My Best Brioche Loaf

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My bread making journey has been pretty okay, as in no huge failures so far. Probably a few ones that came out a bit too crusty on the outside and not as fluffy on the inside. We still enjoyed eating them. Maybe not as fresh after a few days, but microwave it with a spray of water, it’s fine!

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I think I genuinely like all kind of bread. Such a bread monster I am! From French baguette to bagels to croissant to ANYTHING! The one that I love to make it over and over again at home is brioche. The crazy amount of eggs and butter makes brioche so delicate, fragrant and tasty. The bread is perfectly baked with a golden colour on the outside, and soft spongy texture on the inside.

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We’ve seen brioche burger buns, which will be our must-try when summer comes. The dough would make a great babka. I’ve been experimenting matcha and chocolate babka. Let’s see! This simple brioche loaf is my favourite. Just slice it when it’s still warm, spread some butter, and it’s heaven! I’m now letting my another loaf to go a little stale, because I have a plan of weekend French toast brunch in my mind.

Ingredients (2 loaves):
Bread Dough
1/2 cup milk, warm to touch
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active yeast
4 large eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
Egg Wash
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:
To prepare the dough, mix milk, sugar and yeast in the standing mixer.  Let sit for 10 minutes, or until you see foam at the stop.
With a paddle attachment, beat in eggs, one at a time, until the mixture becomes light and creamy.
Add the flour and salt, continue mixing until the flour is incorporated.
When the mixer is running, slowly add small pieces of softened butter.
Let the mixer knead the dough for another 5 minutes. The dough will become very stretchy and sticky.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
Leave the dough in refrigerator overnight.
The next day, remove dough from the fridge. Let it come to room temperature.
Grease 2 loaf pans and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
Move the dough to a lightly floured surface.  Divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll them into balls. Place 5 dough balls in each prepared pan. Cover with tea towel and let it rise for another 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix egg yolk and cream. Lightly brush the egg wash over each loaf. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the loaves are golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and let cool slightly before slicing.

12 comments

  1. OMG!!! The best bread ever .. this is the first time I’ve tried a yeasted bread and boy was I nervous ..the dough was wonderful to work with and the bread tasted AMAZING !!!

  2. I finally made this brioche. Out of this world!!!!! The best indeed. 2 things though. First, I beat dough longer than 5 minutes to make sure it passed windowpane test. Second, my cue to know when dough had risen enough was not the 2 hours in your instructions but the doubling of the dough in the first rise, and the dough reaching top of pans in the 2nd rise. I Thanks for this great recipe.

  3. Best doesn’t do this bread justice. It knocked my socks off. I’m still working my way around bread so I accidentally popped it in the fridge before it completed it’s first rise (whoops). It was a little flat(at least I think because I can never tell what loaf size you use), but I cared little ones I popped that buttery heaven into my mouth.
    If you have anymore yeast-recipes, I’m all ears!!!!

  4. Can you bake the loaves right after they rise, instead of placing in refrigerator overnight? Thanks!

  5. Such a wonderful bread! I made two loaves according to the recipe, and now I think I might not be able to finish the second loaf soon. Do you think if I can freeze it for future use? Thanks. :)

    1. Hi Kyla, I am so happy that you enjoyed the recipe! Yes, you can definitely freeze your bread. I’d suggest you to slice the loaf before freezing. So every time you want a slice or two, you just grab it from the freezer and put it in the toaster! :)

  6. This looks amazing! I’ve never had brioche before. This is going to be on my to-bake list!

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