This French brioche bread is a rich, buttery, yet light and fluffy sandwich bread. Made with milk, eggs, sugar, and lots of butter. A soft consistency dough that takes only 10 minutes to prepare, but a few hours to rise in the fridge overnight.
Brioche is one of the richest, softest, and most delicious bread to make and enjoy. One recipe can be made into many different shapes. I've already shared with you a few of these, such as the classic brioche a tete, brioche buns, brioche loaf bread. Today, I want to share this classic brioche sandwich bread. I think you are going to love it.
About this bread
Unlike the classic sandwich bread, this brioche bread is buttery, rich, with a crisp golden crumb. The dough is made with milk, eggs, sugar, yeast, and lots of butter. It has a very soft sticky texture because of all that butter.
The process of making brioche is not like regular bread. Once you prepare the dough, you want to let it rest in the fridge overnight. That's what helps develop flavor.
Also, unlike regular bread, this one takes longer to prove because we start with chilled dough. So, make sure to give this bread ample time.
Here's the timeline for you at a glance.
- Prepare the dough - 10 minutes
- Let dough rise at room temperature - 60 minutes
- Chill dough - 6 to 12 hours (up to 24 hours)
- Shape the brioche - 10 minutes
- Proof the brioche - 60 to 90 minutes
- Bake the brioche - 35 minutes
Sandwich loaf pans
- It is very important that you buy a good quality pan. Nothing is worse than to spend time on bread and to have it get stuck in the pan. A good quality pan will last you for years and will be a pleasure to use over and over again. Since I bake almost every week, I have quite a few baking pans, and yet I keep using these three pans over and over again. I love loaf pans with high sides.
- I have this large Pullman sandwich loaf pan and this small Pullman sandwich loaf pan, which works great not just for the Pullman bread but also for this type of classic loaf bread. So, basically, you can use that one pan for both types of loaves. Make sure to buy the lids if you plan to make the Pullman bread as well.
- These are classic sandwich loaf pans that I love very much and often use it for my plain loaves as well as babkas and stuff bread roll recipes.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Flour – Often, bread flour is recommended for making homemade bread. And yet, I have been making bread now for over 10 years and I always use all-purpose flour for my brioche.
- Instant dry yeast – Today, I am using bakers fresh yeast. But you can also use 2 ¼ tsp (1 packet) instant dry yeast as I have done in my other brioche recipes.
- Sugar – Brioche is a sweet bread, but you can certainly reduce the sugar by half.
- Butter – Is the star of the show in brioche. So, use good quality butter with high-fat content.
- Eggs - Add a lot of flavor to the bread, gives a tender crumb, and strengthens the texture.
- Milk - Enhances the flavor, and tenderizes the dough giving it a soft texture. The temperature of the liquid water/milk is an important factor in bread making. It has to be warm, not hot. Usually about 110 F. And yet, you don't really need a thermometer. The temperature is around the same as when you give milk to a baby.
Step by step instructions (save/pin)
This recipe will make one 9 x 4 x 4 loaf (double the recipe for 13 x 4 x 4 loaf)
Prepare the dough
- Combine flour and salt well.
- In the mixer bowl, combine - warm milk, yeast, sugar, and eggs.
- Add flour to the mixer as well.
- Knead on medium speed scraping the sides of the bowl.
- Once all the flour is incorporated, knead the dough for two minutes until smooth.
- The dough will be soft and sticky - that's ok.
- Next, gradually add the soft room temperature butter, one cube at a time.
- Once all the butter is in, knead again for 2 minutes until smooth and elastic and soft.
1st & 2nd rise
- Remove the dough from the mixer bowl.
- Form into a smooth ball.
- Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or damp kitchen cloth.
- Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour until doubled in volume.
- Then, punch the dough down and form into a ball.
- Cover again and let rise in the fridge for 6 hours up to 12 hours.
Shape the loaf
- At this point, the dough will be very chilled and firm (because it's a butter-rich dough).
- Invert on to a lightly floured surface.
- Knead for just 30 seconds to make it smooth and pliable again.
- Divide the dough into 5 portions.
- Shape each portion into a tight ball, tucking seams under.
- Then, shape each ball into a sausage.
- Place these into a sprayed loaf pan.
Prove loaf (3rd rise)
- Cover loaf pan with plastic wrap.
- Let rise in a warm place. This can take about 90 minutes up to 2 hours (because we started with chilled dough).
- Once you see your dough is almost halfway up the sides
- Preheat the oven to 170 C / 340 F for at least 10 minutes.
Bake the loaf
- Brush the loaf with beaten egg ( use only egg yolk/water mixture for a darker color).
- Place the loaf pan on the center rack in the hot oven.
- Bake the smaller loaves for about 30 to 35 minutes.
- The bread is done when you tap the bottom of your loaf and you will hear a hollow sound.
- Partially open the lid and let cool for 10 minutes - before you remove and let cool completely.
- Always let bread rest for at least an hour before you cut it - I know it's hard but it will keep the bread moist.
- Enjoy!
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Description
Ingredients
This recipe will make one 9 x 4 x 4 loaf (double the recipe for 13 x 4 x 4 loaf)
- 60 ml (0.25 cups) Milk warm (110F)
- 21 grams (0.74 oz) Fresh yeast (or 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast)
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 310 grams (2.50 cups) All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 Egg yolks large
- 1 Egg large
- 60 grams (4.00 tbsp) Butter unsalted room temperature
- 60 grams (0.50 cups) All-purpose flour (for kneading)
Instructions
Brioche dough
- Combine flour and salt well.
- In the mixer bowl, combine - warm milk, yeast, sugar, and eggs.
- Add flour to the mixer as well.
- Knead on medium speed scraping the sides of the bowl.
- Once all the flour is incorporated, knead the dough for two minutes until smooth.
- The dough will be soft and sticky - that's ok.
- Next, gradually add the soft room temperature butter, one cube at a time.
- Once all the butter is in, knead again for 2 minutes until smooth and elastic and soft.
1st & 2nd rise
- Remove the dough from the mixer bowl.
- Form into a smooth ball.
- Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or damp kitchen cloth.
- Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour until doubled in volume.
- Then, punch the dough down and form into a ball.
- Cover again and let rise in the fridge for 6 hours up to 12 hours.
Shape the loaf
- At this point, the dough will be very chilled and firm (because it's a butter-rich dough).
- Invert on to a lightly floured surface.
- Knead for just 30 seconds to make it smooth and pliable again.
- Divide the dough into 5 portions.
- Shape each portion into a tight ball, tucking seams under.
- Then, shape each ball into a sausage.
- Place these into a sprayed loaf pan.
Prove the loaf (3nd rise)
- Cover loaf pan with plastic wrap.
- Let rise in a warm place. This can take about 90 minutes up to 2 hours (because we started with chilled dough).
- Once you see your dough is almost halfway up the sides
- Preheat the oven to 170 C / 340 F for at least 10 minutes.
Bake the brioche
- Brush the loaf with beaten egg ( use only egg yolk/water mixture for a darker color).
- Place the loaf pan on the center rack in the hot oven.
- Bake the smaller loaves for about 30 to 35 minutes.
- The bread is done when you tap the bottom of your loaf and you will hear a hollow sound.
- Partially open the lid and let cool for 10 minutes - before you remove and let cool completely.
- Always let bread rest for at least an hour before you cut it - I know it's hard but it will keep the bread moist.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips for making the perfect sandwich bread every single time
- Measure all ingredients ahead of time so you don't forget anything at the last minute.
- For accuracy use a weight measure for the ingredients because every cup of flour can weigh differently depending on how you fill it.
- The milk must be warm (not hot) about 110F. If the milk is too hot it will kill the yeast, similarly, if the milk is too cold it will not activate the yeast.
- Though instant dry yeast has a long shelf life, it can get ruined. Always check the expiry on the yeast. If unsure, combine the yeast with water/milk, sugar/honey, and oil/butter from the recipe and let stand 5 minutes. If it gets foamy the yeast is good to go if not best to buy fresh yeast or check the temperature of the milk
- Keep salt away from yeast as it can kill the yeast. I like to combine it with the flour then add it to the yeast mixture.
- A soft loose well-hydrated dough is not necessarily a bad thing, it often will give you soft fuffy bread so don't be tempted to add more flour than mentioned in the recipe.
- Kneading is key to making good bread. While kneading by hand can be therapeutic using a stand mixer is easier and quicker
- Leave the dough at room temperature to rise until double in volume. While not recommended when in haste you can place it in a warm (not hot) oven this will expedite the rise.
- Bread does not have to be time-consuming. You can leave the dough in the fridge to rise for a few hours (even overnight) while you go about your chores. A slow rise will give more flavor to the bread.
- Always preheat the oven for at least 10 minutes before you place bread in or the low temperature will spread the dough too much.
Equipment
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Frequently Asked Questions
If stored properly this brioche bread will stay for 4 to 5 days at room temperature. It can be frozen for a month or more too. Never store bread in the fridge as it dries out.
You can half the recipe if you have a smaller loaf pan.
Yes, you can add up to 1 cup of dry fruit and nuts. You will need to soak the dry fruit in water to prevent the bread from becoming dry. I do have a walnut raisin bread that perhaps would be better with all white flour.
This bread doesn't usually last long in our home and these never go to waste.
These are great to use in French toast as well as toasted or grilled sandwiches.
Any hard leftover bread can be pulsed in the food processor and used for coating schnitzel or breaded Crispy Chicken
Yes, with a few tweaks. Bread from white wheat flour will be softer in texture than whole wheat bread and needs a little less water. I recommend using my whole wheat sandwich bread recipe which uses both white and whole wheat flour
It might work. But, perhaps, it's best to use my tried and tested soft burger buns recipes or brioche buns
A Pullman loaf pan needs the right quantity for a specific pan. I do have two recipes that use Pullman pan - Pullman sandwich bread and brioche Pullman sandwich loaf. I highly recommend checking those two recipes.
Yes, of course, you can make one loaf just like we did in our white sandwich bread or whole wheat sandwich bread.
Trouble shooting
My dough does not become smooth after adding the butter? Curdled dough.
You must add the butter gradually one tablespoon at a time. Add the butter too quickly will result in a big mess. Chilling the dough for 5 minutes will help tremendously.
Why can't knead brioche dough by hand?
You can knead brioche dough by hand. It is a soft, sticky, and very buttery dough which is not the easiest to knead which is why a stand mixer is recommended. But, you can definitely do it by hand.
How do I know if my dough is done?
You can do a windowpane test. To do this take a small piece of dough and stretch it between your fingers in opposite directions. If the dough stretches until it is thin enough to look like a transparent window, your dough is ready. Having said that if you follow my directions and timeline closely you will have perfect bread with or without the windowpane test.
Do i have to let the dough rest overnight?
The whole point of letting the bread dough rest overnight is to help develop flavor. It's the same with this brioche. You can let the dough proof for as little as 4 to 6 hours or overnight up to 24 hours.
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