Classic French Brioche ❤️ The Aristocrat of Breads

Brioche has a rich, cake-like tenderness because it is loaded with eggs and butter. Those same two ingredients give it an intoxicating, croissant-like aroma. It truly is a feast for both the nose and the palate.

This formula comes from French Chef Corentin (Chef Guangtan). His video tutorial is clear, approachable, and easy to follow, so I wrote down the steps here for quick reference.

🍞 Ingredients:

Warm milk 30g, instant dry yeast 10g (this is the original recipe's amount; it is quite high, so you can reduce it to 6-7g), 4 eggs, bread flour 300g, sugar 40g, salt 8g, softened butter 150g.

🍞 Instructions:

1️⃣ Dissolve the instant dry yeast in the warm milk and set aside.

2️⃣ Place the bread flour, salt, and sugar into the mixer bowl and stir briefly. Add the yeast-milk mixture and the 4 beaten eggs, then mix on low speed until combined.

3️⃣ Add the softened room-temperature butter in two batches, mixing until the first batch is thoroughly absorbed before adding the second.

4️⃣ Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap, ferment at room temperature until doubled in size, and then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours (or overnight).

5️⃣ Take the chilled dough out of the fridge (it will be firm and easy to handle) and divide into equal portions to fit whatever loaf pan you have on hand. I divided mine into 100g balls to fit my pan. Shape each piece into a tight ball and arrange in the pan.

6️⃣ Proof until 80% full in the pan. Bake at 190°C for about 30 minutes.

❤️ Baker's Tips:

1. Because the dough contains 50% butter, keep the second proof temperature around or below 30°C. If it gets too warm, the butter will melt and leak out of the dough.

2. Always incorporate the softened butter in batches during mixing, or the dough will slip and struggle to absorb it.

3. Although the original video does not emphasize a full windowpane, I recommend developing a strong membrane for a finer, more shreddable crumb.

4. Search for Chef Guangtan's original brioche video if you want to watch the visual technique.