This easy brioche bread is so airy and flaky that it literally melts in your mouth. It’s perfect for everything from jelly sandwiches to classic French toast.
Want more brioche recipes? Use the same dough to make brioche buns and brioche bread pudding!
What Is Brioche?
Brioche is a classic French yeast bread made with a large amount of eggs and butter. This combination makes the bread fluffy, airy, and soft on the inside with a golden brown outside. The flavor of the bread is the perfect balance of savory and sweet.
From start to finish, this French brioche recipe takes 40 minutes of hands-on time and 30 minutes to bake. That being said, you’ll need to account for two total hours of rising and resting in addition. However, 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!
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: 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 lightly floured work surface or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment until the dough is elastic (about 10-15 minutes). Cover it with a towel and let the dough rest and rise for an hour.
- Braid the dough: Next, divide the dough into two pieces. (I love using this silicone dough scraper for easily dividing the dough.) Then, divide each half into three 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 sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Allow the bread to proof for 30 minutes, then brush the tops with an egg wash. Bake the brioche at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack, then enjoy!
How Should the Dough Feel?
The hardest part of this recipe is determining when the dough texture is right. Be confident that your dough is ready when it checks off these two items.
- Soft and slightly tacky: The dough texture should be soft and slightly tacky. It should stick a little to your fingers but not to the sides of the bowl. Add a 1/4 cup of flour at a time until the dough is the correct consistency.
- Smooth and elastic: The dough should be able to stretch well. Take a small piece of dough and stretch it until it’s thin. If it stretches well and is semi-transparent, the consistency is right.
Hot tip: The amount of flour used may differ slightly between each time you bake this bread. This is due to the amount of the other ingredients used as well as if using different brands of flour.
Tips for The Perfect Brioche Loaf
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.
- Warm the milk slightly: Warm milk is necessary to fully activate the yeast. The milk should be warmed to about 110°F. To take the guesswork out, check the temperature with a candy thermometer.
- Adjust the flour as needed: The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Adjust the amount of flour — if it’s too sticky, add a bit more flour. The amount of flour used may differ based on the type of flour used, environment, and humidity. Brioche is hard to mess up, making it one of our favorites to bake.
- Use fresh ingredients: Fresh flour and yeast are key to achieving the best brioche loaf. If the flour is older, sift it in a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps and clumps. You don’t want clumps of flour baked into the bread!
- Mix with a stand mixer: Brioche requires a lot of mixing, so make it easier on yourself by using a stand mixer. The mixing process is what activates the gluten, giving the bread its texture. In a pinch, the dough can be made by hand, but it will require a lot more effort!
- Take your time: Rise times may differ depending on your environment (weather, time of year, even the temperature inside your kitchen). If you feel the dough needs to rise more, wait a little longer.
Hot tip: Use Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Flour or any Canadian brand flour – they will give you the best result due to their high protein content. In a pinch, bread flour works too, but it gives the bread a chewier texture.
Serving 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 butter, jam, or honey. Brioche has a perfect eggy taste that goes great with butter, jam, and honey. Our favorite combination is apricot jam or strawberry 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 and you’re already in love with it. Put those leftovers to good use and make a homemade batch!
- Make brioche sandwiches. Grab your favorite cured meat (prosciutto, mortadella, salami, etc.) and a few slices of swiss cheese. Spread your brioche with a bit of dijon mustard and have yourself a perfectly simple yet delicious European-style sandwich.
- Bake a decadent brioche bread pudding. The combination of sliced pears and chocolate chips in this recipe is to-die-for. It’s the perfect item to bring to brunch!
Storing Brioche Bread
Why make only two loaves of brioche bread when it’s super simple to store the baked bread for enjoyment days or weeks later? Follow these storage tips for a gift that keeps on giving.
- Refrigerator: Store your brioche in the fridge for up to a week. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or place it in a sealed Ziploc bag. Since this bread is heavy on the eggs, it is not recommended to store it at room temperature.
- Freezer: Freeze brioche bread for up to a month. Keep it fresh by wrapping it tightly with plastic wrap before placing it in the freezer. Thaw to room temperature before serving, then reheat as desired.
FAQ
What makes brioche different from 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 bread.
Is brioche just white bread?
While brioche is technically made with white flour, it isn’t considered a standard white bread. Brioche is fortified with eggs and a ton of butter to give it a light and flakey crumb texture.
Can brioche bread be made in a bread machine?
Brioche bread can be made in a bread machine, but it doesn’t turn out as golden brown as it does when baked 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 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 cups flour divided
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 200 grams unsalted butter melted
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. Mix in the remaining 4 cups of 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 each braided brioche on a lined baking sheet, cover with a towel, and let 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.
I just made the dough doubling the recipe and used Glick's unbleached high gluten flour. It took nearly 9 cups to make a soft kneadable dough. I took the advice of others and added almost a tbs of salt. I am sure it will turn out just fine. Will send an update later.
Hi Max, We look forward to hearing an update from you!
I would love to print this without the photos.
Hi Brenda- Normally you should be able to click the "print" button and print the recipe without any images. It seems like the print button wasn't working for this recipe though, but we've fixed it now! Thank you for letting us know!
I also had to add flour and I wonder if the difference is scooping vs. spooning and sifting the flour. That can make a considerable difference in the amount of flour (up to 15% more if you scoop).
Hey Chris, this is a really great point about measuring flour. The brand/quality of flour can also make a difference. Another important point is that this dough should be soft and a little sticky; if may even seem too soft or wet etc as you're kneading it BUT after you let it rise for an hour, the texture changes and the dough is workable.
i think a lot of people in the comments are forgetting, or don’t know, that the amount of flour you need is also heavily influenced by environmental factors. Of course the amount of flour will be different for everyone! Some factors are things like: weather, how dry the bowl is, and two major factors are the liquid ingredients. We’re humans so of course we aren’t going to get the measurements perfect, and for things like sugar, that can heavily influence the amount of flour used. This was an amazing recipe and just because you may have to add additional flour doesn’t mean it isn’t amazing.
Hi Kendra- thank you for the feedback! I agree, weather and humidity makes a difference too, as does the type of flour used. I love this brioche bread and I'm glad you do too!
I really enjoyed making the bread with my kids😀😀😀
Hi Ruth, How fun to get the kids involved in making bread. That makes me happy to hear!
Well my 2 loaves came out delicious! Love the recipe but wish I had read the reviews as I was panicking that I was adding too much extra flour to make it not so wet and sticky! I added at least another 1 1/2 cups while trying to knead and work with sticky dough-but all turned out well. In your instructions you said one may have toad a bit more flour -that’s an understatement ha ha. Wish I could post a photo of how pretty my loaves came out!
Hi Linda, Happy to hear the loaves turned out delicious and pretty! Next time tag us on instagram with your photos — we would love to see them!
Okay!
Yes me too this was an incredibly wet dough. Even after adding THREE more cups of flour it was still too wet. I followed the directions.
I think pulling back on at least 2 of the eggs may help.
Hi Angela, which brand of flour did you use? This dough should be pretty sticky and wet but also brand of flour does matter. Hope this helps.
Natalya,
What type of flour do you recommend for your recipe… All Purpose or Bread Flour. I’d find it helpful to know. Thank you 😊
Hi Michelle- Truthfully either type of flour would work well. If you use bread flour you will have chewier bread. Enjoy!
Came out delicious! I had to use more flour than the recipe called for but I just slowly added it in while kneading until I got the right consistency. Very soft, fluffy, and sweet (but not as sweet as store-bought which is good). For the first rise I preheated my oven to 150 then turned it off and put the bowl in to help it rise more. For the second rise I let it rise for a couple hours at room temperature. Even though I cut the portions down to 1 loaf, with the rise and the extra flour I ended up with enough dough for 2! Great easy recipe, will be coming back to it
Hi Rhonda, I am thrilled that the recipe was a success! You sound like quite the pro. Thank you for taking the time to share your process and feedback. Enjoy it dear!
I made this bread and was a little nervous after reading some of the comments about the dough being very runny. But I tried it anyway and it turned out great, I ended up adding more flour into my mixer a spatula at a time untill the dough came away from the bowl. All in all was well
worth making and was great for our French toast and will make again. I would post a pic but doesn't allow
Hi Maria, I am thrilled to hear that the recipe was a success. Thank you for sharing your feedback with me. Enjoy it dear!!
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.
I just tried this recipe. I’m a semi-experienced bread maker. I ended up using 8 cups of flour and it was way too sticky. I will find a new recipe next time.
I wish that I had read the reviews ahead of time before wasting the ingredients!
Frustrated
Hi Lesa, I am so sorry to hear that this recipe wasn't a success. This dough is a very soft one, I find that it's a bit sticky but after the dough rises for an hour, it becomes more manageable. If the dough still seems too runny, you may need to add more flour. Regardless, I am sorry for the wasted ingredients, I understand how upsetting that is.
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!