How to Make Soft & Fluffy Sourdough Brioche Bread

Brioche is a classic French bread that is made using a highly enriched dough. This dough comes out light and fluffy, thanks to the butter, eggs, and sourdough you put into it. This will become your favorite sourdough bread to put on the table.

This sourdough brioche bread recipe is great fresh and leftover. This delicious bread would be perfect to make for Christmas morning, Easter, or brunch with friends. You will create this enriched bread with butter and eggs so that it comes out soft and fluffy. But I will warn you, the first time you make this dough will require trust and patience! 

what is brioche?

When most people think of sourdough bread, you think of a delicious bread loaf with a crunchy crust. But this sourdough brioche recipe is about to show you that even sourdough can be light and produce a tender crumb.

As I mentioned earlier, brioche is a type of light and fluffy bread. The lightness of the bread comes from the fats you add into the brioche’s dough. It comes out as one of the tastiest breads that can be described as a cross between bread and a pastry. 

Add lots of eggs and butter to your bread requires you to be patience for your dough to develop – but you will not be disappointed! 

types of flour to use in brioche recipes

Many recipes you will see bread flour used for brioche. I rarely, if ever, have bread flour as I tend to use organic all purpose flour or freshly milled hard or soft wheat flour. So I was a little nervous how this dough and bread would turn out. But my family agreed that it was delicious and I am planning to make cinnamon rolls with it in the future!

But why bread flour? According to King Arthur Baking, bread flour has about 12.7%  while unbleached all purpose flour has about 11.7%. The more protein your flour has means your dough has a higher gluten formation. This gluten makes the dough stronger so it has the ability to trap bubbles, giving your dough a better rise.

With that being said, I personally had no problem using our unbleached all purpose flour! 

how to eat sourdough brioche bread

• jam and butter
• smothered in nutella
• drizzled with molasses
• French toast
• butter sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar
• bread pudding
• egg sandwiches
• simply as dinner rolls

why you will love this sourdough brioche recipe!

It is deliciously light and fluffy. I think part of why I enjoy it so much is that it reminds me of the treats I would eat with my coffee during Kaffee und kuchen Ziet while we lived in Germany.

This bread is easier for your body to digest. Since you are using an active sourdough starter, the wild yeast digest some of the phytic acid while you allow your bread to bulk ferment and rise. That is not something that commercial yeast does for your breads!

This briochie will take your jam and bread or French toast to a new level. You get the lightness of a pastry in the form of a regular bread slice. 

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more sourdough recipes you will love

• sourdough buns
• sourdough discard flatbreads
• overnight sourdough waffles
• sourdough discard tortillas

tips for making this sourdough brioche dough

Remember how I mentioned patience? Good things come to those who wait!

1. You will have a sticky dough. Resist the urge to add more flour to it. This will result in a dense dough instead of a rich dough.
2. It is important you knead and rest your bread dough a couple times to help form a soft texture.
3. Allow your bread to rest for 5 minutes before performing the window test to see if it has formed enough gluten.
4. A bench scraper makes dividing your dough a little easier than a bread knife would
5. Do not use melted butter. You want your butter to be room temperature. This dough is already going to look wet and sticky. If you use melted butter it is going to be that much more wet and may not form.
6. If you do not have a stand mixer, try to “slap and fold” the bread. Since this is a wet and sticky dough, hand kneading will be more difficult. 

useful tools to have

• a stand mixer – It is not often I say “you should have a stand mixer” but I know I personally would not be patient enough to get this dough kneaded like it needed (no pun intended) without a stand mixer.
• bench scraper
• loaf pan or springform pan
• parchment paper – Optional, but can be used so your bread does not stick to your pan.
• wire cooling rack

example timeline to prepare your dough

8am – Feed your starter. 

3pm – Begin your dough. Remember, it is important to let the dough rest in between kneads!

4pm – Your kneads and rests should be done. Let the dough rise in a warm spot to double.

10pm – Place your dough in the fridge to finish your bulk fermentation. 

8am – Divide and shape your dough. Place in a parchment lined pan, cover, and all to rise all day. 

4pm – Bake as a delicious side for supper. 

how to make sourdough brioche buns

1. Feed your sourdough starter about 8 hours before you plan to make your dough.
2. Sit the butter out so it will be room temperature.
3. Once the butter is soft, add all your ingredients to a stand mixing bowl. 
4. Mix on a medium speed until your dough is well incorporated.
5. Switch to a dough hook. Knead your dough on a low speed for 15 minutes. Allow it to rest for 5minutes. 
6. Knead your dough for an additional 10-15 minutes, allowing your dough to rest for 5 minutes in between.
7. The dough is ready when it pulls off the sides of the bowl and passes the windowpane test after a 5 minute rest. Either place in a bowl  and cover with a damp towel or place in an airtight container that allows your dough to double. 
8. After 6-8 hours in a warm spot, place your dough in fridge for 8 hours.
9. in the morning, divide and shape your bread into tight balls.
10. Cover and place in your pan lined with parchment paper.
11. Allow to rise throughout the day. 
12. Brush with an egg wash.
13. Bake at 425*f for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 
14. Enjoy the tastiest bread ever! 

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