Brioche Bread Recipe

Introduction to Brioche Bread

The French bread, Brioche is fancy and tender and light with eggs and butter. Smooth and pale with the ability to be added to any sweet or savory food with a hint of citrusy taste, it has a structure. Anything from breakfast pastries like, French toast, to gourmet burger buns, brioche can serve as an ingredient in baked productions and other meals. 

It is always easier to buy brioche at the store, however, nothing can quite compare to homemade brioche. Preparing it at home you get to decide on the quality of the ingredients used and make modifications to it to fit your preference. It does take a bit of time and effort since the dough has to be proofed several times, but there’s not much actual ‘work’ involved and the results are so good. 

In this post, we’ll guide you through all the steps necessary to make classic brioche bread at home from scratch and share lots of useful tips and tricks to help you achieve golden, light, not too sweet but delicately rich bread.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for making Brioche Bread:

• 3 1/4 cups (390g) bread flour 
• 1 1⁄4 cups (250g) sugar
• 1 packet (or 2 1⁄4 teaspoons) instant yeast 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 large eggs at ‘room temperature’
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks or 225g) of unsalted butter at room temperature cut into pieces  

Equipment Needed

In terms of equipment, you’ll need:

• A large mixing bowl 
• Electric mixer with dough hook schnell, schnell nen n. 
• Used in mixing, a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.
• Plastic wrap
• A buttered bowl for proofing
• Parchment paper
• Baking sheets
• An instant-read thermometer

Step-by-step Instructions for Making Brioche Bread

Step 1: Activate the Yeast  

We shall start with the yeast getting very foamy. However, such a step helps make sure it is still active and capable of helping the dough rise correctly. 

In a small bowl mix the warm milk, sugar, and yeast with the help of a whisk. Allowing the froth to stand on top of the mixture for 5–10 minutes. If the yeast fails to foam up then you can tell that it’s a bad yeast and you would need to get another packet.

Step 2: Mix the Dough

Following that we have the preparation of the dough, or as the case may be, the time to combine the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine flour, salt, remaining sugar, and yeast mixture. 

Add the dry ingredients to the blender and stir on low speed until the items are evenly distributed for around one minute. Then you add one egg at a time with the mixer still on. If needed add more flour and continue mixing at this speed for 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 3: Add the Butter  

The dough will look very wet and shaggy after this step. This is when you are supposed to add butter! 

While mixing on a medium speed, add pieces of very soft butter little by little. The dough will take roughly 5 minutes to form into one body and to get free from the sides of the bowl it is placed in.

Keep kneading on medium-high speed for about 10 to 15 min. When the dough becomes soft, smooth, and shiny, and can easily be worked with then it is ready.

Step 4: First Rise

That soft, elastic dough is then ready for the first rise which involves allowing the dough to ferment. Because this proofing time takes a long time it allows the yeast to do the job it is supposed to do.

Pour the dough into a bowl lightly oiled. Put it in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest warm till it is doubled in size for almost 2 hours. 

After the dough has doubled in size, knock the dough down with your fist, to reduce its volume by half. Excess is the evolution of carbon dioxide bubbles.

Step 5: Shaping 

Turn the dough over and knead on a lightly floured surface. Chop into 8 portions of equal amounts (about 110 grams). Like I said, one at a time; the rest should be left inside the plastic to avoid drying off. 

Tap, resp. mold each piece into a ball by drawing the edges up and inwards towards the base of the ball. Arrange on a parchment-lined tray. Make sure there is a suitable distance between rolls based on proofing and baking.

Step 6: Final Rise

Place the rolls in a lightly greased and covered dish and cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray or butter slightly melted on the walls. This serves to prevent them from drying up and gives a good moisturized crust. 

They were left to proof one more time until they had puffed and doubled in size, which took about an hour. As the rolls prove, they will rise into each other a bit which also I think helps contribute to that rustic quality.

Step 7: Bake!

Temperature: 350 F, Temperature Pre: Heat. 

Place your rolls into the oven, and as soon as you are ready to bake it, use a serrated knife or any sharp edge and cut an “X” in the middle of each roll. This allows them to expand evenly rather than tearing on the side rather than the middle as it would normally want. 

Cook the rolls until they are a rich ‘caramel’ color on the outside with the internal temperature reaching 190 degrees F, 25-30 minutes.

Step 8: Cool and Serve  

The rolls should bake until you can handle them, but not fully cooled. You can still remove them from each other, but while not fully cool. 

For best results, they should be eaten the day they are made, warm or at room temperature. Best enjoyed by slicing it in half and buttered or spread with jam in the morning.

Storage

Brioche rolls should be best served within the first one to two days of preparation. But man, they stay fresh for real long-term storage when you freeze them! 

Cool in rolls for half an hour before wrapping them with plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. Freeze in a Get wrapped airtight container or a freezer bag and make sure to get all the air out. Frozen rolls can easily be served by thawing them in the refrigerated section for the subsequent day.

Baking Tips For the Perfect Homemade Brioche Bread

Here are some top tips to help you achieve bakery-quality homemade brioche:

• Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature so the dough is easy to form. Again, it would be a problem if the cold eggs or butter were used.
• The dough should be kneaded long enough until it reaches a near-perfect texture of smooth elasticity. It develops the gluten properly.
• Do not eligible the dough or the rolls will become holey and have more of a yeast flavor than a buttery texture.
• Bake until the top is golden brown, light, and risen as possible – the recipes recommended a high heat setting for this.
• To allow the starches to set or else rolls will feel sticky they must be cooled slightly before eating.

Check Out: Pita Bread Recipe.

Brioche Bread Variations

Just the brioche roll is not the only thing; many variations can be done with brioche. Some turn this dough into sweet or savory shapes and delights like:

• Brioche à Tête – It is loaf-shaped with a round top made of dough.
• Pain au Lait – This is a milk bread containing raisins or chocolate chips. 
• Monkey bread – A bread roll that is covered in cinnamon sugar Monkey bread. Bread rolls are prepared by dipping in cinnamon sugar 
• Brioche Donuts – Use proofing and frying to elevate brioche doughs for donuts
• Fruit Danishes Fruit Danishes – Create a great pastry dough that is filled with fresh fruits. 
• French Toast – The best bread to use for French toast breakfast

Be it small or big, soft or crispy, plain or flavored, brioche prepared at home is going to delight everyone. Here you’ve learned how to make this thing from scratch; bring your imagination to life!

Conclusion

Preparing brioche bread at home genuinely entails some work and effort but the result is fantastic! For some reason, it reminds me of a combination between a science fair and a grade school art class. It is incredibly satisfying to crank out fifty extremely neat and rather attractive rolls. We believe after reading this tutorial you should be ready to handle this typical French dough. Only one thing – be patient and enjoy the wi-fi ‘living the slow rise’ life. Your endeavors will be rewarded with deep, moist unadulterated deliciousness that can be described as butter and egg!

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FAQs about Brioche Bread