This Brioche Bread Is For Butter Lovers Only (2024)

If you love butter, you'll live for this briochebread. This recipe produces two loaves, each containing a whole stickof butter—so you can imagine how rich each fluffy bite will be.

Brioche is a yeasted dough that falls firmly into theenriched dough camp. Unlike simple lean doughs (think

French breador pita bread)that only need flour, yeast, water, and salt, enriched dough also has sugar,butter or oil, eggs, and milk or cream. The added fat changes the dough's behavior at each stage and yields a tender bite and a soft crust.

What kind of flour should I use?

We went with AP flour for this brioche recipe, but youcan use bread flour or substitute half of the flour for white whole wheatflour. The critical thing to remember is that the texture of the brioche willchange depending on the kind of flour you use. Flour with a higher proteincontent will form more gluten, resulting in a chewier brioche loaf. AP flourhas 11-12% protein, bread flour has 12-13% protein, and white whole wheat flourhas 13-14% protein.

What kind of yeast should I use?Active dry or instant yeast will both work in thiscase;because we're blooming the yeast in the sponge portion of the dough,the type of dry yeast you use has no impact on the final product. Yeast has tobe alive to be effective, but you may get a packet full ofdead yeast every now and then. To avoid starting your dough with dead yeast, pay special attentionto the sponge to ensure it produces air pockets before proceeding. If thedough is flat with no bubbles, start again with a fresh packet of yeast.

Can I make this dough by hand?Technically, yes, but the stand mixer will genuinely makeyour life 100x easier for this recipe. Because of the extensive amount ofmixing that's required to develop the gluten properly and the slow, gradualaddition of butter, doing this by hand will result in a very long, very arduousprocess. If you're without a stand mixer, but you absolutely must have fresh brioche, try working with a half batch toyield 1 loaf. Your arms will thank you!

This dough seems very wet and sticky!It is a very moist dough! Enriched with lots of eggsand butter for that insanely delicate crumb and fatty goodness, the dough willbe quite sticky initially. This recipe uses large eggs measuringabout 54 grams each. If your eggs run larger, use only 5 eggs to avoid anoverly wet batter! Stickiness is a hallmark of enriched dough, so trust in theprocess and have the patience to let the gluten develop fully before adding in thebutter.

How do I know when the gluten has developed properly?The windowpane test is a reliable wayto check for gluten
development. To perform the test, take a small piece of dough and slowlystretch it out in opposite directions: if the dough becomes thin enough toappear semi-transparent (like apane of glass in a dirty window) beforeittears, you're there! You'll have anextra desirable chew in the bread once your dough gets to this stage. Thesurface of the dough should look shiny and smooth, and well-hydrated. If yourdough struggles to pull away from the sides of the mixer, chances are youneed to increase the mixer's speed. Stay nearby the mixer! You might haveto hold it in place as it dances across your countertop with vigorousagitation.

How should I add the butter?Slowly and with great patience. Thebutter addition process should take no less than 10 minutes. If you add thebutter in too fast, it will not "emulsify" into the dough and result
in an oily, broken dough. It'll still bake off well enough, but do it right, andyour dough will look satisfyingly smooth, glossy, and plump. Like laminated dough, if yourclimate, kitchen, hands, or tools are particularly warm, it can cause thebutter in the dough to separate and seep out. To combine warm temperatures, popthe dough into the refrigerator for a few minutes when you feel it start tobecome greasy.

Should I let the dough rest overnight?It's up to you! Generally, more time means more flavorwhen it comes to food. Aside from making the dough easier to handle,letting it sit in the fridge overnight is basically a slow fermentationthat helps it develop a subtle depth of flavor. Because we're already lettingsome fermentation happen by using the sponge mixture, overnight proofing is unnecessary if you're looking to bake immediately. Or, if you're like me and lovefreshly baked bread straight out of the oven, bake one loaf on the day of, andsave the other half of the dough to bake for the next day!

How do I know if my dough isoverproofed?

Unfortunately, a final result that tastes likefermented, hoppy beer-breadis the easiest way totell if your bread dough sat in its proofing stage for too long. But ofcourse, by then, the loaf is baked, andstarting over is probably the last thing you'llwant to do. Avoid scraping your hard work by paying particular attention to thedough during the proofing stage. Timing the dough is undoubtedly helpful, but notinghow the dough looks is themost reliable way to tell if the dough has proved enough. Besure to note where the dough sits in the bowl before it starts to rest so thatyou can get an accurate idea of where it should be when doubled in size. Youcan even mark the bowl with tape or a rubber band to track your dough-baby'sprogress.

Ingredients

For the sponge

1 c.
all-purpose flour (128 g.)
1
(0.25-oz.) packet or 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (7 g.)
1/2 c.
milk, lukewarm (120 g.)

For the dough

6
large eggs, room temperature (320 g.)
3 c.
all-purpose flour (384 g.)
1/2 c.
granulated sugar (105 g.)
2 tsp.
kosher salt (12 g.)
1 c.
(2 sticks) butter, softened, plus more for pans (227 g.)

For the egg wash

1
large egg
1 Tbsp.
water
Kosher or seasalt, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Step1Make the sponge: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, add 1 cup flour, yeast, and milk. Using a spatula, mix until well combined, then cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 45 minutes.
2. Step2Once the sponge has formed some air pockets, add in eggs, remaining 3 cups flour, sugar, and salt. Mix on medium speed until well combined, then gradually increase to medium-high speed and continue mixing until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and becomes shiny and elastic, scraping down bowl every 4 to 5minutes,10 to 13 minutes.
3. Step3With the mixer running, add in butter gradually, 1 tablespoon at a time, letting each tablespoon fully incorporate into the dough before adding the next, 13 to 15 minutes. Continue mixing on medium-high speed for 5 to 7 minutes until the dough passes the windowpane test. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest about 1 hour or doubled in size.
4. Step4To bake next day: Once dough has doubled in size, punch down to deflate dough completely, then re-cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight until you are ready to bake the next day. Follow instructions in the next step,letting dough proof until doubled before baking, longer if needed,up to 2 hours 30 minutes.
5. Step5To bake same day: Once dough has doubled in size, turn out onto a floured surface and punch down dough. Divide in half using a bench scraper. Cut each half into six equalpieces. Flatten each piece into a rectangle, then fold short ends in towards each other as if folding a letter. Flatten again and tightly roll into a log starting with the short end. Repeat with all pieces.
6. Step6Grease 8”-x-5” loaf pans with butter. Place 6 pieces of dough seam-side down in one straight row into each prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap.
7. Step7Preheat oven to 375°. Let dough proof until puffy and doubled in size, 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining egg and water. Brush egg wash on top of loaf and sprinkle lightly with salt.
8. Step8Bake until deeply golden on top and the center of the loaf registers between 190° and 205°, about 30 minutes.
9. Step9Let cool 5 minutes then turn loaves out onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely.