Soft and tender, this sourdough brioche bread recipe is so good. Brioche dough is enriched with butter and lots of eggs, making the crumb wonderfully rich and tender.
This delicious bread is leavened with wild yeast from a sourdough starter. There's no need for commercial yeast.
Once you've got the hang of sourdough brioche, this rich dough can be made into many different things; Think brioche hamburger buns, brioche cinnamon rolls, brioche savory swirls, brioche rolls...
And leftover brioche the next day makes delicious brioche French toast.
Ingredients
Here's a rundown of what you need for this sourdough brioche recipe. Check the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the amounts.
- Strong all-purpose flour with around 11% protein
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs
- Sourdough starter
- Milk
- Salt
- Butter
Active sourdough Starter
I prepare my starter a little differently for this enriched dough in the sense that 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 in this case.
Stiffer starters are 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 made from enriched dough 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 a few timings that can be used for this brioche. Here are two examples.
Example 1
- The night before
- Feed the starter
- Day 1
- 9 am - Mix the dough
- 9:30 am - Let it rise in a warm spot until bulked out by half (approx 4 hours depending on temperature)
- 1:30pm-8:30pm - Refrigerate the dough
- 8:30 pm - Shape the sourdough brioche and let it rise overnight.
- Day 2
- Bake brioche
Example 2
- The night before
- Feed the starter
- Day 1
- 11 am - Mix the dough
- 11:30 am - Let it rise in a warm spot until bulked out by half (approx 4 hours depending on temperature)
- 3:30 - Refrigerate the dough overnight.
- Day 2
- Shape the brioche and let it rise in a warm spot until it has doubled in size. Bake.
Method
The evening before
Mix the starter with flour and water. Knead it together into a soft dough ball. Place it into a jar or bowl and allow it to rise for 8-10 hours until doubled in size.
If your kitchen is warm overnight (above 20°C/68°F), you can halve the starter added to slow the rise overnight. Change the ratios to 1:4:2, eg, 30g starter, 120g flour, and 60g water.
The next morning
Add the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, and starter in a bowl of stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
Turn the mixer on low speed and combine until it forms a thick but slightly sticky dough.
Mix this dough for around 5 minutes to begin developing the gluten.
Add in the cubed butter, a few pieces at a time. Incorporate each cube before the next addition.
Turn the mixer on medium and keep it mixing for around 10-15 minutes.
Mix until the sticky dough starts to strengthen and come together and pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
Leave the dough to rest for a few minutes then grab a piece of dough and see if you can stretch it out really thin so it’s almost see-through, without it tearing.
This is called the 'windowpane test' and shows proper gluten development.
Kneading by hand
You can mix this dough by hand on a work surface instead though this takes a long time and lots of arm muscle. If you get too tired and need a break, do it! The dough will respond well to a few minutes of relaxation. Take time, wash the mixing bowl and your hands, and return to the dough.
It can seem daunting and like it's just not coming together, but it will. Here is a video of the kneading by hand.
If you can't view the video here, click this link to watch it on Youtube.
Bulk fermentation
Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel.
Place the dough in a warm spot, ideally around 76°F (25°C), and let the dough rise.
It needs to bulk out by at least 50-60%. This will take around 4-6 hours depending on temperature.
Don't rush this rise. It's an important one and will set the standard for any future rising the dough will do.
Cold proof
Once risen, place the dough in the fridge until you’re ready to shape in the evening.
Alternatively, the dough can stay in the fridge overnight, and shaping can be done in the morning.
Shaping
After the cold-proof, the dough will be quite firm. All that butter in there has stiffened up. Pull it out of the bowl and onto a clean bench. Line two 8x5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces with a bench scraper.
Split each piece into 8, and shape into tight dough balls.
Fit eight balls into each lined pan. They'll fit snugly in the loaf pan but with room to expand upwards.
Rising
Let the brioche bread rise until doubled in size. If they are doubled in size before you are ready to bake them, place in them in the refrigerator to slow any further rising.
Baking
Pre-heat the oven to 400°F(200°C)
Brush the top of the dough with egg wash.
Bake for 25 minutes until deep golden brown.
Once baked, let it cool to room temperature if you want to slice it like bread. Or don't wait and just rip off pieces!
Related recipes
Full Recipe
Sourdough Brioche Bread
A recipe for a light and tender, buttery sourdough brioche.
Ingredients
Levain
- 50g sourdough starter
- 100g all-purpose flour
- 50g water
Dough
- 550g all-purpose flour with around 11% protein
- 50g granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- All the levain
- 125g milk
- 8g salt
- 225g room temperature butter, cut into cubes
Egg wash
- One egg yolk + 1 tablespoon water, whisked together
Instructions
The Night Before
- Mix 50g starter with 100g flour and 50g water. Knead it together into a soft dough ball.
- Place it into a jar or bowl, covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Allow it to rise for 8-10 hours until it is doubled.
Day 1
- Add the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, and starter in 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 this dough for around 5 minutes to develop the gluten.
- Add in the cubed butter, a few pieces at a time. Incorporate each cube before the next addition. Turn the mixer on medium and mix it for 10-15 minutes.
- Mix until the sticky dough strengthens and comes together, and pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Don't be tempted to add more flour.
- Leave the dough to rest for a few minutes, then grab a piece and see if you can stretch it out thin, so it’s almost see-through, without it tearing.
- This is called the 'window pane' effect and shows proper gluten development.
Kneading by hand
- You can mix this dough by hand instead though this takes a long time and requires lots of arm muscle.
- If you get too tired and need a break, do it! The dough will respond well to a few minutes of relaxation. Take some time, wash the mixing bowl and your hands, and return to the dough. Don't be tempted to add more flour.
Proofing
- Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover it with a damp tea towel or lid.
- Place the dough in a warm spot, ideally around 76°F (25°C), and let it rise. It needs to bulk out by at least 50-60%. This will take around 4-6 hours depending on temperature.
- Don't rush this rise. It's an important one and will set the standard for any future rising the dough will do.
Cold proof
- Once risen, place the dough in the fridge until you’re ready to shape in the evening so it can rise overnight.
- Alternatively, the bowl of dough can stay in the fridge overnight, and shaping can be done in the morning.
Shaping
- After the cold-proof, the dough will be quite firm. All that butter in there has stiffened up. Pull it out of the bowl and onto a clean bench. Line two 8x5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Split each piece into 8, and shape them into tight balls. Fit eight balls into each lined pan. They'll fit snugly in there but with room to expand upwards.
Rising
- Let the brioche bread rise until doubled in size. This can be at room temperature overnight or the following morning in a warm spot.
- If they are doubled in size before you are ready to bake them, place them in the refrigerator to slow any further rising.
- Baking
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F(200°C)
- Brush the tops of the loaves with egg wash. Bake for 25-30 minutes until deep golden brown.
- Once baked, let it cool down to room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 527Total Fat: 23.7gSaturated Fat: 13.8gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 147mgSodium: 184mgCarbohydrates: 66.5gFiber: 2.1gSugar: 7gProtein: 11.7g
Ernie Frank says
I've baked with a sourdo starter since I left San Francisco with a famous starter in a Bull Durham sack around my neck. To my surprise when it was plated out by a friend it contained mostly bacteria and after reading your essay on maintaining starters I understand why: because I starved it decanting the grungy liquid and adding yeast.
I tried your Best Brioche recipe. It made the mini loaves in a 9x5 loaf pan plus 450 & 150 gram loaves in traditional fluted pans (Is there a way to attach foto?) . Just simply delicious: warm slathered with butter, toasted with butter and sprinkled with cinnamonm/sugar. I hope some is left to go a bit stale for oe French toast is my favorite Brioche brunch!
At 89 I watch my diet so I wonder if cutting the butter by half and substituting applesauce would work? It works with Tandzhong & other yeasted breads, tho needing some added flour. Speaking of yeast do you know it can be had for 2# at less than $5 at Sam's? That and 50#s
of their AP flour is (11% protein) meet all my needs for a year. I Tho this year with all your great SourDo recipes I may come up short.
PS If you are ever down Florida way drop us a note and we'll take you swimming with manatees at Crystal River.
Home Grown Happiness says
Hey Ernie, I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for your lovely comment, I will definitely let you know if I'm ever in Florida :D. I've not tried adding applesauce in place of butter but I think you could cut the butter in half without needing the apple sauce. It would change the texture, and the bread would be less rich, but it would still be delicious!