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Square image of golden baked soft enriched French bread

How To Make Soft Brioche Dough (Step-By-Step Guide)

This is a simple deep dive into how to make bakery level brioche dough you can use to make hamburger buns, bread and cinnamon scrolls.
Author: Nick Makrides
5 from 4 votes
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Prep 40 minutes
Cook 12 minutes
Rise 1 day
Total 1 day 1 hour
Course Bread
Cuisine French
Servings 10
Calories 1913 kcal

Ingredients

Tang Zhong

  • 15 g all-purpose flour plain flour
  • 75 g cold tap water

Brioche Dough

  • 275 g all-purpose flour plain flour
  • 30 g caster sugar see notes
  • 5 g fine salt
  • 5 g instant dry yeast see notes
  • 5 g milk powder see notes
  • 50 g eggs yes measured by weight!, cold
  • 100 g whole-milk cold
  • 65 g softened unsalted butter softened (see notes, very important!)

Egg wash (whisk together well)

  • 1 large egg 50-55g room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk optional
  • 20 g whole-milk room temperature

Instructions
 

Tang Zhong

  • Cook paste - Add the flour and water to a small saucepan and use a whisk to combine. Place over medium heat and whisk continuously for about 2-3 minutes until the mixture thickens to a smooth, pudding-like consistency.
  • Cool down - Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Let it cool down to room temperature before using. This can be made a few hours before using. Do not place in the fridge.

Brioche

  • Mix dry ingredients - Add the plain flour, sugar, salt, yeast and milk powder to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the dough hook attachment to mix until combined. See notes if using a spiral mixer like the Ooni Halo.
  • Mix wet ingredients - In a large jug whisk together the eggs and milk until well combined.
  • First knead (15 min) - Add the wet ingredients and cooled tang zhong to the dry ingredients. Use the dough hook to mix the ingredients. Turn the mixer on 30% (that’s speed two on my Kenwood) and knead for 15 minutes.
  • Rest dough - Turn the mixer off and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Rest the dough for 10-15 minutes. This will help relax the gluten in the dough and gives you an even smoother more elastic dough that is less sticky to work with later.
  • Second Knead - Knead the dough for 5 minutes on speed 2 (30% speed).
  • To test if dough is kneaded enough - Test by stretching a small piece between your fingers. It should form a thin, see-through sheet without tearing. Kneading time can vary depending on your mixer so focus on the dough’s feel rather than just time.
  • Add the butter and finish kneading - With the mixer on speed 2, add the softened butter a little at a time, letting each piece mostly mix in before adding the next. This will take about 5 minutes all up. Once all the butter is added, knead on medium low speed for about 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and comes away cleanly from the bowl. A slight stickiness at this stage is normal. If the dough begins looking overly shiny as the first bit of butter is added, it’s too warm. Cool the dough down in the fridge for 10 minutes before adding the remaining butter.
  • Room temp rise (Proof #1) - Add the dough to a large sized mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm spot of the house for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  • Cold rise (Proof #2) - Place the bowl of dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or up to 8 hours (overnight) for better flavor. The dough will continue to expand as it chills.
  • Your dough is ready! - Once the dough has finished chilling and doing its thing in the fridge it's ready for you to shape and bake. Baking time will depend on how you portion and shape it but the rule of thumb is to get it nice and golden on the outside. A loaf will generally take about 20-25 minutes and little buns will take about 12 minutes.

The General rule of thumb for the next step

  • Divide and shape - Turn the chilled dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape. For burger buns, divide into 8 pieces. For a bread loaf roll into a rectangle shape and then roll into a log like a Swiss roll. The key here is to work quickly because the dough will be hard to work with as it begins to thaw.
  • Final proof (Proof #3) - If making burger buns. arrange on two large baking trays lined with baking paper. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and rise in a warm spot for about 1-3 hours. Same goes with a bread loaf. Rising time will depend on room temperature. The dough will triple in size. Rather than going off time, go off sight and feel. When lightly pressed with your finger the dough will feel slightly springy. It should spring back partway, not fully. If it springs back all the way, it needs more time, if it doesn’t spring back at all the way, it’s likely over proofed and should be baked immediately. Properly proofed dough should feel room temperature, not cool and will jiggle slightly when the tray is gently wobbled.
  • Bake - Preheat your oven to 195C / 385F (fan off), 175C / 350F (fan on). Gently brush buns or loaf with egg wash. Bake buns for 12-14 minutes until golden, loaf for 20, light to lift, and fully cooked through. Cool completely before filling.

Notes

Caster sugar - This is also known as superfine sugar. It’s ideal for this recipe because it dissolves into the dough better. Granulated sugar works fine too.
Yeast
  • Instant Dry Yeast - This type of yeast is added straight to the dry ingredients and doesn’t need to be foamed in warm milk first. Just make sure it hasn’t expired and always keep your yeast in the fridge, so it lasts longer.
  • If using active dry yeast - Dissolve this in the warm milk with a pinch of sugar from the recipe. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes in a warm spot until foamy before using. Then add it in with the wet ingredients
Milk powder - This is optional, but I highly recommend it as it adds richness and helps the bread stay soft. If you leave it out the texture will be slightly less tender.
Milk temperature - Should be cold straight from the fridge.
Softened butter - this is perhaps one of the most important ingredients of the recipe and its important you get its temperature right. I have a full guide on how to properly soften butter on the blog, but for reference, softened butter is 18C / 65F on a thermometer. Cut it into cubes and let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours until it reaches this temperature to until it’s soft enough that when you press on it with your finger, it leaves an intent with some resistance. Any softer than that and your brioche could be dense and heavy.
A note on kneading the dough - I used a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to make these buns. You can knead the dough by hand by using the palm of your hand and stretching the dough away from you, then folding it back into the middle before stretching again. I chose to use a stand mixer because it’s easier. I kneaded my dough on speed 2 which is medium low on my mixer. For reference, my stand mixer has 7 speeds. KitchenAid stand mixer have more speeds so use your best judgment for which sped to use on your mixer.
Nutrition – is an approximate and is based on the entire dough recipe.
A note on measurements – This recipe uses weight measurements for the most accurate results. Cup measurements can vary depending on where you are, which affects the precision needed for a recipe like this. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales.

Nutrition

Calories:1913kcal | Carbohydrates:236g | Protein:53g | Fat:75g | Saturated Fat:42g | Polyunsaturated Fat:6g | Monounsaturated Fat:21g | Trans Fat:2g | Cholesterol:703mg | Sodium:2573mg | Potassium:814mg | Fiber:9g | Sugar:13g | Vitamin A:2633IU | Vitamin C:0.4mg | Calcium:334mg | Iron:16mg
Keyword Bread, Butter
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