Classic French Brioche Recipe
How to make a classic French brioche, a Parisian 'Brioche à Tête'. Unlike bread, it's fluffy made with eggs, butter, milk and a little sugar making it so much lighter and airy. Either leave plain or sprinkle over pearl sugar to decorate. Ensure all ingredients are first at room temperature.
Equipment
- stand mixer with dough hook
- non-stick fluted brioche tin loaf or cake tin if making a Nanterre brioche with dough balls
Ingredients
- 5 g (1 sachet) dried baker yeast or 10g of fresh yeast
- 100 ml (7tbsp) whole milk warmed (luke warm)
- 500 g (18oz/ 4¼ cups) plain flour all-purpose (T55 in France)
- 50 g (2oz/ ¼ cup) sugar
- 2 tablespoon orange blossom water (if not using, replace with more milk)
- 4 medium eggs organic (or 3 large)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 150 g (5½oz/ 1 stick + 2 tbsp) unsalted butter softened
To Glaze
- 1 egg yolk to glaze
- 1 tablespoon pearl sugar (or 3 crushed sugar lumps) optional
Instructions
- First, ensure all ingredients are at room temperature. Slightly warm the milk (lukewarm only) in a jug and stir in the yeast until dissolved. Mix the flour and sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Attach the dough hook and start mixing on the lowest setting.
- Add the warmed milk and yeast. In the same jug, mix in the orange flower water (or more milk) to ensure all yeast is incorporated and add to the dough. Gradually add in the beaten eggs, salt and softened butter cubes. Mix well until you have an even dough, stopping a couple of times to scrape down the dough with a spatula. Mix for at least 15 minutes until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and loses its stick.
- Cover with a clean towel or shower cap and leave to rise in a warm place (24-35°C) for an hour until at least doubled in size.
- Knock down the dough to release the yeast's gases. (If you're adding chocolate chips, nuts, or candied fruits, mix these in). If making a brioche à tête, rip off a small amount of dough (size of a pingpong ball). Roll and stretch the dough into one large ball and place in a fluted brioche tin. Create a tiny indent at the top middle and place the little head on top.If making a brioche loaf (brioche Nanterre), divide the dough into 3-6 and roll into tennis-sized balls and place in a loaf tin.
- Leave in its tin in a warm place for another hour until the dough rises to about double size.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4. Brush the brioche with the yolk mixed with a bit of water or milk to glaze. If using, sprinkle with the pearl sugar.Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Measures: Please note that all my recipes are best made using digital kitchen scales in precise metric grams. Both ounces (and cups) are given as a guide.
453 calories per person based on one large brioche for 8 people.
Leftover egg white: Place in a clean jar, cover and keep aside in the fridge (or freeze) for these egg white recipes.
Yeast: Our sachets of instant dried yeast in France vary from 4.6g to 5.5g. Most recipes specify more dried yeast (2 sachets for 500g flour) but this recipe works well with less. If you prefer, use 2 sachets but ensure that the expiry date isn't off, as yeast will not rise if out of date.