Brioche is white bread enriched with eggs and butter, and thus perfect for the holidays. In this case I made one big loaf, but you can also make smaller loaves or buns. For the characteristic shiny top, braze the top with egg yolk after baking (when still hot).
If you’re serious enough about baking to try making your own brioche, it is best to use scales and measure everything in grams. I have provided approximate measures in cups and teaspoons, but other than with regular cooking, with baking it is better to be exact.
Ingredients
For one loaf
500 grams (3 1/3 cups) bread flour
100 ml (6 1/2 Tbsp) milk (lukewarm)
125 grams (9 Tbsp) butter (soft), plus more for greasing the pan
3 eggs
10 grams (1 1/4 tsp) salt
15 grams (4 tsp) sugar
30 grams (1 oz) fresh yeast (or 10 grams dried yeast, 3 1/2 teaspoons)
Instructions
Warm up 100 ml of milk in the microwave for 10 seconds so it won’t be cold anymore. Crumble 30 grams of fresh yeast into the milk and add 15 grams of sugar.
Stir with a fork until well mixed.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 500 grams of flour, 10 grams of salt, 3 eggs, and the milk mixture.
Process at medium speed with the paddle attachment…
…until the dough comes together.
Move over to the dough hook. Knead for 5 minutes at low speed and then at 10 minutes at medium speed. The dough should become smooth and pliable.
Meanwhile, cut 125 grams of butter into pieces and allow to soften.
When the dough has been kneaded for 15 minutes, start adding the butter piece by piece.
Wait until the butter has been incorporated into the dough before adding another piece.
When you have added all the butter, the dough should be gathered around the dough hook.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel (or plastic wrap) and allow to rise until doubled in volume. In a warm spot such as the oven with the light turned on but the door closed, this will take one to one and a half hours. You could also allow the dough to rise more slowly for better flavor development.
When the dough has doubled in volume, knead it briefly on a floured work surface and shape into a loaf.
Grease a pan with butter and put the loaf in it.
Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise…
…until doubled in volume.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F (not fan forced). Bake the brioche at this temperature for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly before slicing. Brioche is best when it is still slightly warm, but it does keep well for several days. If desired, reheat for 10 minutes at 150C/300F.
Flashback
One of my favorite quick Thai meals to prepare is stir fried green beans and shrimp with red curry paste.
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
Mamma com’è venuto bello!
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Gorgeous brioche!
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Saved this recipe, I have always wanted to make brioche but never have. Your loaf is perfect and brioche is one of my favorite breads. Your tutorial is so helpful.
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One question, I use fast acting yeast would I have to adjust anything if I use that?
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The rising times may be shorter, but all should be fine if you allow to rise until doubled in volume.
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I am excited to make a loaf of brioche. I have never seen this before. Your are the most productive epicure I have ever observed.Brilliant!
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Mi sembra perfetto. Bravo!
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Gorgeous loaf! The best bread for French toast next to challah! 🙂
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Thanks, Shanna. When fresh there is no need to turn this into French toast, but you are right that it is a wonderful way to use up any leftovers. I’ve never made challah and am now going to google it to find out what it actually is.
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Questo lo faccio anch’io, e abbiamo la stessa teglia. Io l’ho comprata al mercato
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A gorgeous loaf, Stefan. I’ve been playing with enriched bread doughs lately, adding an egg or two to the recipe. Now I come upon your recipe for brioche. Must be a sign. I’ll save you recipe and give it a try. Thanks!
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I’m an avid baker, but have never made a brioche. Yours looks stupendous! I’m a little afraid to try it, because I love brioche so much, I’m sure I’d devour the whole loaf in one sitting.
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Dear Stefan, I’m so glad I discovered your blog! You have such great recipes. I appreciate all the work you are doing. I love baking bread and pastries and even though I have been living in the Netherlands for several years now, I really can’t get my head around the kinds of flours. Also, I can’t seem to be able to find the flours I need. I would be more than grateful if you could help me out. Could you please let me know which flour to use for bread, for brioche, for flatbread, and which for cakes, biscuits and tarts? I can only find Patent bloem and Tarwebloem at the super market. Are there more flours readily available? I am desperately seeking proper white strong bread flour to use in my breads, but I don’t know where to look for it. Looking at the photo of the flour you used and mention in the recipe list as bread flour, Soubry, is that proper bread flour? Which super markets sell that? Thank you in advance, Stefan, and I look forward to your reply.
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Hi Magda, I can see why it is confusing for you. You are right, in the supermarket there is only tarwebloem and patentbloem. The problem is that those names are not protected, so it doesn’t really tell you what is inside. Tarwebloem can be just about any flour, probably the cheapest they can find. I only use it for purposes where the type of flour isn’t very important. Patentbloem is supposed to be a better quality of flour, suitable for baking bread. But the quality doesn’t have to be consistent, as the same brand could switch suppliers at any time. For cakes, biscuits and tarts you should look for Zeeuwse bloem, also known as patisseriebloem. The Soubry in the photo is indeed suitable for bread baking, similar to the strong bread flour you’re looking for. These types of flour are not available at supermarkets. I buy the Soubry at Hanos (similar to Makro and Sligro, wholesale stores that cater to restaurants and companies; you need a pass to be able to shop there). Your best bet is to look for an artisan mill in your area. If you tell me in which area you live, I may be able to help out with that.
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Thank you very much for your reply Stefan. I did some more extensive search and found Soubry flour at Jumbo supermarket which was a pleasant surprise. They have the white bread flour and the whole wheat too. I also saw it at Sligro. I used it for a loaf of bread and it was great. I live in The Hague. Do you know by any chance of any mills around here that have good quality flour? Thanks again for your reply and help.
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Glad you found the Soubry. I’m not aware of any mills in The Hague but there are some in your area mentioned here: https://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/best-flour-mills-in-holland/
I think the closest to you is in Delft.
You can also get different types of flour at Italian, oriental or Mediterranean supemarkets. I’ve never been to http://italydenhaag.nl, but if you need any explanation of Italian flours let me know. The strongest Italian flour is called Manitoba, but I don’t know if it is available in Den Haag. It’s not in Amsterdam.
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Stefan, have you tried to make burger buns out of this dough? When eating a burger I like the bun to fall apart under the slightest touch of my teeth 🙂 I’m wondering whether this dough would achieve it! 😉
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