This buttery and soft French brioche bread is easy to make. Let the stand mixer do all the work!
There is this little French bakery in the hip part of town that people talk about. “Oooh, you need to go there!” they would say. Since I don’t live near downtown, I haven’t visited the bakery much.
After my family and I returned from France, we were obsessed with French pastries so we made it a point to visit the French bakery. One Saturday afternoon, we schlepped all the way into town and ordered several items. Pain au raisins, croissants, éclairs, you name it.
We took a bite of the pain au raisins, and it was dry. The croissant was pale, a bit soggy, and definitely NOT flaky. The éclair was… stale? Much to our disappointment, everything we ate was bad. I was devastated.
So I decided to make something French at home. While I have made French pastries before, I opted to bake a loaf of bread instead. Initially, my dough didn’t come together. I had to stop the machine a few times to knead it by hand before placing it back in the mixer again. After that, the dough came back together and looked normal. Whew.
The prep work only took about 20 minutes. Once my dough rose, it required a few quick minutes to shape them into smaller balls and bake them in the oven. My husband commented how amazing the house smelled while the bread was baking.
This bread was soft, buttery and amazing. I enjoyed slices with a slab (OK, two) of Nutella. I bet it would make an awesome breakfast, French toast, or even bread pudding. Don’t tell that that little French bakery, but I’m pretty sure this bread would beat theirs any day.
4 egg yolk brioche bread
Ingredients
- 500 grams (about 4 cups) bread flour
- 2 and ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 and ½ teaspoons salt
- 80 grams (about 3/8 cup) granulated sugar
- 200 millileters whole milk warm
- 4 egg yolks
- 60 grams (about ¼ cup or 4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter room temperature
Instructions
- In a measuring cup, sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk. Let sit until frothy, about 5-10 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar.
- Turn the mixer on low and slowly drizzle in the yeast mixture. Your dough may appear dry.
- Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and mix until fully incorporated.
- Add the butter, a little bit at a time until the dough is smooth, shiny and pliable. Mix on low for another 2-3 minutes.
- Knead the dough into a ball and place in a well-oiled bowl. Cover and allow to double in size in a warm area (I turned my oven to 175° F, turned it off, then placed my bowl in there).
- Once the dough has risen, divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place in a greased loaf pan. Cover and allow to rise and double again, about 1 hour.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Brush the top of the bread with a beaten egg and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top appears golden.
- Allow the bread to cool before serving.
I love brioche bread. My favorite way to eat it is topped with laughing cow cheese and fried Italian peppers.
Author
Ooooh that sounds amazing!!!
Can All Purpose flour be substituted in place of brad flour?
Author
Yes, but it may not have the same fluffiness that bread flour creates. Let me know how it goes!
Can you add chocolate chips to this without changing the recipe? My whole family is very fond of chocolate brioche and we have a lot of leftover egg yolks.
Author
Yes, I believe you could. I haven’t tried it myself so please let me know how it turns out.
delicious and tender. My only other comment is that my bread pans are 4.5×8.5, and this FILLED 2 bread pans. I made the dough into 16 balls and put 8 per pan, the size was just right and would have never fit in just one pan
Author
Thanks for your baking notes, Jenelle! Glad this bread worked out for you!
This bread is so good. I made pavlova’s and had leftover yolks. I made this bread but instead of using 4 egg yolks, I used 6 bc that’s how many egg whites I used. I have a long loaf pan (like 2 loaf pans but it’s one). I made 8 balls and it was great. I’ve made the milk bread too and I prefer this over it. (Milk bread is still good and very light)
If i could add a picture I would. This is definitely a bread I would make again!
Author
That’s fantastic! Thank you for letting me know that the bread worked out for you. Happy new year!
I’m confused about the butter….4 Tbls is not 1/2 cup….so and when I weighed the 80 grams I was about 7 tlbs.
Author
Thank you for noticing this mistake, Georgia! I mistakenly wrote down 80 grams of butter – it should be 60 grams, or about 4 Tablespoons.
Hi! This recipe looks amazing, thanks for sharing. Have your ever tried making it with a bread maker?
Thanks! 🙂
Author
No, I haven’t. I don’t own a bread maker so I haven’t tried it that way. If you do use a bread maker, will you please let me know how it turns out?
Amélie, did you have success with this recipe in a bread machine?
Can you use instant yeast here?!
Author
While I haven’t personally tried it, I’m sure you can. Just watch the rise time – it may not need the full hour to double in size. Let me know what you find out if you attempt using instant yeast!
Author
I would think so but I haven’t tried it myself. Watch the rise time, since it might not take as long for the dough to puff up.
What happens if you use more than 4 egg yolks? I have 5 egg yolks left over from making Swiss meringue…
Author
Hmm – I haven’t tried it, but it could make your bread denser since egg is usually a binding ingredient.
Thank you, that makes sense. Good to know!