Sourdough Brioche

An enriched dough made with butter, eggs, and milk – and naturally leavened with sourdough starter; this will become an absolute favorite around the table.

Course Sourdough

Cuisine American

Keyword sourdough brioche

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 25

Total Time 1 25

Servings

Calories 168kcal

Author Lisa Bass

Ingredients

1 cup sourdough starter active and bubbly
3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup milk
2 sticks butter room temp

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.

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