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 sourdough starter (active and bubbly)
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 sticks butter room temp
Eggwash
- 1 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.
Nadja says
Hi there! How many grams are in the two sticks of butter? I live in Europe and we don´t have butters contained as sticks in the stores..
Ashley says
One U.S. stick of butter is 114g. Greetings from Germany!
Ashley says
One U.S. stick of butter is 114g. Greetings from Germany!
Hannah says
Wow! This bread is amazing! I was so excited to see you made this into a sourdough recipe that’s very similar to the rolls that I make for family gatherings. I’m always tweaking recipes so I used 1 cup of coconut oil in place of the butter. Instead of milk, I used 1/2 cup whey with 2T powdered milk (because I always have whey to use up since I make yogurt.) The dough stayed more sticky than what I would have liked so it was still difficult to work with after refrigerating, but I think that was my fault as I may have over measured on my starter. I made this into 32 dinner rolls; 16 from each loaf. We had them for lunch and I can’t get over how buttery and fluffy these are! Now I’m going to enjoy another…it’s hard to eat just one! Thanks for sharing this recipe, Laura!
Marita says
Hi Nadja,
I‘m from Germany, so I have the same issue converting recipes. :))
1 stick butter has 113 gr.
Or is 1 cup, or 8 tbsp, or 4 oz.
Lots of love and have a great sunday!
Marita
Krissy says
227 g
Hannah says
Just try looking it up on the internet as I’m sure she is busy and might not have time to respond!
Nancy E says
I can’t wait to try this! Do you think it would be possible to braid the dough or would it be too hard to work with? I’m definitely going to try adding raisins to the dough and some colored eggs nestled on top for Easter, too. I’m pretty new to your blog and was so sad there was no brioche recipe when I first searched – this must be new. You read my mind!!!
I am loving your flatbread, English muffins, cinnamon buns, chicken pot pie and banana bread (all sourdough)!!! The only recipe I didn’t have success with so far was the chocolate zucchini bread. I fermented the dough for 24 hours (following some of your tips) and it didn’t taste sweet at all. I used unsweetened coconut milk (added lemon juice to make buttermilk) because I don’t feel comfortable leaving the dough to ferment with pasteurized milk. I know it’s my fault, but maybe you can try fermenting it and giving more direction? I know you said you hadn’t tried long fermenting it yourself. Thank you for everything you do!!!
Lisa says
Yes! It would be beautiful braided!
Hannah Victoria says
This looks amazing! I was just thinking of making sourdough challah, which is sorta like brioche. Keep it up Lisa!❤
Jill says
The instructions are not included in the printable version of the recipe. It only includes the ingredients.
Lisa says
Whoops! Fixed. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Kevin Kirts says
Hi Lisa! Have you tried converting this to Einkorn yet? I’ve tried converting a few recipes but haven’t had great results yet. Regardless this looks great! Thanks for sharing.
Diane says
I can only imagine how busy Lisa is but I hope she responds to you as I was wondering this same thing. I have an embarrassing 😊amount of Einkorn starter and wanted to make rolls and freeze the dough before baking or maybe after. 🤔
Kristy says
The vlog post says she hasn’t tried making it with einkorn. I don’t think it would be an issue to use einkorn starter though and the rest of the flour AP and Bread Flour. I have done that with other recipes and it turned out fine.
Ann & Fred Huegel says
Thanks and Happy Easter…
HollyG says
I made this recipe yesterday and baked it this afternoon – wonderful and fluffy. The recipe was easy, although I had to knead it in the mixer for closer to 25 min for it to come together. I think because I have a 7qt mixer and it wasn’t reaching the bottom very well. I turned the speed up after 15 min and it started catching – 10 more minutes and it was great. Thanks for the recipe, my boys loved it.
Mendy Adler-Porter says
I’m in love with your blog / you tube of a farmhouse life style. It’s simple, clean and just my jam.. lol
I’m in love with making bread, I’ve just learned to make sourdough and will never go back to anything else. Bread making is fun .
Would love to know more about treasure finds at yard sales / used furniture stores.
Yana says
To the one scrolling the comments, wondering if you really should add a little more flour, don’t. It does eventually come together into a smooth, glossy ball as Lisa says. Go fold that load of laundry waiting for you and come back later! 🤪
Meagan says
Just don’t let your KitchenAid fall off the counter like I did. Thankfully it still works 😂
Alexandra says
Hello everyone, looking forward to trying this… any chance anyone has weighed what 1 cup of starter is?
Also Lisa, as you get more of a following, and clearly more europeans, would you consider adding weight measurements to your recipes? I find them so much more accurate than the cups method… Just a thought. 🙂
Maribeth says
My apologies if this has already been answered, but on the final 6-8 hour rise, can I safely leave the dough balls on the counter with the eggs and milk?
Lisa says
I used to never do this, but I have been doing it lately and it has been fine.
Miss Chardy says
I am on day 2 of making this loaf… I can’t wait… this is the first thing I will have made with my new starter. Just wondering what the dimensions are of your loaf tin. Thanks so much for all of your great content. I live on a remote cattle station over in Australia – 5 hours from town. I can’t wait to try so many of your sourdough recipes – thanks for keeping it simple – you motivated me to give it a go and didn’t over complicate things.
Dianne Johnson says
I’m a little confused on the 2 methods…The 2nd method seems quicker, doesn’t take 3 days to rise, just a day and a half. Am I correct or completely misreading??
Also…could I keep the little balls little and put them on a cookie sheet instead of loaf pans to make buns?
I’m new to bread baking so any help would be appreciated.
Debbie says
Which wheat berries did you grind for this? Did you use the bread flour & fresh ground flour?
Amelia says
This was my first time trying brioche and they came out amazing!!! Sooo light and fluffy, and melt in your mouth. I used all AP flour and they rose incredibly well. So happy to serve this for Easter dinner.
Jessica says
What is the healthiest bread flour you have found that you use for your family?
Lisa says
I always use King Arthur Organic.
Diana says
Made it. Loooooved it. Thank you!!
stephanie says
what would be the baking time if i wanted to make burger buns?
Trusty Steph says
I made this yesterday! Followed instructions to a T, but my loafs came out pretty flat (tasted amazing, though). Not sure if the loaf pans I used were a bit wider and higher than yours? Maybe they needed to rise longer after shaping? Though I had already let them sit for nearly 8 hours, which is a long proofing time as is. They did double in size, but did not rise much over the top of the loaf pan, and then they deflated slightly while baking.
Anyways, my husband was very impressed with the taste, especially since they didn’t look great.