Same-Day Homemade Brioche Bread - House of Nash Eats

This soft & fluffy same-day brioche bread recipe makes two buttery and rich perfect loaves that taste better than anything you’ll get from a bakery. One for enjoying now, and one for later as French toast!

An image of loaves of homemade brioche bread on wooden cutting boards.

I set a goal to not buy bread from the store this year, so when we are craving slices of soft brioche bread there is nothing to do but get in the kitchen and roll up my sleeves. Brioche is such a fun and satisfying bake because the technique is pretty simple and straightforward and the finished loaves are just about the most beautiful thing I have seen come out of my oven with the egg-wash shine on their golden brown tops.

Sure you can buy a loaf of brioche bread at the bakery for $8 to $14 a loaf, but why when you can make a superior loaf of brioche at home for a fraction of the cost and much, much better flavor? Besides, once you know what “good brioche” is, store-bought just can’t compete.

This bread tastes like it came straight from a French bakery and makes your house smell absolutely incredible while it bakes. Plus, pulling apart a pillowy loaf that you made yourself and slathering it with some creamy butter or sweet strawberry jam is absurdly rewarding.

You’ll be obsessed with the real butter flavor and thin, glossy crust. Real ingredients like better flour, real butter, higher-quality eggs, and the perfect hint of sweetness makes even regular sandwiches feel fancy and like something you would be from a French café.

Why you’ll never buy brioche from the store again

The smell alone ruins you for the packaged stuff. Fresh brioche baking in your oven smells like butter + vanilla + heaven.
Homemade just tastes more real. Store-bought brioche often tastes one-dimensional (or worse–stale), which is fine if you only plan on using it for French toast, but let’s agree that homemade brioche has a depth and richness that is unmatched by commercial versions.
The texture is unreal when it’s fresh. That soft, shreddy, feathery crumb is at its peak within hours of baking and there are no preservatives, dough conditioners, or other additives. Instead, the tenderness comes from technique and fresh ingredients so you know it’s good.

Round Up Your Ingredients

I’m still amazed at how simple ingredients like fresh eggs, all-purpose flour (I always use unbleached for my baking), milk, sugar, salt, butter, vanilla, and instant yeast can be transformed into something as beautiful and satisfying as a loaf of bread.

Yeast: I have switched to using instant yeast over active dry yeast because it tends to be more reliable, but either one works. If using active dry yeast, you will need to be sure to proof the yeast for about 5 minutes with the warm milk and 1 teaspoon of the sugar until foamy before proceeding with the recipe.
Flour: Bread flour and all-purpose flour both work for this recipe, so there is no need to go out and buy a special flour if you don’t have it on hand.
Vanilla Extract: You won’t see this in all brioche recipe but I think it really sets mine apart by adding dimension to the flavor profile.

Ingredients for making homemade brioche bread.

Let’s Make Brioche Bread!

Hydrate the flour first. Rather than adding butter up front which would coat the flour molecules with fat and affect liquid absorption, you want to combine warm milk, yeast, vanilla, salt, and some of the flour first. Mix until totally smooth, then start adding the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Adding flour, yeast, and sugar to warm milk in a large mixing bowl.

Adding eggs one at a time to brioche dough.

Add remaining flour, THEN butter. Keep adding the flour, mixing with the paddle attachment the entire time. Gradually add the softened butter, a couple cubes at a time, letting the mixer do the work of mixing in the butter for you before adding more. The batter dough will eventually come together and pull away from the sides of the bowl, but it definitely has a different quality than other yeast bread doughs.

Adding more flour to brioche bread dough.

Adding butter a couple tablespoons at a time to brioche dough.

Rise (be patient!). This is what is known as an “enriched” dough and those extra ingredients like butter and eggs can really slow down the rise time, particularly if the temperature in your house is on the cool side. Don’t rush this and really look to see that the dough has doubled in size before proceeding. Our house is usually around 68 degrees F so I bought a folding proofer that has made a HUGE difference in my rise time since I can set it to between 75 and 78 degrees F.

Unrisen brioche bread dough in a glass mixing bowl.

Brioche bread dough that has doubled in size.

Shape. There are so many ways to shape a loaf of brioche bread, but this three-strand braid is easy and always impressive. The full recipe makes two loaves of bread, so divide the dough in half, then divide each half into three equal-sized segments. Roll those into ropes, then braid the three strands together like any other braid. Pinch the ends together and transfer to a greased 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pan and let it rise again until puffy and reaching the top of the pan.

A three-strand braid of brioche bread dough in a loaf pan.

A risen braided loaf of brioche bread dough in a pan.

My kids and husband are immature and think this double-hump version resembles a bum, but it’s definitely one of the easiest methods I know of and I think it makes for a really beautiful loaf, too. You could also always pat the dough out into one rectangle and roll it up into a log for a typical sandwich-loaf style.

Don’t rush the final proof. Brioche should look noticeably puffy and jiggle slightly when it is ready to bake. Underproofing is the top cause of dense brioche and easy to do when it is your first time because enriched dough takes longer to proof than other doughs.

Balls of unrisen brioche bread dough in two loaf pans.

Puffy brioche bread dough in a loaf pan.

Brush with egg wash. Just before baking, remove the plastic wrap covering the risen loaves and beat an egg in a bowl with a fork. Gently brush it over the top of the loaves for that golden-brown finish.
Bake. Full-size loaves of this bread recipe take around 30 to 35 minutes until they are golden brown on top and sort of hollow sounding when you thud them, but you’ll level up your bread baking practice by taking the internal temperature of each loaf with an instant digital thermometer. It’s done when it reaches 190°F.
Cool, then slice. Immediately turn the loaves out of the pans while they are still hot and let them cool on a wire cooling rack for 1 hour before slicing into them (if you can resist, which you probably can’t if you are anything like me). It really lets the structure of the bread set up so you don’t squish the loaf while slicing into it while it is still too warm.

Tips To Remember

Read the recipe through once or twice before starting and you’ll be 99% of the way to your first fabulous loaf of brioche, but here are some of my best practices to keep in mind for superior results.

Use room-temp ingredients (especially the butter + eggs). Cold butter won’t emulsify well and can leave the dough greasy or lumpy instead of silky smooth.
Develop the gluten before adding most of the butter. Mix/knead until the dough has strength, then add butter gradually. Visual cues to look for are when the dough starts pulling from the bowl and looking elastic.
Add the butter slowly, in small pieces. Let each addition fully disappear into the dough before adding more. This is the difference between smooth, satiny dough and a separated mess.
Keep the dough cool. Don’t be afraid to stop and chill the dough if it’s getting warm, especially in warm months. Warm dough makes butter melt and smear. If the mixer/bowl feels warm or the dough looks shiny/greasy, pop it in the fridge 10–20 minutes and continue.
Use the “windowpane” test. Pinch off a small piece of dough and gently pull or stretch it between your fingers. You want a thin stretch that doesn’t tear immediately. Brioche can feel softer than lean doughs, but it should still stretch and hold together.

An overhead image of two loaves of braided brioche bread.

To Chill or Not to Chill, That is the Question

The short answer is that both approaches work, so you can choose whichever method works best for you.

When I was testing and perfecting my brioche recipe to share, I made almost a dozen loaves trying all sorts of combinations of butter, eggs, and methods, including chilling the dough overnight. This is a popular approach because it helps the butter solidify and can make the dough easier for shaping, especially if your kitchen is on the warm side. A cold overnight ferment also adds dimension to the flavor.

I love this approach when I want to make dough in the evening, then shape and bake the next day. Just knead the dough, let it rise for 2-3 hours on the counter until doubled in size, then cover and chill in the fridge overnight. The next morning, you can pull it out, shape it while the dough is cold, let it rise another 2-3 hours until puffy, then bake.

But truly, a same-day approach ended up being my preference because the flavor difference wasn’t that noticeable and the dough is plenty workable after its first rise.

A sliced loaf of brioche bread on a wooden cutting board.

Stacked slices of homemade brioche bread on a wooden cutting board.

More Homemade Bread Recipes

Recipe FAQ’s

Can I use this recipe to make brioche hamburger buns?

Absolutely! Brioche buns are superior to any store-bought buns. They are plush, slightly sweet, sturdy enough for burgers, and don’t fall apart. I highly recommend it.

Can I add flavors to this brioche recipe?

Yes, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of orange zest, 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom, ¾ cup chocolate chips, dried fruit, or other additions to the loaf. For zest or spices, you can add them with the flour before the butter. For chunkier additions like chocolate chips, knead them in during the last minute of kneading.

Why is brioche so popular for French toast?

Once your loaf is a day or two old, the slightly stale brioche soaks up the eggy custard for French toast like a dream, then fries up crisp outside and custardy inside. It’s divine and the only bread that rivals it (in my opinion) is my homemade challah bread.