Brioche is bread that has been to finishing school: a third of its weight is butter, worked in slowly after the gluten forms, and eggs stand in for most of the water. The dough is soft, glossy and easiest handled cold, so this recipe proves overnight in the fridge. What you get is the loaf that makes the best french toast on earth.
Everything you need
- 2¾ cups (358 g) bread flour
- 2¼ tsp (7 g) instant yeast
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1¼ tsp fine salt
- 4 eggs, cold
- ¼ cup (60 g) milk, lukewarm
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cubed
- 1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk, to glaze
Weigh, don't scoop. Measuring flour by cups can overpack it and dry out your bake. Tap any ingredient to open its converter.
Method
0 of 6 done-
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a stand mixer bowl. Add the 4 eggs and the milk and knead with the dough hook for 8 minutes until smooth and strong. This dough needs the machine: by hand it's a rite of passage, not a recipe.
For this step
- 2¾ cups (358 g) bread flour
- 2¼ tsp (7 g) instant yeast
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1¼ tsp fine salt
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup (60 g) milk
-
Add the butter a few cubes at a time over 10 minutes of kneading, waiting for each addition to vanish. The dough will slump, cling, despair, and finally turn glossy and pull cleanly off the bowl.
For this step
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter
-
Cover and prove 1 hour at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight, 8 to 12 hours. Cold brioche dough handles like plasticine, warm like wet paint.
-
Divide the cold dough into 8 equal balls and nestle them in two rows in a greased, lined 900 g loaf tin.
-
Cover and prove 2 to 3 hours until risen to the rim, brioche being slow and worth it. Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
-
Brush generously with the egg glaze and bake 30 to 35 minutes until deep burnished brown and 88°C inside, tenting with foil at 20 minutes. Cool in the tin 10 minutes, then on a rack.
Tap a step to check it off. Your place is saved on this device.
Worth knowing
- Butter cool, not melting. If the dough ever looks greasy, the butter got too warm: fridge the whole bowl 15 minutes and resume.
- The deep mahogany glaze is correct for brioche. Pale brioche is underbaked brioche, and the eggs and sugar want that colour.
Make it your own
- Add chocolate chips to the balls for chocolate brioche, or a cube of dark chocolate hidden in each.
- The same dough makes 12 brioche buns, baked 18 to 20 minutes, for the best burgers of your life.
Storing & freezing
Airtight for 3 days, moving from fresh-eating to toast to french toast in a dignified procession. Freezes sliced for 3 months.
Frequently asked
Why does brioche dough need to be refrigerated?
The high butter content makes warm dough impossibly sticky. Chilled overnight it firms up and shapes cleanly, and the slow ferment deepens the flavour.
Can I make brioche without a stand mixer?
It's possible and it's a workout: 25 to 30 minutes of slap-and-fold kneading by hand. The dough punishes shortcuts, so the mixer is honestly recommended.
Cooking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.
More to cook
A note on cooking safely. Recipes are provided for informational purposes only and are not medical or nutritional advice. Cooking times, temperatures and quantities are suggestions: use your own judgement, and check that meat, poultry, fish and eggs are properly cooked before serving.
Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making dietary changes, particularly if you have allergies, a medical condition or specific nutritional requirements.