Super fluffy and buttery brioche bread made simply with 6 basic ingredients, no mixer required! The brioche bread can be made, start to finish in 4.5 hours. Perfect for French toast, bread pudding or Bostock.
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MAKE THIS BREAD, and thank me later! Brioche is truly one of life’s pleasures and in this recipe, I’m simplifying the process so that everyone can make this delicious homemade bread at home.
The best part? Once you’ve mastered the basic technique, you can riff on the recipe to your heart’s content! Make a cinnamon raisin swirl bread, or dinner rolls, or how about strawberry and cream morning buns?
Please do get creative because you only get one life to live, and homemade Lazy Girl Brioche Bread makes it much sweeter.
3 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BRIOCHE DOUGH
- Brioche dough is sticky! It is an “enriched dough” which means that it is full of soft butter and eggs that make it super tacky to the touch. Traditional brioche is made using a stand mixer and is kneaded for upwards of 15 minutes. Not today! We’re making a slightly leaner dough that tastes just as delicious as the traditional kind. Flour your hands and work surface well when handling it.
- This enriched dough may take longer to rise. The extra fat in the dough delays the rising time, and a colder kitchen may slows things down too. Make sure to keep the proofing dough in the warmest part of the your kitchen until it has doubled in size.
- Brioche is so versatile! Once you make one this recipe, you can adapt it easily to make a brioche loaf, strawberry and cream buns, chocolate brioche buns, the possibilities are endless!
WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE YOUR OWN BREAD
HOT TAKE: We don’t suffer from any gluten intolerance, and I think making my own bread with high quality, minimal ingredients has a lot to do with that. It’s a very sensory/meditative process, and it makes me nostalgic for a simpler time – before corporations took over the farming and food industry and before bread had a list of 20+ ingredients on the supermarket shelves.
With just a few basic ingredients and a couple of tools, you can create delicious artisan bread at home (see my list of tools below).
ESSENTIAL Bread Baking TOOLS
Click this link for my thorough but concise Amazon list of bread baking tools that every baker needs!
Danish Dough Whisk – this is a really handy tools that is specifically designed to mix bread dough by hand. I use it in the beginning stages of mixing, then mix with my hands.
Metal Bench Scraper – This is kitchen workhorse, and I use it almost daily to shape dough, cut dough, and move ingredients around the kitchen.
INGREDIENTS
- grass fed butter – and plenty of it! The butter is the main character in this maple pecan cookie story, so go with the high quality grass fed butter – my go-to brand is of course Kerrygold Irish butter. The higher butterfat content in the butter makes my bakes rich and super flavorful.
- unbleached all purpose flour – in all of my bakes, I like to use King Arthur Baking Company’s flour. I like what the company stands for, it is 100% employee owned, and the high quality flour always gives me consistent, professional results, 10/10.
- kosher salt – kosher salt is my go to in both baking and cooking. I like Morton’s Kosher salt. If you’re using Diamond Crystal, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
- organic large eggs – we’re using 3 eggs in this recipe, they add richness, tenderness and plenty of flavor. Try to remember to let them come to room temperature before adding them to the dough – this will help them integrate into the dough easier.
- a bit of sugar – This isn’t a “sweet” bread per se, but the sugar really helps to round out the flavors. It also helps the dough caramelize and get nice and golden brown.
ingredients you’ll need
just-mixed Lazy Girl Brioche Bread dough: it will sticky and soft!
after the first rise, it should be very puffy
How to make Lazy Girl Brioche
In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm water, dry active yeast, granulated sugar, large eggs, whole milk, and melted butter. Use a large whisk to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
To the bowl, add the unbleached all purpose flour and kosher salt. Use a wooden spoon or a Danish dough whisk to incorporate the dry ingredients until there are no streaks of flour. The dough ball will be very sticky and wet, this is normal!
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise/rest at room temperature for 1½-2 hours until it has doubled in size, and is puffy and bubbly.
Brush 2 9×4 loaf pans with butter, making sure to brush all the way up the sides. Set aside.
Sprinkle about ¼ cup (30g) of flour around the perimeter of the bowl and onto the work surface. Use a rubber spatula or a bench scraper to pour the dough out on the floured work surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.
With floured hands, press each piece of dough out into a rectangle roughly the width of the pan. Roll the dough up into a log and place it, seam side down into the prepared loaf pan. Let the loaves proof (rise) in a warm spot in your kitchen at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until the dough reaches the rim of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 375℉. Optional: brush the tops of the loaves with beaten egg for a shiny golden brown crust. Bake the brioche bread for 45 minutes until puffy and deeply golden brown. Turn the loaves of bread out onto a wire cooling rack and let them rest for at least 1 hour before slicing.
the dough will double in size
butter your 9×4 loaf pan very well
place the shapes loaves in the buttered pan, seam side down
use a shower cap to cover the loaves as they rise at room temperature
brush with beaten egg for a shiny golden crust
More simple and delicious bread recipes – Check out:
Blueberry Cream Brioche Buns, Twisted Cardamom Buns, Sourdough Focaccia with Roasted Tomato and Rosemary, Easy Nan-e Barbari Bread, No Knead Cheddar Jalapeño Artisan Bread
bien cuit – French for well baked! we love a burnished mahogany brown crust for deeper flavor
let the loaves cool on a wire rack until completely cool
gorgeous airy crumb that is light, butter and rich
perfect for toasting, sandwiches, bread pudding or French toast
swirl up with cinnamon sugar and raisins for the perfect raisin bread
IF YOU LOVE IT, SHARE IT!
When you make this viral Lazy Girl Brioche Bread, tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! I LOVE to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Without further ado, here is your Lazy Girl Brioche recipe! Be sure to save this recipe and Pin It to your favorite Bread recipe board!
Happy Baking xo LeAnne
THE RECIPE
No-Knead Lazy Girl Brioche Bread
fluffy and buttery brioche bread made simply with 6 basic ingredients, no mixer required! The brioche bread can be made, start to finish in 4.5 hours. Perfect for French toast, bread pudding or Bostock.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water, about 80℉ 365 g
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast 8 g
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar 75 g
- 3 organic large eggs, at room temperature 150 g
- ½ cup whole milk, room temperature 125 g
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted 80 g
- 6 cups unbleached all purpose flour 770 g
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, I use Morton's 15 g
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm water, dry active yeast, granulated sugar, large eggs, whole milk, and melted butter. Use a large whisk to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
To the bowl, add the unbleached all purpose flour and kosher salt. Use a wooden spoon or a Danish dough whisk to incorporate the dry ingredients until there are no streaks of flour. The dough ball will be very sticky and wet, this is normal!
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise/rest at room temperature for 1½-2 hours until it has doubled in size, and is puffy and bubbly.
Brush 2 9x4 loaf pans with butter, making sure to brush all the way up the sides. Set aside.
Sprinkle about ¼ cup (30g) of flour around the perimeter of the bowl and onto the work surface. Use a rubber spatula or a bench scraper to pour the dough out on the floured work surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.
With floured hands, press each piece of dough out into a rectangle roughly the width of the pan. Roll the dough up into a log and place it, seam side down into the prepared loaf pan. Let the loaves proof (rise) in a warm spot in your kitchen at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until the dough reaches the rim of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 375℉. Optional: brush the tops of the loaves with beaten egg for a shiny golden brown crust.
Bake the brioche bread for 45-48 minutes until puffy and deeply golden brown. Turn the loaves of bread out onto a wire cooling rack and let them rest for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Recipe Notes
This bread can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. To freeze, place the whole loaf of bread in an airtight bag (or slice, then freeze!) and remove as much air as possible. Freeze up to 1 month.
The post Lazy Girl Brioche Bread first appeared on Lion’s Bread Blog.
Liz says
This recipe was so easy and the brioche came out perfect. My husband is so happy, brioche is one of his favorites. Thanks Lee Ann for another wonderful recipe. Can’t wait to use this for French toast.