Brioche Bread Recipe Made with Fresh Milled Flour

My brioche bread recipe is rich, buttery, and sweet. Entirely too delicious to be whole wheat, yet it is. If you need something special, this is it!

This brioche bread recipe is one that I reach for when I want to make some bread that’s extra special. It’s perfect for a holiday dinner, a special meal, a gift or just because (which is good enough reason for me).

A brioche loaf, made with enriched dough like this one, has extra richness, extra sweetness and a soft, tender crumb. Imagine a homemade sandwich bread crossed with a decadent pastry. It’s “rich” in all the best ways, while still being 100% whole wheat. So delicious, that even just eating a plain slice feels like a treat!

Brioche bread is not the easiest loaf to make, but it might be the tastiest. A little patience and a couple extra steps will give you a final product that is pastry chef approved. Once you’ve mastered a brioche recipe, your status as star baker is secured!

Get the Cookbook

Special Announcement: My 100% Whole Wheat Yeast Breads with Freshly Milled Flour cookbook is finally available! Inside it you’ll find my best-of-the-best recipes for all different types of yeast breads from cinnamon rolls to pizza crust. You’ll also find wonderful information about grain options, freshly milled flour nutrition, and tips and tricks for baking with whole wheat flour. Get your copy today!

Fresh Milled Flour

Everyone wants to know the secret to the best homemade breads. In my opinion, it’s all about the flour. I freshly mill all of my flour from wheat berries. You can more about the benefits of freshly milled flour here or in my cookbook.

In a nutshell: you get the absolute best nutrition and flavor within the first hours and days after milling your grains. You also get to customize your flour texture and grain blends while saving money. Plus, it’s an easy-peasy process that takes very little time. Totally worth the small amount of effort it requires!

What Makes Brioche Bread Different from Other Bread?

As I mentioned earlier, brioche is made using an enriched bread dough. That simply means that in addition to the flour, water, yeast and salt of a basic bread recipe, we add a few extra ingredients for even better texture and flavor.

Eggs, butter, milk and sugar are used to “enrich” this brioche dough and produce a bread loaf that tastes like a million bucks. Flakey, buttery, sweet and irresistible!

Supplies and Ingredients for this Brioche Bread Recipe

Supplies

• Stand mixer with dough hook or large bowl and mixing spoon
• Bread pan

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm milk
• 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 6 tablespoons cane sugar or sucanat sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cold butter (8.8 ounces or 2 sticks + 2 tablespoons)
• 3 ½ – 4 cups (540 grams) of freshly milled flour (cooled)

Know Before You Bake

The most important thing about making brioche is to remember you need cool ingredients.  If your freshly milled flour is warm at all, go stick it in the freezer and let it cool down.  Keep your butter cool in the fridge, and remove just before chopping it up into cubes.  The only thing we are going to warm is your milk, just so we can activate the yeast.  Other than that, cool is the name of the brioche game! 

One other thing – this recipe just works better in an electric mixer, since we will be mixing it A LOT!

How to Make this Brioche Bread Recipe

Activating the Yeast

In a bowl or your mixer, add the warm milk, sugar, yeast, and ½ cup of flour.  Stir and let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.

Making the Dough

Once yeast has proofed, add the 5 eggs and egg yolk.  Mix together.

Next, add the vanilla, salt, and about 2 more cups (285 grams) of flour. Do not add the remaining flour yet!  Mix these together until you have a very sticky, shaggy dough.

Knead/mix this together for 3 minutes, and let it rest.

Take your butter out of the fridge and cut it into very small cubes.  Working in small batches, add the butter cubes to the mixer.  Mix each batch for 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, to get everything incorporated.

Continue adding more and more butter, mixing for a minute, and scraping down the sides, until all the butter is added and incorporated.

Once the butter is all mixed in, start adding in your remaining flour.  Only do about ¼ cup (30 grams) at a time, until your dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl and becoming easier to work with.  Err on the side of not enough flour, rather than too much flour.  You don’t want this bread to be dry!  If you feel like there might not be enough flour, continue mixing for 10-15 minutes to see if it becomes smooth and shiny, and easier to work with.  If not, you may need to add more flour.

This dough will need to be kneaded for 10-15 minutes.

First Rise

Oil a bowl, roll your dough ball into the oil, and cover with plastic wrap or a moist tea towel.

Let the dough proof or rise until doubled.  This usually takes about one hour.

Shaping the Dough

For brioche, the main options for shaping it are to braid it and put it in a loaf pan, or form small balls of dough (like rolls) and squish them inside a loaf pan.  This recipe will fill a large 9 x 5 loaf pan, either way you shape it.

Prepare the loaf pan by spraying with non-stick spray or coating in oil.

Dump your dough onto a slightly wet, oiled, or lightly floured surface.  

If braiding, divide the dough into thirds, and flatten each out into a rectangle.  Roll each piece into a log or snake shape, about an inch and a half thick.  The most important thing is to get them the same size.  

Pinch the top ends of each strip together at the top, and begin braiding the dough until you get to the end. 

When you get to the end, pinch and seam them together.  

Second Rise

Place the braided dough into your loaf pan, cover and let rise again, until almost doubled.

Baking Instructions

When almost done rising, preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.  If desired, make an egg wash to brush over the top, using egg yolk and water.  

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.  Let the brioche sit in the pan for 5 minutes, before removing it. Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into the bread – if you can!  A bake day well done!

Storing

You can wrap leftovers in plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for a few days. For longer storage, place wrapped bread in an air-tight container and keep in the refrigerator. You can even freeze leftover bread in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to a few weeks.

Printable Brioche Bread Recipe Card

Serving Suggestions

This brioche bread is incredibly delicious all on its own, but if you want to make things even tastier, try it sliced for sandwiches, use it to make French toast, or spread with butter and honey or jam. You can’t go wrong with bread this good!

Where to Buy Breadmaking Supplies

Need an easy way to get all your bread baking supplies and ingredients without spending hours researching? I’ve done all the trial and error for you and put together the TIDBITS & Company Bread Making Supplies Moonsift page. Here you’ll find all of my favorite bread making items along with links and product descriptions. Check it out!

Try These Recipes Next

This brioche bread recipe is the stuff of dreams, but don’t take my word on it. Try it for yourself! Once you get your first bite of delicious and tender brioche, you’ll see what all the fuss is about. It’ll be worth every step and every minute of prep.

Oh, and remember to invite me over for a slice. I know it’s going to be fabulous!

For more bread recipes, try:

• Easy Naan Flatbread Recipe with Fresh Milled Flour
• 100% Whole Grain Sourdough Bread Made Simple
• 100% Whole Grain Einkorn Sourdough Bread Simplified
• Healthy Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
• Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
• 100% Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bars
• Recipe for Homemade Pita Bread with Fresh Milled Flour
• 100% Whole Wheat Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns Recipe