Fluffy French Brioche Loaf Recipe

How to make brioche bread – this French brioche recipe is for a light, fluffy, buttery brioche loaf perfect for eating as is, making into French toast, and using in desserts!

Recently, I have been baking like crazy! However, along with healthy and gluten-free banana bread, I’ve also become slightly obsessed with bread-making. Along with Turkish simit (bagels), Lebanese cheese manakish flatbread, Greek pita, turmeric no-knead focaccia bread, it’s now the turn of this French brioche recipe for a fluffy, buttery, and truly pillowy brioche loaf. 

I’ve already shared recipes for a leopard print chocolate brioche loaf (and even a vegan leopard print brioche loaf). However, surprisingly, I’d never tried to make a classic easy brioche recipe until now! Not only is it simple to prepare, but the results are to die for – bakery-quality brioche from home!

Once you have the basics down, you can get into sweeter varieties, brioche burger buns, etc. Want even more baked recipes to try? You might like no-knead Turkish Ramadan pide, garlic naan bread, or New York bagels!

What is Brioche bread?

Brioche bread is a type of French bread that lies somewhere between bread and pastry (and a variety of “viennoiserie” bread/pastry – like croissants!). Due to the egg and high level of butter, the enriched brioche dough yields a fluffy, buttery, airy crumb (almost cake-like) with a dark, golden crust. 

Brioche can be enjoyed for sweet or savory recipes and is often used for sandwiches and dessert recipes like brioche perdu (French Toast), bread pudding, and summer pudding.

The French Brioche Ingredients

• Flour: you can use all-purpose flour, bread flour, or a combination of the two. Bread flour will yield slightly chewier results due to the higher protein content. 
• Dairy: I used a combination of milk and double/heavy cream. 
• Butter: use unsalted butter.
• Egg: after lots of experimenting, I found a way to get wonderfully fluffy results with just one large egg. 
• Salt: just a little to enhance the flavors in the brioche dough.
• Sugar: needed to activate the yeast.
• Yeast: I used active dry yeast. You could also use instant yeast (use 25% less) – which doesn’t need to be activated. 
• Egg wash: a mixture of egg and wash to achieve a shiny crust.

Optional add-ins and variations

• Vanilla: scrape the seeds of a vanilla pod into the dough when mixing. 
• Extra sugar: if you want more of a sweet brioche loaf, feel free to add in a little extra sugar – just be careful, as extra sugar will also make the dough slacker. 
• Orange zest: you can then use the oranges to make fresh orange juice. 
• Poppy seeds: to sprinkle over the egg-washed bread before baking.
• Dried fruit: like raisins, sultanas, apricots, etc. Soaked in hot water or even rum. 
• Chocolate: chocolate chips are an easy (and delicious) addition to this homemade brioche bread. In fact, I recommend adding chocolate chips AND orange zest. 
• Cinnamon: add some directly into the dough or sprinkle a pearl sugar and cinnamon mix over the brioche loaf before baking.
• Glaze: if you’re making a sweet brioche loaf, feel free to create a simple glaze to drizzle over the baked loaf. Combine powdered sugar with a bit of milk and lemon juice until it reaches the desired consistency. 

How to Make Brioche Bread

Step 1: Activate the yeast

First, melt the butter either in the microwave in 10-15 second increments or over a double boiler. 

Then combine the butter, milk, sugar, and yeast and set aside for 5 minutes for the yeast to activate (this isn’t necessary when using instant yeast). 

Step 2: Create the brioche bread dough

You can mix the dough manually or with a stand mixer. Combine the yeast mixture, flour, salt, egg, and cream into a bowl or mixer and mix into a sticky dough, then knead until smooth and tacky. This is a moist dough, so stickiness is normal. 

The kneading will take around 10-12 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook or 15-20 minutes by hand (up to 30 minutes). When ready, the dough should be smooth and velvety. 

When using a stand mixer, it’s ready when you can lift the dough hook, and the dough lifts cleanly from the bowl. 

Step 3: Leave the dough to rise

Leave the dough to rise in the bowl for an hour in a warm location, covered well with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. 

If it’s winter or you live somewhere where it’s cold, you can preheat the oven to its lowest temperature, switch off the oven, and leave the dough to rise in the turned-off oven. During this time, it will double (or even triple) in size.

You can prepare your loaf tin during this time by greasing it with a little oil, butter, or cooking spray. 

Step 4: Shape the brioche loaf

Transfer the risen dough to a lightly floured surface and cut it into 4 equal pieces. You can do this “exactly” by measuring each piece. However, you can also do this by eye.

Flatten each piece until it’s about a couple of inches wider than your loaf tin and an even thickness throughout. You’ll end up with a rectangular piece like those photographed. 

To shape each piece, fold in about an inch on both sides (so it will fit your loaf tin) and then roll it up. 

Alternatively, you can create a Nantaise loaf, divide the dough into 8 pieces, roll them into small balls, and then place those in the bread tin in two rows. For a braided loaf, split the loaf into three pieces and roll into logs around the length of your loaf tin. Press the three strands together on one end, braid, and press again on the other end, then tuck in the pressed end and place in your loaf pan. 

Step 5: Prove the brioche dough a second time

Arrange the four pieces into your prepared loaf tin and brush lightly with a bit of milk (or water) to stop the dough from drying. Leave to rise again for 30 minutes, or until it doubles in size once more. 

This second proof can take up to two hours, depending on the temperature and climate, so just keep an eye on it and try to keep it in a warm location. To test that it’s ready, lightly poke one side of the dough. When it’s ready, it should only bounce back slightly (if at all). If it bounces back completely, it needs more proofing. 

Step 6: Bake the brioche dough

Brush the top of the brioche dough liberally with egg wash (milk and egg) – this will give it a lovely shiny crust. Then bake in the oven at 350ºF/175ºC for between 25-30 minutes until golden brown and puffed up.

Feel free to use an egg wash alternative such as honey mixed with milk or butter or simple milk and melted butter mixture. Each option will affect how shiny the brioche loaf ends up. 

If the brioche bread looks like it’s browning too quickly on top, then you can place a baking sheet on the rack above your tin to stop the bread from burning or even cover the loaf with some foil. 

Remove the brioche loaf from the oven and allow it to cool fully before slicing (or tearing).

How to Make Ahead and Store French Brioche Bread

Make ahead: you can prepare this dough up to two days in advance. After kneading the dough, rather than leaving it to prove in a warm place, cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for up to two days. The longer it sits, the stronger the flavor – it will also rise but at a slower rate. Don’t panic if it hasn’t completely doubled in size, as you’ll still be doing the second proof.

You can also freeze the unbaked dough – read my FAQs for all the details. 

Store: store the baked French brioche in an airtight container/bag for several days. Due to the enriched dough, it stays wonderfully soft for 3-4 days! Alternatively, store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Freeze: to freeze the baked brioche loaf, wrap it tightly in foil while it’s still slightly warm and then place in a freezer-safe bag, removing all excess air. Seal the bag and freeze for up to two months. 

How to Serve

I already mentioned a couple of uses for your freshly baked French brioche above. However, here are a few of my top suggestions.

• French toast (Brioche perdu).
• Toasted and slathered with a little butter and jam/marmalade (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, ginger, or rose) or even Nutella (Vegan).
• Savory breakfast toast with a fluffy cloud egg and lots of fresh herbs or sauteed creamy mushrooms. 
• Grilled cheese sandwich and other sandwiches (like Croque Monsieur and Madame).
• Bread pudding or summer pudding.

Leftovers also make for great breadcrumbs and croutons.

You can also use this dough to bake hot dog buns, hamburger buns, filled pastries, etc. 

FAQs

Recipe Notes & Variations

• Don’t open the oven door: when baking brioche, it’s important to leave the oven door closed until the loaf has a developed crust and is fully risen. Otherwise, you may end up with a brioche loaf that has fallen flat.
• It’s best to use a stand mixer: while it’s technically possible to make it without, because the enriched dough is sticky and soft, it takes longer to knead and even longer to knead by hand – sometimes up to 30 minutes! For that reason, I recommend using a stand mixer for brioche bread if you have one. 
• Test the yeast: if you haven’t baked in a while, it’s always a good idea to check your yeast to make sure it’s still active. Do this by combining a little yeast with water and sugar, then rest for a few minutes. It should start to foam and become bubbly. If it doesn’t, then don’t attempt this French brioche recipe. 
• For egg-free brioche: I haven’t tested this recipe without eggs. However, I plan on using my vegan leopard-print brioche loaf to share a vegan brioche loaf soon, so feel free to follow me on Instagram or my blog to know when it’s posted!
• For gluten-free brioche: I haven’t tried this recipe with any gluten-free flour, so I can’t guarantee results. However, if you want to try, I recommend using general all-purpose GF flour like King Arthur’s or Bob’s Red Mill. 

Mor Baking Recipes

• Authentic corn tortillas
• Pull-apart cheese buns
• Brazilian cheese bread ‘puffs’
• Multigrain bread
• Whole wheat bread

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If you try this French brioche loaf recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts/questions below. Also, I’d appreciate a recipe card rating below, and feel free to tag me in your recipe recreations on Instagram @Alphafoodie!