The Best Sourdough Brioche Bread
Soft, buttery, and beautifully tender, this sourdough brioche bread is enriched with eggs, butter, and milk to give it a rich flavour and pillowy, pull-apart crumb. The recipe makes two loaves and uses a stiff sourdough starter, which keeps the dough strong and the tangy flavour gentle.
About this sourdough brioche
This sourdough brioche is one of the older recipes on the site and one of the most made by readers. It produces two tender, golden loaves with a soft, slightly sweet crumb and just a subtle sourdough flavour. The dough is very enriched, with plenty of butter and eggs, which gives it that signature brioche richness while still being light enough to slice cleanly for toast or French toast.
A key difference in my sourdough brioche recipes is the starter. I use a stiff sourdough starter, which has half the usual amount of water. A stiff starter ferments more slowly and produces a milder acidity than a liquid starter, which suits enriched doughs really well. It also means I can pack more starter into the dough without making it too wet. That little extra leavening power makes a real difference for a dough this rich, where the fat slows down fermentation. Once you have the hang of this brioche dough, it can be turned into all sorts of things. Brioche buns, brioche cinnamon rolls, chocolate babka, cinnamon babka, hamburger buns, and savoury swirls all start with the same dough. Leftover slices make the most incredible brioche French toast.
If you are new to baking with sourdough, my sourdough hub has guides on starters, fermentation, and enriched doughs.
What readers are saying
“Love this recipe! First time baking this bread and it came out beautiful and delicious! Thank you for sharing!” – Carolyn
“Fantastic recipe, I made bread and butter pudding with one loaf for Father’s Day and still have a whole loaf to enjoy.” – Frazer
Key ingredients and why
Here is a breakdown of the main ingredients in this sourdough brioche and why each one matters. You can find the full amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Strong all-purpose flour (around 11% protein): Provides structure to the dough and creates a soft but sturdy crumb.
- Granulated sugar: Adds a gentle sweetness and helps create a tender crumb. Sugar also draws moisture into the dough, which helps the brioche stay soft for longer.
- Large eggs: They add richness, colour, and structure, and the fats in the yolks contribute to the tender crumb.
- Stiff sourdough starter: The natural leavening agent. A stiff starter has half the water of a regular 100% hydration starter and ferments more slowly. This keeps the dough strong and the final flavour mild and balanced.
- Milk: Adds moisture and helps soften the crumb. I use whole milk, but any milk will work.
- Salt: Enhances the flavour and strengthens the gluten structure, which is especially important in a dough this rich.
- Butter: The star of brioche. Butter is worked into the dough in stages so it incorporates smoothly without breaking the gluten structure.
Stiff sourdough starter
I prepare my starter differently for this enriched sourdough brioche dough because it’s much stiffer than my usual 100% hydration starter. I usually feed equal parts (in weight) of water and flour, but I use half the water this time.
A stiff starter is slower to rise than those with a higher hydration. They undertake a slow but steady growth, with less risk of peaking too early. However, the main reason for this stiffer starter is so I could pack more starter into the dough without making it too wet. This brioche is an enriched bread that appreciates a long fermenting time. After a few tests, I found that the extra oomph from the extra starter won’t go amiss.
Because of this different feeding ratio, I make a separate levain for this dough at a 1:2:1 ratio (1 part starter, 2 parts flour, 1 part water).
Baker’s schedule
There are two ways I make this brioche, depending on the timing that suits me best. The first uses a cold overnight proof in the fridge after bulk fermentation. The second uses an overnight room-temperature final proof after shaping. Both work well, so choose the schedule that fits your kitchen and your day.
Schedule 1: Cold proof after bulk
Night before
- 9:00 PM: Feed the stiff starter at a 1:2:1 ratio and leave to rise overnight
Day 1
- 9:00 AM: Mix the dough and knead in the butter
- 9:30 AM: Bulk ferment in a warm spot until risen by 30-40% (roughly 4 to 6 hours)
- 3:30 PM: Refrigerate overnight
Day 2
- 8:00 AM: Shape into balls and place in tins
- Final proof in a warm spot for roughly 5 to 8 hours, until almost doubled
- Bake
Schedule 2: Overnight final proof
This one only really works if your kitchen is under 20°C / 68°F at night, otherwise the dough can overproof.
Night before
- Feed the stiff starter
Day 1
- 9:00 AM: Mix the dough and knead in the butter
- 9:30 AM: Bulk ferment in a warm spot until risen by 30-40%
- 1:30 PM: Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to firm up the butter
- 8:30 PM: Shape and leave to proof at room temperature overnight
Day 2
- 8:00 AM: Check the proof, bake when puffy and almost doubled
Times will vary depending on your kitchen temperature. The dough is ready when it has visibly risen and feels puffy to the touch, not when the clock says so.
Bulk fermenting in winter
Bulk fermentation is the first rise after the dough is mixed. In cooler kitchens, yeast activity slows down more than bacterial activity. This means the dough can take a long time to rise while acidity continues to build, which can leave brioche tasting more sour than you might like.
For an enriched dough like this, it’s important to help the dough rise efficiently during bulk fermentation. Placing the dough in a warm spot encourages yeast activity so the dough gains volume without needing a long rise. A turned-off oven with a mug of hot water inside creates a warm, slightly humid environment that works well. Replace the water with freshly boiled water if it cools down.
Once the dough has increased in volume by about 30-40%, it’s ready for the next step.
What about the cold proof in the fridge? A common worry is that if a cool kitchen during bulk fermentation makes the dough sour, the fridge proof must do the same. It actually doesn’t. Below around 4°C / 39°F, both yeast and bacterial activity slow right down, so the dough barely ferments at all in the fridge. The cold proof develops a small amount of complexity and flavour without building sharp acidity. The sour-from-cool-kitchen issue only happens in that in-between zone of around 12 to 18°C, where the bacteria stay active but the yeast slows down.
How To Make Sourdough Brioche
The dough
- Feed the stiff starter the night before and let it rise overnight at room temperature.
- In a stand mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, sourdough starter, and milk. Mix this until a thick dough forms.
- Add in the cubed butter, a few pieces at a time. Incorporate each cube before the next addition.
- The dough will look very messy and sticky for a while. This is completely normal. Keep going.
- After about 15 minutes of kneading, it will pull together into a smooth, glossy, elastic dough that pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and it passes the window pane test.
A note on dough temperature: If the dough gets too warm during kneading, the butter can separate out and the dough will struggle to come together no matter how long you keep mixing. You will notice it looking greasy rather than silky. If this happens, stop the mixer and pop the whole bowl into the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes to cool everything back down. Then resume kneading. The dough will pull together properly once the butter is back to a workable temperature.
- Window pane test: The windowpane test checks if your brioche dough has enough gluten development. Gently stretch a small piece of dough between your fingers. If it stretches thin enough to see light through without tearing, it’s ready.
Bulk fermentation
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it bulk ferment in a warm spot at around 22 to 24°C (72 to 74°F) until risen by 30-40%.
- Transfer the dough to the fridge for the cold rest. This firms up the butter for shaping and continues to develop flavour without building too much acidity. A few hours is enough, but you can leave it overnight.
Shaping
- Turn the cold dough out onto a clean bench and divide it into two equal pieces. Divide each piece into 8 equal balls.
- Shape each ball by rolling it on the bench under your cupped hand, then place 8 balls into each parchment-lined 8 x 5 inch (21 x 13 cm) loaf tin.
- Cover and proof in a warm spot until almost doubled in size and very puffy. Brush the tops with egg wash.
- Bake until deep golden brown on top. If the tops are browning too quickly, loosely tent with foil for the last 10 minutes.
- Let the loaves cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Kneading by hand
You can mix this dough by hand on a clean bench, though it takes a long time and a lot of arm work. If you get tired, take a break. Wash up, rest your hands for a few minutes, and come back to it. The dough responds well to a rest. There is a video of the dough being kneaded by hand on the YouTube channel if you want to see how it behaves at each stage.
Tips for the best sourdough brioche
Storage and freezing
Sourdough brioche keeps well at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, wrapped in a clean tea towel or kept in a paper bag. Slice as needed to keep the rest of the loaf fresh.
For longer storage, sourdough brioche freezes beautifully. Slice the cooled loaves and wrap the slices well, or freeze the whole loaves wrapped in plastic and then in a freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature, or pop straight into the toaster from frozen.
Slightly stale brioche is perfect for French toast or bread and butter pudding.
What else can I make with this dough?
Once you have this brioche dough mastered, it becomes the base for so many other bakes. Here are some of my favourite ways to use it:
- Brioche sourdough cinnamon rolls, the dough rolled with cinnamon sugar and topped with cream cheese glaze
- Sourdough chocolate babka, swirled with a rich dark chocolate filling
- Sourdough cinnamon babka, the same idea but with a cinnamon sugar filling
- Brioche French toast, the best use for day-old slices
- Brioche burger buns, shape into 8 large rounds instead of 16 small ones
- Brioche dinner rolls, divide into smaller pieces and bake on a tray
FAQs about sourdough brioche
Related recipes
If you enjoyed this sourdough brioche, you might also like:
- Sourdough English muffins
- Sourdough monkey bread
- Sourdough sticky buns
- Sourdough Swedish cardamom buns
- Sourdough doughnuts
For more soft and rich doughs, visit my enriched sourdough hub, or browse everything on the main sourdough hub.
Sourdough Brioche Bread
Ingredients
Stiff Starter
- 50 g sourdough starter
- 100 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g water
Dough
- 550 g all-purpose flour with around 11% protein
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- All the stiff starter
- 125 g milk
- 9 g salt
- 225 g unsalted butter room temperature but still firm and not melted, cut into cubes
Egg wash
- One egg yolk + 1 Tbsp water whisked together
Instructions
The night before – Stiff starter
- Mix 50g starter with 100g flour and 50g water. Knead together into a soft dough ball.
- Place it into a jar or bowl, covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Leave to rise for 8 to 10 hours, until doubled.
Day 1 – The dough
- Add the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, and stiff starter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
- Turn the mixer on low and combine until it forms a thick but slightly sticky dough. Mix on low for around 5 minutes to develop the gluten.
- Add the cubed butter a few pieces at a time, on medium speed. Wait for each piece to fully incorporate before adding the next.
- Continue mixing on medium speed for around 15 minutes, until the dough is smooth, glossy, and pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. Don't be tempted to add more flour.
- Let the dough rest for a few minutes, then check the window pane. Stretch a small piece of dough between your fingers. If it stretches thin enough to see light through without tearing, it’s ready.
Kneading by hand
- You can mix this dough by hand instead, though it takes a long time and requires arm muscle. If you get tired, take a break. The dough will respond well to some relaxation time. Don't be tempted to add more flour.
Bulk fermentation
- Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a lid. Put it in a warm spot, ideally around 22 to 24°C (72 to 74°F), and let it bulk out by 30 to 40%. This will take around 4 to 6 hours, depending on temperature.
Cold proof
- Once risen, place the dough in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours. Ensure the bowl is covered tightly so the dough doesn't dry out.
Shaping
- After the cold proof, the dough will be quite firm. Turn it out onto a clean bench and divide into two equal pieces. Line two 8 x 5 inch (21 x 13 cm) loaf pans with parchment paper.
- Divide each piece of dough into 8 equal balls, and shape them into tight rounds by rolling on the bench under your cupped hand. Fit 8 balls into each lined pan. They will fit snugly with a little room to expand upwards.
Final proof
- Let the brioche proof in a warm spot until almost doubled and very puffy. This can take 5 to 8 hours, depending on temperature.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Brush the tops of the loaves with egg wash. Bake for around 25 to 30 minutes, until deep golden brown. If the tops are darkening too quickly, loosely cover with foil.
- Let the loaves cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature before slicing.
Wondering if you ever tried this in a Pullman loaf with cover for square bread?
Hey I haven’t done that myself but if you try it, would love to hear how it goes! 🙂
Thanks so much for this recipe! I’ve just taken a loaf of brioche out of the oven, and it is glorious. I used the second half of the dough to make some cinnamon buns, and they’ve turned out beautifully: fluffy, soft, pillowy, delicious. I’ll definitely be making brioche and buns on a regular basis going forward.
yay so happy to read this Rae!! Thanks so much for using my recipe!
The butter seems too much in my case, but I still incorporated all, taking more than half an hour. Thereafter the butter leaked from the dough when proofing, and leaked again after cold proofing and shaping, while letting it double in the bread pan. The weather here in Singapore in July is warm, 29-30C. There was nothing I can do but let the oil seep out. Waiting to bake and see if the bottom of the loaf will be too wet.
Hi Juinn, thanks for sharing your experience. 29–30°C is above butter’s melting point, so I wouldn’t recommend making brioche at that temperature. The butter has to be pliable and incorporated into the dough to achieve proper structure, but never melted. Another bread might work better for your climate!
Didn’t rise.
Hi Sharon. I’d suggest checking your starter’s activity and making sure your dough has enough time to rise in a suitable environment.
Great recipe and going off everyone else’s comments … this is user error.
This is my first attempt at brioche rolls and the outside of them is quite hard not lovely and soft. One of the rolls even split and got a crack in the top.
Any ideas what could have caused this ?
Hey! How was the rising of the brioche? Did it double in size before baking? I wonder if the loaf cracking could be because it was underproofed which causes the dough not to expand evenly.
Gorgeous rolls with a beautiful crumb and rise. They had a very sour aftertaste, though, more than expected for a sourdough recipe. Do you have any suggestions or ideas about what I might have done wrong?
Hey an enriched dough has a longer proofing time than other sourdough recipes which can increase the sour taste. How much did the dough rise before the cold ferment? If it rose too much before the cold ferment, that could increase the sourness. Ideally, aim for about 50% rise before chilling, and not more than that to prevent over-fermentation. A cold ferment can actually reduce the sour taste compared to leaving it at room temperature for too long, as the cooler temperatures slow down acid production.