Brioche Dough Recipe and all of its wonderful uses!

Print Print | Email Email | by zoe, September 24, 2008
Filed Under Recipes | 293 comments

pear pomegranate tarte tatin

Here is a classic fall recipe with a twist. I’ve added the tartness of pomegranate seeds to the mellow sweetness of pears and draped the whole thing in a rich, buttery, tender brioche dough. It is a lovely and quick dessert, especially if you have a bucket of brioche on hand. For those of you who do not already own Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (click here to purchase), here is the recipe and it can be used for all of these wonderful treats: caramel sticky buns, grilled fruit tart, fresh fruit muffins, Brioche à tête, apricot pastries and fabulous doughnuts! Actually the possibilities are endless, just use your imagination and let us know what treats you’ve come up with.

Brioche dough (makes about 4 loaves)

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

1 tablespoon granulated yeast (1 packets)

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

8 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup honey (this is my all time favorite!)

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

7 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Mix the yeast, salt, eggs honey and melted butter with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or lidded (not airtight) food container.

Mix in the flour, using a spoon until all of the flour is incorporated.

Cover (not airtight), and allow to sit at room temperature for about two hours.

brioche a tete

The dough can be used as soon as it is chilled. This dough is way too sticky to use after the initial rise, but once it is chilled it is very easy to handle. It can be used to create the Tatin or any of these brioche recipes: caramel sticky buns, grilled fruit tart, Fresh Fruit Muffins, Brioche à tête, apricot pastries and fabulous doughnuts! The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. After that you can freeze the dough.

sticky buns

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If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it with others using one of the social sharing buttons above. Thanks, Jeff and Zoë

293 thoughts on “Brioche Dough Recipe and all of its wonderful uses!”

  1. I love all of the bread I have tried in your book..Artisan Bread in Five. I am baking some loaves today with the brioche dough. I have used this dough several times with great success but today for some reason when baking the brioche tete the top of the loaf split…any ideas why?

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Courtenay,

      Was your loaf larger than normal? If so, it may have just needed a little more time to rest. This can also happen if the dough is too cool, which would also require a longer resting time.

      Thanks, hope the loaf was still tasty! Zoë

      Reply ↓

      • Thanks Zoe for the response, My loaf was not a large loaf and I had let it rest probably 1.5 hrs. I have more dough so I will be making more tomorrow and I will try letting it rest longer. Again thank you so much!

  2. Have anyone ever tried to do a spin on a panettone with the brioche dough? Obviously adding Fiori di Sicilia to the dough. Thoughts?

    Reply ↓

  3. Hi, I tried to bake brioche last week, my first time. I experienced this strong smell coming from the dough straight after mixing eggs, honey, water, yeast, but before adding flour. I don’t know what it was. Was it the honey? The yeast (I used dry, granulated yeast)? Even after the baking was done, I could still smell it on the bread. Is it normal?

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Desiree,

      Describe the smell? Was it sweet or more like an alcohol? If it is sweet, it was the honey. The alcohol smell can be the yeast. Both are normal, but some people tend to be more sensitive to it. Let me know what it was and we can help.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

      • Sometimes an egg can go bad without looking bad. If you mix the eggs by themselves you’ll see the yolk doesn’t spread and mix as well as a normal yolk. Even after cooking these are not safe to eat.

  4. would like to try hot cross buns with the brioche mix.

    every day we make the ciabata – pensioners so small fresh loaves are beaut.

    when i make that mix it is very wet – to slump and it works fine,

    do i mix the brioche dough to the same consistency

    regards and thanks

    peter
    seaford victoria australia

    Reply ↓

  5. Hi. I have had success using your master ww dough recipe with 1/8 tsp of yeast and extending rise time to 18-24hrs. What is the minimum amount of yeast can i use in the brioche recipe? With egg/dairy, I presume the rise should be in fridge. Your thoughts?

    Reply ↓

  6. If the dough is still too sticky after I let it rise for 2 hours…can I knead in more flour after? What should I do?

    And is granulated yeast – the instant yeast from the supermarket?

    Reply ↓

  7. My query is how to use the brioche as a filled bun.

    I would LOVE to be able to stuff the buns with samosa fillings (vegetarian, meat), red bean paste, tuna mushroom, spinach (similar to spanakopita), cajun shrimps perhaps.

    Your thoughts? Thanks a bunch.

    Reply ↓

    • Hi M.Moses,

      This is actually a technique we’re testing for our next book. :) Until then you can use the beignet technique to fill the buns, but you can bake them instead of frying if you prefer.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

  8. Hy,
    on how much Liter (ml) are your “cups” based?

    We have a lot of different ones… :)

    How much gramm is in your “one packet” yeast?
    We have these cubes here, it weighs 50 gramm

    Thanks, I really like to try it!

    Greets Shakti

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Shakti,

      Which book are you using? There is a chart in HBin5 that gives the gram equivalents for all the ingredients on page 36.

      I have used the fresh yeast cubes and they work wonderfully.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

      • Hy,
        I found your website and like to try your receipies…
        When I red it I wondered how much would a “cup” measures…
        I dont have any book of yours

        Shakti

  9. It seems part of the recipe is missing on this page – nothing about what to do after the two hour raise after mixing. I freelanced with decent results (I’ve used several other brioche recipes and had adopted Paula Wolfert’s as my default with much success but many steps)but would like to know what I should do.
    Help!

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Walt,

      This post is just about making the dough. There are several recipes using the dough on the site and in the books. Are you looking for something in particular?

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

      • Sorry for my confusion, but your only reference to chilling seems outside the recipe, itself. Just an information processing thing on my part, but it would have been helpful if it had said “After the dough has risen for two hours, chill in the refrigerator
        for at least X hours” or something like that.
        All that being said, I have used this recipe half a dozen times nad find it the easiest brioche recipe I’ve ever used in over forty years.

  10. Great, Walt! Material here on website is brief–publisher would kill us if we put up all our content–complete instructions in the books.

    Reply ↓

  11. I know honey is your all time favorite but what can I use instead of it in the brioche dough?

    I love all your recipes and your enthusiasm.

    Reply ↓

      • Thanks for the quick reply.So for 1/2 cup honey do i substitute the same amount of sugar?

      • Good question, Kamal.It leads to another: and since sugar is dry and honey wet, should there also be a tiny addition of liquid – tablespoon or two?

      • Kamal, Walt: Well, really close. To be technical, you should decrease a litte (3/8 cup?) and add a little water (1/8 cup?). But I often swap 1:1. It changes the consistency just a little (it’ll be drier).

  12. I’m getting ready to try the brioche bread recipe. My first time making bread besides banana bread. If it goes well I would like to get the book, but what I’m wondering is if for other recipes will you need more equipment? I do not have a kitchen aid mixer. Will that be a problem?

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Morgan,

      All the recipes can be made in a large bowl or food container. You need about 6qts capacity. None of the equipment is required, but some make the job a little easier.

      Happy baking! Zoë

      Reply ↓

  13. Hi Zoe & Jeff!

    I am trying my hand at your brioche recipe. My pregnancy brain led me to goof up the prep and I’m wondering if that will effect the outcome. I threw all ingredients in the bucket, including the flour, before mixing. Ergo, I did not mix the yeast with the wet ingredients first like instructed. Is this going to be a problem? Second, can over mixing be an issue? I tried using the dough hooks on my Kitchenaid hand mixer (seemed brilliant to avoid cleaning the stand mixer and mix directly in the bucket)and am not sure if I overmixed since this comes together differently than the master recipe. Lastly, I am not sure I got a good rise. The water I threw in may have been on the cooler side of lukewarm. I let it rise for 3 hours but never felt like it doubled. Thoughts?

    Thanks!

    Reply ↓

    • I have made this brioche nearly a dozen times and must confess that I have reverted to a technique for it that I use in almost all the breads I make: I mix all the wet ingredients and dry ingredients including yeast in two separate bowls, then I cup by cup mix the dry ingredients gradually into the wet. I have had similar results both the recipe way and my way, but find my way more comfortable for me.
      I have never had much trouble with over-mixing, though once had a duration problem from perhaps too lightly mixing. To me, dough hook seems like it would be very inefficient – I use a spoon, paddle, etc. or sometimes when I’m really enjoying myself dig in with my hands and mix at the end. Messy, but fun.
      What I really like about this recipe is that it is very forgiving and dough lasts almost a week.
      Don’t let one slightly imperfect result get you down. The fun with this is experimenting and trying new things that work for you.

      Reply ↓

      • Hi Walt,

        This sounds great and will be very encouraging to folks who are just starting out. If you are having fun and enjoying the bread, then there just can’t be a wrong way of getting there! :)

        Cheers, Zoë

    • Hi Candice,

      Your dough should be just fine. It may take a bit longer to rise, because of the cooler water, but that isn’t going to effect the end result.

      Enjoy! Zoë

      Reply ↓

  14. Which recipe did you use for that bottom picture – I have several of your cookbooks and was just wondering which recipe that is, it looks just wonderful!

    Reply ↓

  16. I’ve owned Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for several years and can’t tell you how many times I’ve made bread from it. I own more cookbooks than should be legally allowed and have them in my home office. This book NEVER leaves my kitchen!! As with many, I was scared of yeast and using your recipes has allowed me to branch out where I can even make bread several different ways (No-knead, stand-mixer, bread machine, and by hand). Recently I was thinking about making brioche, as I’ve never done it before. Pictures on Pinterest.com got me thinking about it. Then I remembered, I can try making the No-knead version from your book and once again not be scared to try something new. I have company coming and I think I will give it a whirl! The thought of having left over brioche to make them french toast is just too much excitement to bear. I’d really like to thank you both sharing your talents with people like me, who have a true love of good food. You are excellent teachers and a source of inspiration.

    Reply ↓

  17. I was really excited to find your website and was making this dough to make the cinnamon swirl bread. This was my first time making a yeast bread. However, I overlooked the fact that I had bleached instead of unbleached wheat. Now the dough doesn’t seem to have risen much at all. I left it out for the 2hours and it’s been chilling overnight. Will it need more time to rise due to the flour switch or will it even be good to use at all?

    Thanks!
    Meghan

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Meghan,

      The bleached flour will make for a softer dough, but it should still rise. Did the dough rise at all before you refrigerated it?

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

      • If it did, it wasn’t noticeable :/ I tried the stand mixer method you suggested in the Brioche a tete post about putting the melted butter on top of the flour so that it wouldn’t kill the yeast but I’m wondering now if it still got through the layer of flour…
        Thanks,
        Meghan

  18. Meghan: Take it out of the fridge and leave it a couple more hours and see what happens. I bet it just needed more rising. Doubt the warm butter made any difference.

    Only way to kill yeast is to use too-hot water. If it’s too cold, all that happens in a slow rise, which you can deal with…

    Reply ↓

    • THANK YOU!! The bread did rise the way it was supposed to when my husband took it out of the fridge for a few more hours. It is currently rolled up and doing its final rise on its way to becoming cinnamon swirl bread!! THANK YOU!!! :D

      Reply ↓

  19. Hi, I made the brioche dough and put it in fridge last night. This morning when I pulled it out it was very tough and hard to handle. I realized then that I had left out the lukewarm water when making it and so it was very dry dough. I added the lukewarm water to the chilled dough and incorporated it best I could and have left it out on counter to see if it will rise at all. Is adding the water a day after going to work or do i need to throw out the whole batch and begin again?
    Also, if you think adding the water now is ok..do I just put it back in fridge after the rise and then try to make the rolls after it is chilled?
    thanks

    Reply ↓

    • Traci: Try working in the water, maybe a little more than is called for plus some flour to keep the proportions right. Then on the counter for two hours, then the fridge as usual. It may work.

      Reply ↓

  20. I have your Artisan Bread in 5 a Day, and I love it so far. My question though, for the brioche recipe, you stress the importance of using butter, but my daughter has a severe milk protein allergy, so it’s not an option for us. Is there anything else I can use? We love besting the naysayers and creating amazing allergy free treats and we’d love to try some of the brioche recipes! Thanks!

    Reply ↓

    • Maria: Take a look at the challah recipe in the same chapter; it gives an option for butter OR oil. Oil will work with the brioche, I’d guess, but you may not be able to use as much or it will be too wet of a dough.

      I’d guess you can try this with somewhat less than the 1 1/2 cups of fat called for in the brioche. 1 cup? May need other adjustments in the ratio of wet to dry.

      Reply ↓

      • I have seen many olive oil brioche recipes but have yet to try one. Most call for far less fat, some use less yeast, and all use fewer eggs. You can search on either “olive oil brioche” or “brioche provencal” on the net.
        Your e-mails have goaded me to try to do one – think I’ll try some simple adjustments of 5-minute a day brioche recipe. Will let you know the result.

      • Thanks Jeff and Walt! We use olive oil as a great replacement in most of our baking adventures, so it’s great to hear it may be an option with the brioche. I’ll do some experimenting here and I’d love to hear how things go with any of your attempts! Best, Maria

    • First pass on brioche with olive oil:
      Before making my dough I read every olive oil brioche recipe I could find on the web, about a dozen. Took ideas from two or three, and adjusted basic five minute brioche recipe to fit some of the suggestions.
      Recipe ended up as follows:
      5 C all-purpose flour
      1 Tbsp salt
      1 Tbsp instant yeast
      zest of one lemon
      zest of one orange
      [whisked all of these together in 4 Qt mixing bowl]

      In a four cup measuring cup combined:
      6 Tbsp olive oil
      2 whole eggs
      1/2 C milk @ 105 degrees
      1/2 C water @ 105 degrees
      1/4 C Kings corn syrup (a favorite sweetener
      in our house for baking)
      1 Tbsp orange water
      [thoroughly combined liquid ingredients]

      After creating two mixes above, poured dry ingredients into bowl of stand-up mixer then added all at once wet ingredients. First stirred together wet and dry to make a loose dough then beat for three minutes with paddle attachment at medium speed.

      After dough became slightly glossy and held together, formed a ball right in mixing bowl and set aside in warm place to triple in bulk, about 2 hours. Next pressed down and allowed to triple again in refrigerator, about eight hours. Pressed down again, formed a dough log and refrigerated.

      Next morning took half of dough and deflated then formed a loaf in 4X5X9 loaf pan. Allowed to triple again(It did!)
      Pre-heated oven to 375 deg. then baked for 28 minutes.
      Removed from pan and cooled on rack.

      This produced a brioche-like lovely scented, nice-crumb (though not as tender as butter brioche)slightly olive-y bread that was great with a little home-made jam. Only slightly negative observation: left a very slight olive oil taste and feel in mouth for a half hour afterwards.

      This morning made cinnamon buns with remaining dough. Came out somewhat firmer,
      and smaller, than butter brioche buns, but very acceptable and had the citrus orange water hints which we found quite pleasant.

      This would actually be a reasonable substitute for traditional brioche for the calorie conscious also (about half the calories per portion).

      I will try one more iteration and follow up afterwards.

      Hope this is useful.

      Reply ↓

      • Holy cow, Walt, you’re my hero! It’s been a crazy week so I haven’t had much time to play with dough, but this is a huge help! Thanks so much for taking the time to post an update; I can’t wait to try this out. I was considering an attempt with Spectrum Organic butter flavored shortening… Part of me hates the idea, but the stuff is pretty pure and has been useful in some situations when regular oil won’t do. Ive just never used a lot of it so I wonder how great or awful it might be. Only one way to find out, I guess! I’ll update when I can.
        Thanks again for taking the time to post an awesome and detailed response. You rock!
        Maria

  21. I read in the book that for you recipes, when you say 1 cup of flour it is straight from the jar stored at room temperature and not sifted, but I prefer to use weight than volume when measuring flour, from my experience, that has been a more consistent measure. How much does your 1 cup of AP flour weigh using your medthod? Thanks in advance for your help.

    Reply ↓

  22. I have had great success stuffing with your dough :) I cloak and make an impression in the dough, lay in items to stuff and roll dough and seal in. Bake as normal, works well and oh so yum!

    Reply ↓

  23. Hi if i follow the recipe above and let it rise for two hours, could i then butter my loaf pans and put my dough in each pan? I thought about fixing the loaves,putting them in the frig and pulling one out to rise and bake as we need one through the week.

    Reply ↓

  25. Hello,

    I forgot to let this dough sit out 2 hours- stuck it straight into to frig. What are my potential problems, and what can I do now to save it? Thanks!

    Reply ↓

  26. Hi,

    I made a batch of the brioche, for our Greek New Year Cake.

    I know I can freeze the dough, but would you please tell me for how long?

    Many Thanks

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Angela,

      I only like to freeze it for a couple of weeks, after that I find it loses some of its rising power. Jeff, however, lets his go longer (3 weeks) and notices no ill effect.

      Hope that helps? Zoë

      Reply ↓

      • Yes Zoe, thankyou.

        I just used up today, so their is no dough left :)

        The Greek Orthodox have a bread called Vasilopita, the same as tsoureki, brioche.

        I just made three with this recipie.

        May you and Jeff have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

  28. The recipe listed here calls for 1 tbs of yeast, whereas the brioche recipe in your book calls for 1 1/2 tbs. Which amount do you recommend? I have always used the recipe in the book and over the holidays I was visiting family and wanted to make brioche so I looked up the recipe on the web and found this site. 1 tbs worked just fine. There were some differences between the brioche I made there vs. what I make at home, but I was also using a different bowl and I was in a warmer climate. What difference should the amount of yeast make?

    Thanks!

    Reply ↓

  29. Hi! I’m making the brioche dough this morning, with half the yeast suggested in the book (so 3/4 tbsp). I read earlier that passed the initial 2 hours rise, I should put it in the fridge to continue the rise (normally I let rise 4-5 hours with this quantity of yeast), but once it has risen for 4-5 hours including the 2-3 hours in the fridge, I assume it should be chilled as well and I could technically bake one loaf later on today? Or should I still wait till tomorrow to bake the first loaf?

    Thank you!

    Reply ↓

  30. Is this a problem. The dough was in the fridge for 6 days. It smelled fine and looked fine and rose as normal and baked normal.

    Is this a problem?

    Reply ↓

  31. Thank you so much for posting this recipe and the youtube on the mini brioche buns. I made a batch of the dough with 1/4 whole wheat white flour to add a bit of whole grain. I baked small rolls and filled with chocolate chips for tiny chocolate filled brioche buns. I also made some more filled buns with raspberry jam and cream cheese. I can’t believe how delicious they turned out! I just ordered your healthy artisan book – can’t wait to try more.

    Reply ↓

  33. Perhaps I missed it, but is there a recipe for what’s shown in the last image? They look like caramel sticky buns, but that link goes to mini caramel rolls.

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Andy,

      That is an image from our book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. We haven’t posted that recipe on the site yet, sorry!

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

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