Learn how to make buttery, golden brioche bread at home. Soft, rich, and versatile—perfect for sandwiches, rolls, or even a cheesy pull-apart loaf.
If bread had a prom queen, it would be brioche. Golden, glossy, buttery, and just the right amount of over-the-top rich, this is the loaf that makes plain white bread look like it showed up in sweatpants. Brioche is a French classic, but don’t let that intimidate you – if you can handle yeast, you can handle this dough. The payoff? A soft, slightly sweet bread that’s just as happy being slathered with jam at breakfast as it is showing up at dinner next to a filet mignon.
What makes brioche so irresistible is its ingredient lineup. Eggs and butter are the stars here, and together they give the bread its signature golden color, tender crumb, and melt-in-your-mouth flavor.
How To Make Brioche
To make this glorious bread, you begin with butter. LOTS and LOTS of butter and eggs. Besides the ingredients, you must have, possess, be a pro at, and exercise, patience. Other than that, it’s really not all that difficult.
Make sure your butter is at room temperature, as well as your eggs. This makes a silky, sticky dough.
Sticky AF.
I’m just preparing you, so remember, flour is your friend.
Then, let it rise.
Now, this is where you get to take any pent up emotions, anger and/or any frustrations out on something that won’t call the police – punch that dough. Punch it down and put it in the fridge to let it rise again…ALL NIGHT.
Yep, this is a two-dayer.
On day two, remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into two portions. I have two loaf pans, and I thought one of them had to be regular loaf size, but no. Both are 7″ x 3″. This recipe will make two 9″ x 5″ loaves. I got two loaves and 6 slider buns out of my batch. You can put your halves each in the larger loaf pans like they are (they should fit snug), or you can braid them before you put them into the pan to make a pretty one and be a show off.
No, this is not my version of a brioche dough braid. ↓
I divided one big section into small sections, flattened them, then rolled the sections up tightly to create layers.
I failed to take any rolling photos, but you can see in the loaf dish that they’re rolled up bundles of dough snuggled in tightly. Please forgive me for being a very poor step-by-stepper.
I’m not gonna lie here. I think I did some cheer moves, a cartwheel, along with high-fiving myself after tasting this for the first time.
Loaf #1
Loaf #2
With the remaining dough, I made slider buns and I was pretty happy with how they turned out.
Slider Buns
And because I can’t stop at just “here’s a loaf of bread”, I took my brioche a couple steps further. With the soft little buns, I stuffed them with chicken salad for the ultimate sandwich upgrade. (Trust me, once you put chicken salad on brioche, regular sandwich bread will feel like an insult.)
I usually make my chicken salad with tarragon and jalapeños, and oh.my.word…It’s one of the best things in the world. It’s something I’ve always made to keep in my refrigerator, and many times it’s my breakfast.
I try to keep the ingredients on hand, which isn’t difficult, so I can whip up a batch at the last minute if I need to. Now, tuna salad, on the other hand, I will only eat if it’s from a well known very good deli here. Otherwise, I only like mine. If you’re from around here, you’ll remember we had a local grocery store chain called Bruno’s. I think there were only a few in Alabama. They had the BEST chicken salad and tuna salad. I have no idea what they did to the tuna salad, but it was absolutely amazing and I haven’t been able to recreate it. It was a distinct taste that I’ll never forget.
With another batch of brioche, I baked a loaf into a ham-and-cheddar pull-apart bread that basically disappeared before it cooled. Chopped ham, Cabot’s Farmhouse Reserve white cheddar and bacon adorned this pull-apart loaf. That’s the beauty of brioche: it’s a blank canvas for carbs in all their glory. How cute would mini loaves be?
Bonus Brioche Ideas
🥪 Brioche Rolls with Chicken Salad
Take your brioche dough and shape it into rolls instead of loaves. Bake until golden and cool slightly, then split and fill with chicken salad. The buttery, pillowy texture of the rolls turns even a humble chicken salad sandwich into something special.
(Tip: smaller rolls also make perfect party sliders.)
🧀 Ham & Cheddar Brioche Pull-Apart Bread
Start with a baked brioche loaf. Slice it crosshatch-style (without cutting all the way through), then tuck shredded cheddar and diced ham into the cuts. Brush generously with melted butter and bake until gooey and golden. Pull apart, eat, and watch it disappear.
Here’s your printable –
Brioche
Learn how to make buttery, golden brioche bread at home. Soft, rich, and versatile—perfect for sandwiches, rolls, or even a cheesy pull-apart loaf.
Ingredients
- 7 large eggs, at room temperature, set one aside
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- ¼ c white sugar
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ c warm water
- 5 c all-purpose flour
- Coarse salt flakes, like Maldon
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together 1 cup flour , 1 tablespoon active dry yeast, ¼ cup sugar, and 1½ teaspoons salt, before adding ½ cup warm water. Turn the mixer on at medium speed until combined.
- Add in 6 (six) eggs, 1 egg at a time, letting it incorporate before adding the next.
- Set the mixer to low. Add in 2 cups of flour, ⅓ cup at a time, and let the mixer go until the dough is well combined.
- Turn the mixer off, and cut the 2 sticks of softened butter into small cubes/chunks. With the mixer on medium, add the butter in 6 separate batches, waiting until the butter is well incorporated after each batch before adding more.
- Set mixer to low. Add in 1 ¾ cups of flour, a ¼ cup at a time until the dough is well-combined. This dough will be very sticky.
- Use a rubber spatula to clean the dough off the mixing paddle, and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl. Cover the dough with a plate or plastic wrap and let it proof at room temperature for 3 hours, until it doubles in size.
- After 3 hours have elapsed, punch and deflate the dough completely with a rubber spatula. Cover the dough again, and refrigerate it overnight until 3 hours before you’re ready to bake the next day.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into two equal pieces. Shape them on a lightly floured clean surface, and place each into its own loaf pan (9" x 5").
- Cover each loaf pan tightly and let proof at room temperature for about 2½ to 3 hours, until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350° while the dough is proofing.
- Whisk the last egg with a little water, brush the loaves with egg wash and sprinkle with a little salt.
- Bake for 37 to 40 minutes in the center of the oven. Tent the loaves with foil if the crust is getting too dark.
- Let the bread sit in the loaf pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
This recipe is adapted from The Woks of Life.
Recommended Products
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GarveeHome Bread Box, Double Layer Acacia Wooden Bread Bin with Clear Acrylic Door Panel, Air Vents, Countertop Bread Container, Rustic Brown Bread Holder for Home Made Bread, Bagels -
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Enameled Cast Iron Bread Oven 2 Qt (Red), Oven-Safe Artisan Bread Baking Pan
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 255Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 220mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 6g
The provided nutrition calculated may not always be accurate.
