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5 from 6 votes

Homemade Brioche Recipe

This is the easiest Homemade Brioche Recipe you'll ever try! Buttery, soft, and good enough to eat the whole loaf on its own. With simple step-by-step instructions paired with photos, anyone can make this recipe! No matter your baking experience.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Resting time15 hours
Total Time16 hours 10 minutes
Course: Bread, Side Dish
Cuisine: French
Keyword: banana bread, brioche, brown butter, homemade bread
Servings: 20 slices
Calories: 234kcal
Author: Nicole Beaulieu

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup milk lukewarm
  • 1 tbsp active dry yeast
  • 3-8* tbsp sugar use less for a savory brioche or more for a sweet brioche
  • 5 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract optional, use if you're making a sweet brioche
  • 4 1/2 cups flour all-purpose
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
  • 1 1/4 cup butter unsalted, softened at room temperature, cut into 6 equal-sized pieces
  • simple syrup or egg wash** for a glossy top, see recipe notes for details

Instructions

Day 1

  • Whisk the lukewarm milk, yeast, and 1 tsp of the sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.
  • Mix the salt and remaining sugar into the flour. Add the dry ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer. Secure the dough hook to the mixer, and mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms.
  • Add one piece of butter to the dough. Mix on medium speed until the butter is completely blended into the dough, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat this step until all the butter is completely incorporated into the dough.
  • Continue to knead the dough on medium speed for 5-10 minutes, or until it's completely smooth and elastic. The dough will be soft and slightly tacky to the touch. It should pull from the sides of the bowl. It may still stick to the bottom a bit. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and transfer it to the fridge overnight.

Day 2

  • Remove the bowl from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 3 hours. Flour your work surface and hands well, Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a ball.
  • Split the ball into two equal-sized pieces. Set one of them aside and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Prep two loaf pans by generously buttering the inside, then dusting with flour.

Braided loaf

  • Roll the dough ball into a long, thin, oval-like shape. Use a knife or a pizza cutter to slice the oval into 3 equal-sized ropes, leaving about 1 inch of dough connecting the ropes at the top.
  • Roll the ropes slightly to smooth them out. Starting from the top where the dough is still connected, braid the strands of dough. Once you've reached the end, pinch the ends of the ropes together.
  • Gently lift the braid into one of the prepared loaf pans, tucking the inched ends underneath. Loosely cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size and reaching the top of the loaf pan.

Nantaise loaf

  • Take the remaining dough ball and portion it into 8 equal-sized pieces. Flatten one of the pieces out, fold the edges into the middle, and pinch them together. Flip the piece over and cup your hand over it. Gently roll to create a perfect ball. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
  • Place the dough balls into the prepared loaf pan, slightly off-set to create a zig-zag pattern. Loosely cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size and reaching the top of the loaf pan.

Bake

  • While the loaves are rising, preheat the oven the 325F. Once the dough has risen, transfer the loaf pans to the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. *Optional: If you are making a savory brioche, brush the tops of the loaves with egg wash before baking.
  • For the sweet brioche in the photos: Brush the loaves generously with syrup immediately once you take them out of the oven. Let the loaves cool for 10 minutes, then brush with another layer of syrup. Let the loaves sit for 5 minutes, then gently flip them out of the pan to finish cooling on a rack.

Notes

*Use less sugar if you want a savory brioche, and use more sugar if you want a sweet brioche. I used 5 tbsp for my loaves.
**Use simple syrup for sweet brioche and egg wash for a savory brioche. 
  • Egg wash: whisk 2 eggs with 2 tbsp milk to water. After the dough has risen in the loaf pans, before transferring into the oven, gently brush the egg wash over the dough.
  • Simple syrup: Dissolve 1/2 cup granulated sugar into 1/2 cup hot water. Let the syrup cool in the fridge as the loaves bake. Brush the loaves generously with syrup immediately once you take them out of the oven. Let the loaves cool for 10 minutes, then brush with another layer of syrup.
Nutritional information is an estimate and may vary depending on the ingredients you use.
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Nutrition

Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 297mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 432IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 2mg