This sourdough brioche recipe is the softest, most delicious bread. An enriched dough made with butter, eggs, and milk – and naturally leavened with sourdough starter; this will become an absolute favorite around the table.
I’m not sure why it took me so long to create this recipe. Everything about this sourdough brioche is delicious. It is so light, fluffy, and buttery.
This would be perfect to grace your Easter, brunch, or breakfast table. You can turn it into many yummy creations (see below for ideas).
When most people think of sourdough bread, they think of your traditional crusty loaf that is a little bit denser. I’ve even heard people claim that you cannot make a fluffy loaf of sourdough bread.
Well, I’m here to prove that wrong with this enriched bread.
It is light, fluffy, buttery, and everything good in the world baked into a marvelous loaf. Make that two loaves. Because two loaves are always better than one loaf, especially when you are taking the time to make such a wonderful creation as this.
Why you will love this recipe:
Seriously so light and fluffy. Have I mentioned that yet?
Healthier than traditional brioche, since the grains are fermented, making the nutrients in the grain more bioavailable.
Easier to digest. If you have a hard time digesting unfermented grains, this long-fermented recipe will have less gluten and will be easier to digest than regular bread.
Delicious. You cannot beat the taste of this enriched sourdough bread.
Tips For Making Sourdough Brioche
- This dough is a wet dough. Even if you are tempted to add more flour, don’t. Too much flour will give you a tougher bread rather than something light and fluffy.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose. It will not be quite as soft as using the mix of the two flours, but it will still be yummy. The bread flour also helps it rise more.
- You may be able to make this dairy free by using a milk alternative and vegan butter. I have not personally tried it.
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Ingredients:
Sourdough starter – Active and bubbly. You really want to have a very active starter for this recipe so it has a really nice rise.
Bread flour – Bread flour gives this dough a much lighter and fluffier texture compared to using all-purpose.
Unbleached all-purpose flour – Freshly milled or store-bought.
Sugar – Preferably organic cane sugar.
Eggs
Salt – I always choose sea salt.
Milk – Preferably whole, but 2% should also work just fine.
Butter – Room temperature. Unsalted. It is important to be able to control the amount of salt added to any recipe.
Tools you may need:
Bench scraper (optional, but handy)
Measuring cups and spoons
FAQ
What makes a brioche different from most breads?
Brioche is an enriched bread, meaning it contains butter, eggs, and milk, making it richer. On the other hand, a “standard” bread usually just contains flour, water, yeast (commercial or sourdough starter), and salt.
Is brioche better for you than bread? Can brioche be healthy?
I’m sure lots of people have differing opinions on this. Since it contains milk, eggs, and butter, it has more fat in it. While many people are “scared” of fat, this recipe uses wholesome and healthy fats that are naturally occurring.
Brioche does contain sugar, which isn’t the healthiest, but it’s a pretty small amount; it’s also lower in fiber than, say, whole wheat sourdough bread.
Can you autolyse brioche?
While you technically can, there really isn’t a point to autolyse brioche because of the amount of kneading that happens in the beginning. It is counterintuitive and will reduce any benefit the autolyse would have accomplished.
What is the difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour?
The biggest difference between the two is that bread flour has a higher amount of protein than all-purpose flour, which helps it develop more gluten strands. It also gives it a chewier texture. That increased gluten can help the bread rise more.
Can you make this with einkorn flour?
I have not tried this. Baking with einkorn requires the liquid amounts to be adjusted, and you may have to reduce the amount of water.
How much is two sticks of butter?
Two sticks of butter equals 1 cup.
How To Make Sourdough Brioche
Feed starter at night before bed. This way when you wake up in the morning, it will be nice and bubbly.
Kneading Sourdough Brioche
In the morning, combine all ingredients in a mixer and knead until smooth and glossy. The dough will be very wet, but after 10-15 minutes in the stand mixer (or by hand), it will come together. Don’t add more flour even though it is tempting.
Cover with plastic wrap, a damp towel, or tight lid and place in a warm spot for 6-8 hours (or until doubled).
After the 6-8 hours, refrigerate for a few hours (or overnight) so that dough is nice and stiff for shaping.
Shaping Brioche
Divide into two equal portions. I really like to use my bench scraper to do this.
Divide each half into eight, so that you have a total of 16 equal-sized pieces.
Roll into balls.
Add eight balls to a parchment-lined loaf pan. Repeat for the other eight in another loaf pan.
Cover and allow to rise until doubled, another 6-8 hours (or overnight).
Next day:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Create an egg wash by beating an egg with water. Brush over the loaf. This gives it that beautiful color.
Bake 25 minutes until the brioche starts to turn golden.
Baking For Dinner
Feed starter before bed.
Mix up dough in the morning, per instructions above.
Allow it to do the first rise: 6-8 hours until doubled – covered with plastic wrap, tight lid, or damp towel.
Place the dough into the fridge until the next morning.
In the morning, divide and shape. Place into parchment-lined loaf pans.
Cover and allow to rise throughout the day, and bake for dinner.
Uses For Sourdough Brioche
You really can use brioche for just about anything you would use regular bread for:
- Sandwiches
- French toast
- Hamburgers
- Bread pudding
- French toast casserole
- Grilled cheese
- Eggs in a basket
- Strata – you can find my favorite sourdough strata here.
Find More Of My Favorite Sourdough Recipes:
- Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
- Einkorn Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Banana Bread
- 100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
If you make this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone with your delicious creation.
Sourdough Brioche
Ingredients
- 1 cup active sourdough starter, active and bubbly 227 g
- 3 cups bread flour, 420 g
- 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour, 70 g
- 1/4 cup sugar, 48 g
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 8 g
- 1/2 cup milk, 122 g
- 2 sticks butter, room temp 226 g
Eggwash
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Feed starter at night before bed. This way when you wake up in the morning, it will be nice and bubbly.
- In the morning, combine all ingredients in a mixer and knead until smooth and glossy. The dough will be very wet, but after 10-15 minutes in the stand mixer (or by hand), it will come together. Don’t add more flour even though it is tempting.
- Cover with plastic wrap, a damp towel, or tight lid and place in a warm spot for 6-8 hours (or until doubled).
- Refrigerate for a few hours (or overnight) so that dough is nice and stiff for shaping.
- Divide into two equal portions. I really like to use my bench scraper to do this.
- Divide each half into eight, so that you have a total of 16 equal-sized pieces.
- Roll into balls.
- Add eight balls to a parchment-lined loaf pan. Repeat for the other eight in another loaf pan.
- Cover and allow to rise until doubled, another 6-8 hours (or overnight).
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Create an egg wash by beating an egg with water. Brush over the loaf. This gives it that beautiful color.
- Bake 25 minutes until the brioche starts to turn golden.
Notes
- This dough is a wet dough. Even if you are tempted to add more flour, don’t. Too much flour will give you a tougher bread rather than something light and fluffy.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose. It will not be quite as soft as using the mix of the two flours, but it will still be yummy. The bread flour also helps it rise more.
- You may be able to make this dairy free by using a milk alternative and vegan butter. I have not personally tried it.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These smell delicious! The recipe was easy to follow and we are excited to use these loaves for French toast. I have a question though- my dough stuck to the seran wrap and the parchment paper that I used to cover them. What do you recommend using to cover them for that last rise to avoid messing up the texture of the dough? Also mine turned out really dark. Is it possible I used too much egg wash, or could my oven be running hot? (That’s a problem I think I’m experiencing with other baking as well)
I find that lightweight wet tea towels work really well. It could be your oven running a bit hot. I have never experienced putting on too much egg wash.
Mine also turned really dark. I took mine out after 15 minutes or else they would’ve started to burn.
New to sourdough here! Would this recipe work with a gluten free starter?
New to sourdough here! Would this recipe work with a gluten free sourdough starter?
Is the bread flour a separate ingredient from the all purpose flour? It looks like but I added it in with the bread flour.
I’m new at sour dough, but so excited to try more recipes. When you have a recipe like this that makes 2 loaves can you freeze half?
Since it’s just my husband that I know, I usually just make one loaf. However if you want to make two, shape one and freeze it and then wrap well until you’re ready to bake. When you’re ready to bake, put it in the fridge overnight, well covered, and let’s all. Then the next morning just take it out and let it raise for however long it takes to raise.
I can’t believe how delicious this bread made my house smell! This is an easy recipe, and I’ve learned lessons from my first loaves to improve the next ones. For one, I need to either lower my oven temp to 400, lower my oven rack, or bake 18 minutes only (tops were dark). Also, I needed to let my stand mixer knead for at least 15-20 minutes for the dough to come together. I’ll also try to strengthen my starter a bit more. Just my adjustments- this is a great recipe!!
I’m not sure what I did wrong exactly but I kneaded the dough for 40+ minutes in a stand mixer and it still just looks like batter.
The problem with doing flour by volume is that depending on the humidity and the dampness etc., you can measure out flour several different times and get several different weights. The Bakery standard is that one cup of flour is 4.5 ounces. That is always where I start. I’m doing this recipe today so we will see. You should never have to knead bread dough for 40 minutes. In the mixer, it takes even less time. So if after about four minutes, you still have a batter, add more flour until you get it looking like it does in the video.
Can I bake this and freeze it? What wheat berries should I grind?
After step 3 (when it’s doubled) I’m I supposed to leave it like that in the fridge? I’m used to punching a dough down before resting it in fridge.
Good question, I just tried this and punched it down….? We will see, about to go in oven
So do we punch down before putting in the fridge or not? How did it turn Out for you
You do not have to. The “punch down” will happen during shaping.
I wasn’t sure which attachment to use for the stand mixer, and what speed. I started with the paddle to mix everything together for 3 or 4 minutes, gradually building to speed 4, then switched to the dough hook. I found I had to keep increasing the speed to get the dough to gradually start pulling away from the sides as it was so sticky. I’m wondering what your recommended method is for kneading the dough with the stand mixer as you don’t mention it in the instructions. What did others do?
I start with the paddle attachment and then after four minutes if it’s still not pulling into any kind of a ball, I will switch add a bit more flour until it does, then I go back to the dough hook. Once I put in the dough hook, I let it run for 8 minutes.