Milk Brioche French Bread (Print Version)

Rich, pillowy French bread with milk and butter creates tender crumb and golden crust.

# What You Need:

→ Dough

01 - 4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
02 - ¼ cup granulated sugar
03 - 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
04 - 1 ¾ teaspoons fine sea salt
05 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
06 - ½ cup whole milk, lukewarm
07 - ⅔ cup unsalted butter, softened, cubed

→ Egg Wash

08 - 1 egg yolk
09 - 1 tablespoon whole milk

# Directions:

01 - In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt until well blended.
02 - Add the eggs and lukewarm milk to the dry mixture. Mix on low speed until a shaggy, rough dough forms and all flour is incorporated.
03 - Increase to medium speed and knead for 5 minutes until the dough begins to smooth out and develop structure.
04 - Gradually add the softened butter cubes, a few at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Continue kneading for 10 minutes until the dough becomes glossy, elastic, and pulls cleanly away from the bowl sides.
05 - Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm area for 1 to 1.5 hours until doubled in size.
06 - Gently deflate the dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Divide into three equal portions, roll each into a rope, and braid together. Place the braided loaf into a buttered 9x5-inch loaf pan.
07 - Cover loosely and let rise for 45 minutes until puffy and nearly doubled in volume.
08 - Preheat the oven to 350°F.
09 - Whisk together the egg yolk and milk. Gently brush the egg wash over the entire surface of the brioche.
10 - Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until deep golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center emerges clean.
11 - Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

# Insider Tips:

01 -
  • The texture is impossibly soft, like sinking into a cloud made of butter and patience
  • Your house will smell like a French bakery, which honestly is reason enough
  • This bread keeps beautifully for days, getting even better when toasted and slathered with jam
02 -
  • Cold butter will create little greasy pockets in your dough instead of incorporating smoothly, so take it out of the fridge at least an hour before starting
  • If your dough seems impossibly sticky during the butter phase, keep going—it will come together as the gluten develops and the butter fully emulsifies
03 -
  • Weigh your ingredients if possible, brioche is finicky about ratios and grams are more precise than cups
  • The windowpane test—stretching a small piece of dough until it's thin enough to see light through—tells you when the gluten is properly developed

Go Back