This homemade brioche bun recipe is super light & fluffy. Stuff them with pulled pork, slather them with peanut butter & jelly, or snack on ‘em straight!
This brioche bun recipe is easier to make than you think! Instead of buying buns at the store, try your hand at making them homemade. I like to make a couple of batches and have them on hand for a last minute BBQ (hello, meaty sandwiches!). If you love the rich and fluffy flavor of brioche, don’t skip our brioche cinnamon rolls!
Note: You can make these buns by hand or use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.
What is Brioche Bread?
Made with eggs and butter, this brioche bread recipe has a rich and beautiful yellow color to it. Hailing from France, this bread is similar in flavor to the croissant with much less work. Slightly sweet and buttery, brioche works well with both sweet and savory recipes.
How to Make this Brioche Bun Recipe
Making this brioche bread recipe only requires 6 ingredients and the help of stand mixer (although you can make these buns by hand).
- Build the Dough Foundation: Using the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl and a spoon, combine the warm whole milk, active dry yeast, sugar, and two cups of all-purpose flour. Stir by hand or whisk the ingredients over medium speed, cover the bowl, and allow the mixture to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Add in the Eggs: In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together. Add the eggs and melted unsalted butter to the dough mixture, followed by the remaining flour in small portions.
- Knead the Brioche Dough: Knead the dough by hand on a floured work surface or with your mixer until it becomes elastic (about 10-15 minutes).
- Allow the Dough to Rise: Next, cover the dough and let it rise for about an hour.
- Divide the Dough: Divide the dough into even pieces and flatten them out into round shapes.
- Give the Dough a Final Rise: Place the dough pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover them with a towel, and allow them to rise for 30 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and water together and brush the tops with the egg wash.
- Bake the Brioche Buns: Lastly, bake the brioche buns in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown. Eat them warm or allow them to cool on a wire rack on the counter. Enjoy!
Hot Tip: Make dividing the dough a million times easier by using a dough scraper (also commonly called a bench scraper) versus a knife or your hands.
Tips for Making this Brioche Bun Recipe
A couple of foolproof tips will help you nail this brioche bun recipe and get the fluffiest rolls possible.
- Make sure the temperature of your milk is right. 110 ℉ is the ideal temperature to help with rising and activating the yeast.
- Use eggs to get that bakery-worthy, shiny top. Brush the tops of your buns with whisked eggs to add a nice glossy top! You can also sprinkle some sesame seeds on top for a nice crunch and pretty presentation.
- Quality flour goes a long way. Great quality flour goes a long way. We like to use Bob’s Red Mill of Oregon. These flours have a higher protein content, yielding baked goods richer in flavor.
- Allow the dough to “proof” itself. “Proofing” is the process of letting the bread dough rise. Specifically, it refers to the specific time that the fermentation process needs to take place. Simply put, don’t take shortcuts. Your yeast needs enough time to expand your bread and create enough carbon dioxide bubbles to make it rise into fluffy goodness. The fermentation process also allows for the yeast to create a natural alcohol that gives the bread its flavor and aroma.
- Make sure the dough is the perfect texture. Soft and sticky dough is totally normal! In fact, it is what makes the buns taste so good.
Ideas for Serving
You can use this brioche bun recipe for homemade hamburger buns for grill night and serve the burgers alongside some crispy air fryer french fries or air fryer potato wedges. If you’re looking for something more fresh, use the brioche burger buns to make deli sandwiches for a picnic. They are also great for serving alongside a piping hot bowl of minestrone soup.
Storing Brioche Buns
We love making a large batch and storing these buns for a rainy day. Double, triple or quadruple the recipe!
- Room Temperature: These buns have a propensity to get a bit stale, so make sure to store them in a plastic storage bag or airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to 3 days when stored properly.
- Freezing: When kept in an airtight container or plastic freezer bag, these buns will stay good for up to two months frozen. To thaw them, simply place them on the counter for a couple of hours until soft.
Hot Tip: Bring your buns back to life by zapping them for a few seconds in the microwave or for a few minutes in the oven.
FAQ
What makes brioche buns different from traditional bread?
Brioche bread has fluffy, airy sweet layers of dough. Traditional bread is made with water, flour, yeast and salt. This results in a lighter, more mild flavor dough. Brioche, on the other hand, is made with eggs, butter and milk.
What are the key ingredients in homemade brioche buns?
They key ingredients in any recipe for brioche buns are flour, butter, yeast, milk, and a ton of eggs. In fact, the eggs are what make a brioche a brioche and can be credited for that beautiful yellow hue to the bread.
What are some good toppings for brioche buns?
If you want to spruce up your brioche buns, some good toppings include a dusting of flour or a sprinkle of flakey kosher salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds or flax seeds.
Other Simple Bread Recipes
- Easy Brioche Bread – Classic braided brioche
- No-Knead Easy Bread – Easy overnight bread recipe (video included)
- Easy No-Knead Dinner Rolls Recipe – Simple buns for burgers or sandwiches
- Hot Cross Buns – Soft and lightly sweetened buns
- Easy Homemade Flatbread Recipe – Cheese and herb flatbread
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk heated to around 110 °F
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
- 6 cups all purpose flour depending on the brand of flour, you may need 7 cups
- 6 eggs
- 200 grams unsalted butter
- 1/8 tsp salt
For Brushing the Tops
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp water
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer or spoon, combine the warm milk (about 110 °F) 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 the eggs, salt and melted butter to the dough mixture. Whisk in the remaining flour in small portions. (Depending on the brand of flour, you may need an extra cup of flour)
- Knead the dough by hand or with your mixer until it becomes elastic (about 10-15 minutes).
- Cover the dough and let it rise for about an hour.
- Divide the dough into 18-24 pieces (depending on the size you prefer). Form a flattened, round shape out of each dough piece.
- Place the dough pieces on a lined baking sheet. Cover them with a towel and allow them to rise for 30 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with water and brush the tops of the buns with the mixture.
- Bake the brioche buns at 350°F for about 25 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown. Enjoy!
I made this last night for my first time as we have family dinner set for tomorrow and I thought they'd be perfect pulled pork buns and I have to say they turned out so good! The dough was so nice and so good to work with and it's definitely a lot quicker than my regular bun recipes. Thanks!
Yay, Raeleen! I'm so happy your brioche buns turned out so well and they're going to be enjoyed by all! Have a great time and thanks for the comment!
Natalya,
I am cooking this recipe tonight, cutting it in half as we spoke about earlier today. I was wondering if there is a trick to get the dough on the final rise as buns to rise vertically to create the nice, rounded top. Mine have risen some vertically and also expanded in width. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi! What you can try is to roll each one into a tight ball by placing a hand on top and moving it in circles! Tight rolls should rise higher!
Can you cut the recipe in half to make just 8 or so buns?
Absolutely, Rhett! Or, if you want to make the full recipe, you can also freeze leftover buns to have on hand for next time!
I have only a 5-quart Kitchenaid mixer, and I was worried that it may not be able to handle the amount of dough in the full recipe. I hope to get a bigger one sometime soon. Thank you for your reply. And you can disregard the messages I sent on Facebook Messenger.
No worries, Rhett! Hope it works out well!
This is a great recipe, my 9yr old loves baking and is able to follow this recipe easily. We have never had a bad batch. Always fluffy and perfectly golden.
Oh wow, thanks for the comment Heather! It make me happy to hear that your 9 year old is having fun and doing such a good job at making these buns! I'm truly impressed!
It is a time consuming recipe, but my first go making bread. Mine came out okay, but didnt have that sweet taste of brioche-so a little plain. Not sure why.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Jill! My recipe does tend to have a bit less sugar than most brioche recipes, so you can compensate by adding more sugar next time. Perhaps start with an extra 1/8 or 1/4 of a cup of sugar? You can also try to add a pinch of salt, as often that helps to bring out more flavor. I'm planning to test this recipe again soon to check for any discrepancies and updates.
How many grams should the individual dough balls be?
Hi Ryan! I don't typically measure out the dough balls into grams. Instead, I just divide the dough into anywhere between 18-24 roughly equal balls. Some end up a little smaller than others, but that's ok! If you do want to make them exactly the same, you can measure exactly how much dough you have and then divide that by the number of buns you want, but that might just be too much work! Good luck!
All in this recipe takes close to 2 hours to make not close to 45 minutes. But its a good recipe just don't think you will get it done in 45 as even the recipe calls for 1 hour and 40 minutes with the rests.
Hi! Yes, your right! The program that I use for recipe cards only recently came out with an option to include "resting time", which is where the bulk of the time is in this recipe. I'm currently working my way through my recipes to update them with the updated times. Thanks for leaving the comment!
This recipe didn’t work out for me. I followed the recipe and kept adding flour because it was too sticky. They’ve just come out of the oven and are like rocks. Very disappointing.
Hi, Belinda. I'm sorry to hear you had trouble. Can I help you try to figure out what may have happened? The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. If it was super sticky, sometimes it may be the type of flour used or it may have needed more flour (which I believe is what you did). Was it still sticky (a little bit) once you added your flour? If you haven't already, check out the video of me making brioche buns at the top of the page — that may give you a better visual as to how sticky the dough normally is. Hope you decide to try the recipe again!
Chose this recipe because it said the total time to make was 45 minutes, so it had a lot of yeast and sugar in it so I just figured it was some turbo charged fast rise thing. Picked up ingredients started making it and as I’m reading through the instructions. I see that it’s not a total of 45 minutes, it’s more like 2 1/2 hours. I don’t have 2 1/2 hours. So I just wasted a bunch of ingredients basically, and some time cause I could’ve just picked up some bread or looked at a different recipe. I’m mad because I should have paid more attention, or actually read the recipe through, but who can do that with all these ads. Oh well.
Hi, JP. I'm sorry your evening turned out this way. 🙁 The program that I use for recipe cards only recently came out with an option to include "resting time" and I'm working my way through my recipes to update them with the accurate resting times as well. Until now, they have only had the options for "prep" and "cook" time. I hope you do decide to try out this recipe sometime when you do have more time though!
Mine did not turn out. They came out flat. However, they taste really good. Couldn’t use them for burgers so they will be tossed but I’ll try again another time. Not sure what went wrong.
I'm sorry to hear that, Paige. I'm glad you enjoyed the taste, but sad that the buns didn't rise like they should. Was your milk warm (not cold, not overly hot)? 110°F is ideal for helping the yeast activate and rise well. Did you also let the dough rise enough the couple of times it needed to proof? These would be my best guesses why your buns maybe didn't rise well. I hope you try again soon and let me know how it goes!
How is it that this recipe only calls for 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Seriously lacking flavor. I added a teaspoon and that was still severely under seasoned. The fact that there have been so many comments about this and the recipe still has not been updated is why this receives a low rating. after baking one roll and noticing the lack of taste, I added salt to my egg wash since it wasn't possible to incorporate it effectively into the dough at that point.
Hey Christopher, thank you so much for sharing your feedback. This brioche is meant to be on the sweeter side, but I plan to test it with more salt and update the recipe accordingly. I really appreciate you taking the time to share!
Seriously this recipe is outstanding!
Ty for this recipe. This recipe is everything and more!♥️
Thank you, Katya, for leaving your feedback! Happy to hear you loved it!
Hello! I've baked bread before but never tried brioche. I was wondering if this recipe would work well for cheese and spinach stuffed rolls — I'm looking for a soft bread. Any tips would be much appreciated. Thank you! 😀
Tina, brioche is generally a richer and sweeter dough, I think it could work though. Generally for savory buns I would use a yeast dough like in my savory piroshky recipes! Good luck and have fun, that filling idea sounds delicious!
Just got it done. Did all the mixing with hand. I guess mine came a bit sticky and must have used less flour. But overall happy😀.
Thanks a bunch.
So glad to hear it worked out in the end—even with a sticky dough! Mixing by hand is always a labor of love. Next time, you can definitely adjust the flour a bit if it feels too tacky. Thanks for giving it a try, and happy you’re happy! 😊
Omg!! Definitely the best brioche recipe I have ever tried. For someone in the tropics, humidity of 70-80%, inside temperature about 26-27 degrees Celcius. I do say that another cup of floor is needed. So that made 8-9 cups. I think there was a user that used 9 cups who commented. I used large eggs, so maybe that is why needed more flour. I also used bread flour. The picture of the expected sticky dough was very useful. From 6 cups, I added half a cup each time until I get the texture.
Thank you so much for the amazing feedback! I'm so glad you loved the recipe 🙌 Your notes about baking in a humid climate and adjusting the flour are super helpful—not just for me, but for others too! Glad it came out amazing.Baking can be so different, elevation humidity... it all impacts it. 🙂
I’m just getting into baking. These turned out better than anything I’ve made before. Perfect for a delicious burger.
That’s fantastic! Brioche buns are such a game-changer for burgers. I hope you keep experimenting with baking and try many new recipes!
I didn't have all purpose flor, so I used a bread one. The dough became elastic and very good consistency. I didn't bake the buns yet, but already sure they will be wonderful!
How did these turn out? I'm thinking of trying it with bread flour but don't know if it'll be alright to substitute.
That’s awesome to hear! I’m sure your homemade brioche buns are going to turn out fantastic! Can’t wait to hear how they taste once baked!
Just tried this. The dough was still really sticky after adding an extra cup of flour but I let it rise anyway and it was perfect when I shaped the buns. They taste really good too, and I omitted the salt entirely because I just forgot to add it but you honestly can't tell. This will definitely be my go to recipie from now on.
I'm so glad you loved the recipe! Brioche dough can definitely be sticky, but it sounds like you handled it perfectly. Thanks for sharing your experience—happy baking!
This is a sticky recipe (like many others). I made a quick video to show how to shape these with a cheap bench scrapper. Unfortunately, this page won't allow the video great recipe over all.
PS I didn't want to add more flour...so I only used 5 eggs and 15 tablespoons of butter with the 6 cups of flour. It's perfect and sticky as it is supposed to be. I used the kitchen aid to knead for 12 mins. That developed the gluten and reduced the wetness immensely.
That sounds like a fantastic approach! A bench scraper is such a handy tool for working with sticky dough! I wish I could see your video—it sounds super helpful! Thanks for sharing your process and tweaks. So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Not enough salt. When you bake enough bread, you get used to how much salt goes into it. This seemed like it wasn't going to be enough but I thought to trust the recipe anyways. My family thought they were not worth eating simply because they tasted wrong with out the correct amount of salt. Bland and bad. I would recommend finding a different recipe
I totally agree. I baked these alongside another recipe and that’s what was missing-salt. Next time I’ll try up to 1Tbsp of salt in this recipe. The texture is nice though.
Thank you for sharing this feedback. I will make a note for the future. 🙂
I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you! Salt definitely makes a big difference in bread, and personal taste can vary. If you decide to try it again, you might adjust the salt to your preference. Thanks for the feedback!
I wanted to try this “45 minute recipe” but found out it actually takes 2 hours 30 minutes after all the rising time is added.
Hey Hunter, Thanks for sharing your feedback. We've recently updated our recipe cards, so we will now be including rise time in the total time, and revising older recipes. I hope going forward this will help!
I wanted to make quick brioche buns also finding out it takes 2,5 hours instead of 45 minutes. I am making it but bit deceiving, would be nice if you actually change the time.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention Kayleigh. I hope you enjoy the buns!
I used this recipe and it was great but my dough came out super sticky!! I don’t know what I did wrong.
Hey Sarah, I'm glad you liked the recipe! The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. If it was super sticky that might be due to the amount or type of flour. I'd recommend a little bit more flour next time to get a better consistency.
Hi Natalya,
I halved the recipe.
I used 1 cup of flour in the yeast mixture, and used 3 more cups for kneading. I like salt so I put in the full 1/8 teaspoon.
For others...100 g of butter is .88 of a stick.
Let it rip in the stand mixer for 10 minutes.
I always let it rise in a preheated oven (80 degrees), an hour for the first and another hour for the second rise.
They're Wonderful!
Thanks!
So glad you loved them! 😍 Thanks for sharing your measurements and process; that’s super helpful for others. Happy baking!
I’m giving these 5 stars because they are really good but I will add more salt next time 🙂 I wanted to make them as is even though people said it needed more salt.
Thank you for the feedback! 😊 I'm glad you loved the buns! I totally get wanting to stick to the original recipe, and hopefully next time adding a little more salt will suite your taste more.
hi!! can I make this using instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Hey Myca, Yes, you can use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast for this recipe. Instant yeast works slightly faster than active dry yeast, so the dough might rise a bit quicker.
Natalya, these came out fantastic. Totally agree with most of the comments using more flour. Plus good ol' Texas humidity doesn't help. These are being used for pulled pork buns today and I couldn't be happier. Thank you for sharing this recipe
Thank you so much! I’m thrilled you loved the recipe. Pulled pork buns sound amazing. Enjoy! 😊
Thank you for these, they came out great. It did need 2 extra cups of flour though. Fantastic recipe, my son loves them. He's 3 years old and wants a brioche bun daily from the bakery. Today I gave him this and he said it tastes even better, lol.
That’s such a wonderful compliment, especially coming from a little brioche connoisseur! 😊 I’m so glad you both enjoyed the recipe, and thank you for noting the extra flour—it’s always helpful to hear how others adapt it. Sounds like your 3-year-old has excellent taste!
Just made these and we are all fighting over them lol.
I was a bit worried that the dough seemed to be too sticky and debated adding more flour but decided to trust the process and wow 🤩
Simple ingredients, simple steps to follow. Thank you for sharing
I'm so glad to hear you all loved them! 😂 It's always a bit nerve-wracking when the dough feels sticky, but trusting the process really paid off. 🤩 Thank you for trying the recipe and sharing your feedback — it makes my day!
I think the recipe has the potential to be great. It is extremely wet as others have noted. I had to add over a cup (closer to 2 I think) for it to be even remotely handleable. Watch the video to see what consistency you are looking for. I generally measure by weight but I don't recommend that for this recipe.
I also feel it could use a little more sugar and double the salt. I'm excited to try again with those tweaks but I haven't yet.
Thanks for sharing your feedback Lisa. Brioche dough is traditionally quite wet and sticky, but it should still be workable. If adding more flour helps achieve the consistency you’re looking for, that’s totally fine—dough can behave differently depending on factors like humidity and flour brand. I'm curious what type of flour are you using?
As for the adjustments to sugar and salt, tweaking those to suit your taste is a great idea. Let us know how your next batch turns out with those changes
Hi! If I can make a suggestion:
My ADHD makes it hard to read recipe instructions and not miss things... I accidentally made them with all six cups mixed with the yeast, milk, and sugar. If possible, for accessibility, I might suggest changing the "6 cups of flour" in the ingredient list to "6 cups of flour split into 2 cups and 4 cups" or something similar. By all means, write your recipe how you like it! If you are interested in making it a bit more accessible for people like me though, that would be awesome! I'll try it again sometime soon~
I completely agree with this. Separate the 2 & 4 cups.
Hi Sydney, thank you so much for that suggestions. We will see how we can make it more clear to help our readers. Did you see the video attached to the recipe? I think it may also help with the process. Hope you still found a way to make it work. 🙂