole recipe first, but still enjoyed the final bread. Thanks!
Hi Lisa- Ah yes, with all the rising times there is no way it would rise and bake that quickly. I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe otherwise! Thanks for commenting.
It came out delicious but I definitely didn’t trust not using salt so I added 1.5tsp into the mix. My loafs are fluffy and a little sweeter than expected (I even put less that the full cup of sugar). They also turned out fragile and had to be very gentle to keep the braid together. Is that normal?
Hi Christina- I didn't have any issues braiding the brioche, so I'm not sure what could've caused that for you. Maybe it could've used a bit more flour to make the dough a bit less soft/fragile to handle?
This bread is lovely!! Making is a second time today and split one half into two for one large and two smaller loaves to gift 🙂 thank you for sharing!! Using Gold Medal flour in Southwest Missouri and I ended up using about 8 cups flour total. I and my family are obsessed with this bread!!
Hi Anjuli- thank you so much for the feedback! Whoever is getting that fresh loaf of brioche sure is lucky!
This was my 2nd attempt to make brioche bread/buns and your recipe turned out much better; it's a keeper for sure. I only made half the recipe and had to use 1 cup extra of organic flour. I also had to increase both the proofing and rising times; and hence took me much longer to get the final product, but so worth it. Today I made a tray of buns and remainder into a braided small bread; but had to bake separately as I couldn't place both trays in the middle rack; and wasn't sure if the bread/buns would bake well using 2nd and 3rd oven racks. Any feedback would be appreciated before I experiment the next time.
Hi N I- it sounds like you've got things down!! Sometimes in colder weather dough takes longer to proof and rise, so that is totally normal that it took a bit longer for you in the Winter time. I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe otherwise, thank you for the feedback!
What would you recommend as a topping? Looks like you did sesame seed? I’ve also seen sugars - when do you put on? Before cooking? Thanks!
Hi Catherine! Yes you can add sesame seeds if you'd like, you would sprinkle those on the dough right before baking after applying the egg wash. You can sprinkle with sparkling or pearl sugar as well if you want it to be a sweet topping. If you plan on using the brioche for various recipes afterwards- like french toast or for a sandwich then you may want to leave it plan so that it's more versatile. Hope this helps!
Nice quick recipe it needed an extra cup and a half of floor. I braided it and baked it in loaf pans for one hour. Turned out great but I think I’ll use half the sugar next time.
Hi Lorraine- thank you for the feedback. Depending which flour you use, you may need more or less so I'm glad you modified as needed. Thanks for commenting!
Natalya, thank you so much for the great and easy to follow recipe. My first time making brioche bread and it came out delicious! I halfed the recipe to make one loaf and it was perfect. I reduced the sugar, used salted butter and added a pinch of salt. Even made some smaller rolls with sesame seeds with leftover dough. My bread and rolls came out soft, fluffy and delicious. Will try your babka recipe next.
Thank you for the feedback, Linda! Enjoy!
Great recipe. I made it today and it came out very good , not to sweet . I did some changes to the recipe, I added 1 teaspoon salt, I cut the sugar in half and added only 3 eggs + 1 egg yolk . I ended up using 8 cups of flour ( all purpose) .I wish I can add a picture. 🙂 Very good . I will make it again .
Maria- I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe and tweaked it to your liking. There is a Momsdish community Facebook group that you can join and share your picture..we'd love to see it! Here is the link for the group if you're interested. https://www.facebook.com/grou…
Incredible recipe and super simple too! My braided Brioche turned out soft and flaky with the right amount of sweetness.
Amazing! So happy to hear that. It's such a beautiful and festive bread. What do you like to use it for? We have an amazing brioche bread pudding recipe: https://momsdish.com/brioche-….