The Best, Easiest No-Knead Brioche Buns
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
The dough for these no-knead brioche buns comes together in no time, and the buns are so light and airy. These buns are perfect for burgers, but they’re great for sandwiches of all kind! Video guidance below 🍞🍞
Today, I offer my sincerest apologies. On May 22, 2012, I posted a recipe for light brioche buns, promising you the brioche bun to end all brioche buns. Look no further, I said.
And then, in the recipe, I asked you to use not only bread flour but also a third cup of all-purpose flour. And I didn’t offer you any measurements in weights; I gave you cups only.
And I asked you to bloom your yeast in warm milk and warm water, but I didn’t tell you how warm the milk and water should be.
And I had you soften butter and massage it into the flour. I even asked you to scoop up the mixed dough and slap it down on the counter. And I asked you to knead your dough for 8 to 10 minutes until it was smooth and elastic.
Friends, I am sorry. I promise never to do this again. I promise never to ask you to use two types of flour unless it’s completely necessary. I promise never to ask you to bloom yeast. I promise to always give you weights of flour. I promise never to ask you to knead dough unless it serves some purpose.
I promise. I promise. I promise.
PS: Foolproof Homemade Bialys: A Step by Step Guide
How to Make Brioche Buns, Step by Step
The recipe included below is similar in makeup to the light brioche bun I once loved — there’s a little milk, a little butter, a little egg — but the method is simpler: in sum, it follows the Bread Toast Crumbs no-knead method.
Instant Yeast vs. Active Dry Yeast
In nearly every bread recipe on this site, I call for using instant yeast, SAF being my preference. The reason for this is because with instant yeast, you do not need to proof it — you simply stir it into the flour and salt or other dry ingredients just as you would baking soda or baking powder. Instant yeast makes bread baking so much easier and faster. If you can only find active-dry yeast, however, here’s what you do:
How to Proof Yeast
In general, proofing yeast simply requires sprinkling the active-dry yeast over the lukewarm water with a little bit of the sugar, letting it rest for 10-15 minutes or until the yeast gets foamy; then proceeding with the recipe. In this recipe, this is what you’ll do:
Whisk the egg with the water. Add the heated milk-butter mixture. Stir to combine. The mixture should be lukewarm to the touch. Sprinkle the yeast over top and let stand for 15 minutes or until it gets foamy; then proceed with the recipe.
Mix the Brioche Dough
Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast). I cannot recommend enough using a digital scale to measure the flour. Volume measurements simply are not accurate.
Create a lukewarm liquid by whisking together a hot milk-butter mixture into a cold water-egg mixture. The combined liquids will be perfectly lukewarm — no need to take its temperature.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
No Knead to Knead
Mix with a spatula, stirring just until a sticky dough ball forms — no kneading necessary… save yourself the trouble! This is a high-hydration, wet dough. There is no need to knead it, which would require adding a lot more flour to the dough to make it manageable, which is what we don’t want. The high hydration dough makes for a light, airy crumb.
Place in a warm spot to rise (see the tip in the recipe box below for creating a warm spot to rise), and let rise till doubled.
Punch the dough down using two forks.
Portion the dough into 8 to 10 pieces.
Shape the Brioche Buns
Using flour as needed, shape each portion into a ball, using the pinky edges of your fingers to tuck the dough under and create tension. See video for guidance.
Let the Buns Rise
Depending on the time of year and the temperature of your kitchen, the second rise here will take more or less time. The buns likely won’t double in volume, but they’ll look considerably puffed and they’ll feel light to the touch.
Brush each bun with an egg wash.
Bake the Brioche Buns
Transfer the pan to the oven, and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the buns are evely golden.
Baking Timeline
You can make these rolls two ways:
- Mix the dough, let it rise for 2 to 3 hours, then shape and bake.
- Or you can mix the dough at night, store it in the refrigerator, and shape and bake in the morning.
I love the convenience of mixing dough at night and baking the following day, but you absolutely can mix and bake these the same day and get great results.
PS: No-Knead Thyme Dinner Rolls
PPS: Overnight Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
These brioche buns are perfect for burgers, pulled pork, and sandwiches of all kind, but I especially love them with Joanne Chang’s Famous Egg Sandwich from the Flour, Too cookbook:
You can sprinkle the buns with seeds or everything bagel seasoning, too:
The Best, Easiest No-Knead Brioche Buns
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 rolls
Description
If you have Bread Toast Crumbs, this is essentially 2/3 the light brioche recipe in the book with the sugar cut back by a bit more.
To create a warm spot for your bread to rise, turn your oven on for one minute, then shut it off. That brief blast of heat will create a cozy place for your bread to rise.
As always: for best results, use a digital scale to weigh the ingredients.
Water: Some people find this dough very wet and tricky to work with. If you live in a humid area, I would consider cutting some of the water back. If you are measuring with cups, hold 1/3 cup water. If you are using a scale, hold 75 g. You can always add the water back in when you are mixing if it seems dry. Reference the photos above and the video for how sticky/wet the dough should appear.
If using active dry yeast: Whisk the egg with the water. Add the heated milk-butter mixture. Stir to combine. The mixture should be lukewarm. Sprinkle the yeast over top and let stand for 15 minutes or until it gets foamy; then proceed with the recipe.
A Fun Variation: After brushing with the buns with the eggwash, sprinkle the buns with seeds or everything bagel seasoning.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (512 g) all-purpose or bread flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast, see notes above if using active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) sugar
- 1 1/3 cups (300 g) cold water, or less, see notes above
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup (78 g) milk
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) butter
- for the egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, salt, yeast, and sugar.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cold water and the egg.
- Heat the milk and butter together until the butter is melted. Pour this hot mixture into the cold water-egg mixture. The combined mixture should be perfectly lukewarm. Add it to the flour bowl and stir with a spatula till you have a sticky dough ball. Drizzle a teaspoon or two of olive oil over the dough and rub to coat — this prevents a crust from forming on the dough during the rising.
- Cover bowl and let rise in a warm area (see notes above) for 2 to 3 hours or until doubled. Alternatively, stick bowl in the fridge immediately and let it rise overnight or for 12 to 18 hours.
- Cover a work surface lightly with flour. Deflate dough, turn out onto work surface, and divide into 8 to 10 equal portions (use a scale and weigh each roll if you want perfectly even rolls: about 128 g each for 8 rolls and 102 g for 10 rolls). Using as much flour as necessary, roll each portion into a ball, and place on a parchment-lined sheet pan or two. I have an extra-large sheet pan (15x21x1) that I use to fit all 8 or 10 rolls on at once. (Note: If you refrigerate the dough, you can deflate it immediately after taking it out of the fridge … no need to let it come to room temperature first.)
- Let rise until the rolls puff and feel light to touch — 30-45 minutes roughly. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Brush rolls with egg wash. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden all around. Transfer rolls to wire rack to cool completely.
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: French, American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
520 Comments on “The Best, Easiest No-Knead Brioche Buns”
Brioche buns are fantastic! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Great to hear, Laurel! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I made these last week and they were very easy to make and sooo good !!
Excellent as a sandwich bread !!
Great to hear, Martine! Thanks so much for writing… these are a favorite of mine 🙂
Made these for the first time today and my dough was incredibly sticky and wouldn’t hold a nice round shape. I got 8 misshapen buns that are delicious if not particularly pretty. I would love to make these again, but wonder what I should do differently to get firmer dough?
Hi Tony! Are you using a scale to measure? What type of flour are you using? And do you live in a humid environment? It is definitely a sticky dough. The key will be simply to reduce the amount of water.
Hi Ali, if I would like to do half the portion, is that I cut down all the ingredient to half will do? Like 1/2 egg and 4g of yeast in the recipe? Thank you!
Hi! I think you could halve everything except the egg – just use the whole egg… it will be fine. You can hold back some of the liquid to compensate for using the whole egg… does that make sense? So, I might hold back 50 grams of the water while mixing the dough; and I’ll add the water back in if the dough feels dry. Hope that helps!
Hello and happy holidays! I was wondering if i wanted to make this as an eggless recipe, should I omit the egg, or put 1/4 cup greek yogurt? Thank you!
I think you can definitely get away with simply omitting the egg. Happy New Year!
Hi Ali, long time no talk to so…Merry Christmas and have a safe and Happy New Year. I’m making Brioche buns for the first time to serve up with my award-winning pulled pork. Enjoy your new year.
Best, Gary Vineyard
Woohoo! I just made these last night for ham sandwiches with my grandmother’s mustard sauce … so good. These will be great with your award-winning pulled pork. Happy Happy New Year to you!
Dear, dear Ali,
These are wonderful, as are you! Brought one to work with me today to make a sandwich with your chickpea “tuna” salad. Having previously successfully cannibalized your pita recipe by using sourdough instead of SAF, I’m going to try a half batch of these rolls with sourdough — although I would swear that somewhere on this site you did mention a sourdough version of these?
I’m turning into such an energy cheapskate these days! Gone are the days of long-baking hearth breads, long life to your ciabatta, focaccia, pita and now these! Thanks so much again for all your hard work and generosity.
Thank you so much, Carole 🙂 🙂 🙂 You are correct, somewhere in this comment thread there is mention of sourdough. I think last summer I was trying to make a sourdough version of these, and I got close but in the end, I found my yeast-leavened ones to be lighter. I would love to know how your experiments go. I have to admit, I struggle with the sweet sourdough bread recipes — I’ve never been able to get them quite right.
Yes, that’s coming close — in my mind, it was in the same write-up of your trials and tribulations in making yeasted ciabatta and winding up with mega-pitas. I did find that, but not your tale of sourdough brioche rolls. So I’ll give it a shot perhaps next week, although if you found the yeasted ones to be lighter, I may just not bother, since that’s the charm of these! Trust me, I’ll be barking back.
Yes, exactly, it was a time during which I was experiencing lots of bread woes. I think I wrote about it in a newsletter but didn’t really detail the sourdough troubles. Looking forward to hearing about your efforts 🙂
Very nice write-up. I absolutely love this site. Stick with it!
I veganized these with aquafaba and vegan butter and they came out so great. Thanks for the great recipe!
Great to hear, Paula! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂 🙂 🙂
Easy
Great to hear, Erik! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
They’re dolling on a rack and smell awesome! Easy peasy recipe, made them in a muffin tin so 12 at about 85-87 g each.
Great to hear, Mary! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Like!! Really appreciate you sharing this blog post.Thansk you!
Hi Ali-
I LOVE these rolls, especially with your sweet potato mushroom burgers- and my daughter has requested mini burgers for a party for her 1 year old. The problem is, I need to do a lot of make-ahead things because I won’t be home much the day of the party. Can I make these all the way up to baking them, and put them in the fridge for my daughter to bake the next day? Trying to figure out how to keep them fresh with minimal work the day of. Thank you for your help!! 🙂
Hi Connie! I think you can, I just worry about the dough overproofing in the fridge because the balls will be so small. If you want to try this, just be sure to wrap the pan of dough balls well with plastic wrap to ensure the dough doesn’t dry out.
Part of me thinks you should just make them completely the day before. They’ll still be fresh and delicious tasting. If you reheat them for 15 minutes at 350ºF, they’ll be just as good as freshly baked 🙂
Oh ok!! I wasn’t sure if they would dry out but that would work great for me! I will test it with my orchestra students the week before. We do an annual picnic and I promised the vegetarians your wonderful veggie burgers 🙂 so the few of them will also get wonderful rolls while everyone else gets the store bought rolls with their beef burgers 🙂 Thank you!!
My first time making these and I followed your recipe precisely. The dough was super sticky and it was challenging getting the individual rolls more equal weight and round than not. I also over-baked them slightly and forgot to add some water to the egg wash, so they were a little darker and crustier on top than I planned. But these rolls are so delicious – I will never buy buns again if it can be helped. They remind me of the hard rolls which no longer seem available. I’m using them today for burgers but they will volunteer for sandwiches and dinner rolls later this week. So, thanks so much for working on this recipe.
So nice to read all of this Butch! The dough is super sticky and a bit tricky to work with, but I’m glad you were able to make it work, and I’m so glad you like them! We had them with our burgers last night, and it was such a treat — hard to beat the first grilled burgers of the season + homemade buns 🙂 Thanks so much for writing.
I halved this recipe and it turned out a perfect set of 4 buns! I used 1/2 cup water, the full 1/3 cup milk (in lieu of an additional 1/6 cup water), and the full egg. I ended holding back about 1-2 tablespoons of the wet mix as my dough formed a wet ball without them. As a result, I didn’t find the dough too sticky/wet to work with post-rise. Also, my apartment is especially warm and I live in a humid area so both rises were very quick (about 1 hour, 15 minutes for the first). The egg wash browned the buns beautifully – they look identical to your picture (inside and out). And they taste great too! So looking forward to enjoying them with salmon burgers this weekend!
So great to hear this, Caitlin! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes — so helpful for people wanting to make a smaller batch. Love your decisions regarding the milk, water, egg, etc. Salmon burgers sound delish!!
Another perfect recipe! So easy , halved the sugar and still tasted great. Won’t be buying burger buns anymore 👍👍
Great to hear this! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
My husband wanted me to tell you that you nailed the recipe. Take a look…@clearpinkbakes
Just saw your post!! They’re gorgeous. Bravo!!
Beautiful buns, tender and perfect for hamburgers. I didi’r have time for the overnight version but they were perfect anyway. Thank you!
Great to hear, Terry! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’ve made this recipe before, but this morning I pulled the dough out of the refrigerator, and it hadn’t risen at all….I’m not sure what went wrong.
Hi! Sometimes that happens … when it does, you can just let the dough rise at room temp for a bit (an hour or so) before deflating and shaping. How did the buns turn out?
These are great and soooo easy and versatile! I’ve made them many times usually for veggie burgers or pulled pork.
I recently used them as the base for Kolaches and they came out great. I found a Food & Wine recipe as the inspiration. Brioche + cream cheese + jam + streusel. YUM!
Oh wow! That sounds absolutely fantastic!! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of this. Great to hear.
These really are the best buns! And the easiest. I’ve made them 3 times now and will probably not bother with another recipe. The buns have such a great texture, my family really enjoys them.
So nice to read this, Julie 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing!
Hi Ali!
Just love, love this recipe, I’ve stopped counting how many times I made it.
One question: would you have any idea why I don’t always get a nice dome shape (like your picture). Sometimes,they come out of the oven looking really good, and some other day they don’t rise as much, they are larger and less higher. Overproofing? Too much liquid in the dough? Any other reasons? What do you think could help?
Thanking you in advance!
Hi Lou! Great to hear 🙂
Questions for you: do you always use the same flour? and do you weigh your ingredients?
It could be so many factors, including the weather. Let me know the answers to the above questions, and I’ll brainstorm further.
Hi!
Yes, I always use the same organic stonemilled unbleached flour, and I do weigh all the ingredients, and let the dough rise overnight in the fridge. My dough always look and feel the same when I shape the balls.
Thanks
Interesting! OK, and do you always use the same sheet pan? The material of the sheet pan will affect the texture of the baked goods.
My only other thought would be to be sure you are letting them proof at room temperature enough before baking. I find in these colder months the proofing takes longer, sometimes close to an hour. How long roughly have you been proofing the rolls?
Thanks Ali!
Could be it. I bought an xlarge sheet pan 15 x 21, few months ago….and it’s white… probably makes a difference compare to my other regular sheet pan.
Next time I will use my other pan, and see if it makes a difference.
I usually do the proofing for about 45 minutes, I stick the pan in the oven with the light on.
I will let you know, next time I do the recipe.
Thank you for your quick response, I appreciate so much. Your website is fabulous!
These brioche buns are a favorite in our house. They come out perfect every time! I can’t imagine buying store bought buns ever again!
So nice to read this, Noelle! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
The buns just came out of oven. Second proofing took longer than 45 minutes! Finally after what seemed like over an hour, they doubled in size. At exactly 15 minutes in the oven, I took them out. They look marvelous.
This is not my first brioche buns, but it is my first overnight brioche buns. The dough was surprisingly quite wet. I have watched your video tutorial so many times, so I said to myself that I’m going to trust you and keep going. As wet as the dough was, it did look similar to yours.
The only recipe that disappointed my kids was your Mrs. Myers’s banana bread. Probably my fault as I had opted for bittersweet chocolate chips–kids’ preference–in place of the nuts. That swap resulted in a loaf that was too sweet. I should have decreased the sugar. I was a little shock that it called for 424 grams! I ignored the little voice in my head and reminded myself in your defense that the recipe was for two loaves.
Anyway, the other surprising thing was how sticky the fridge-rise dough was to work with. I was unsure to why you were dusting with so much flour when you were shaping the dough into buns, but as I worked I realized, it was necessary. So liberally I dusted. Each bun weighed between 106 to 110 grams.
Two things I didn’t do: 1) I opted for honey instead of sugar and 2) I brushed the tops with butter while buns were still warm from the oven. I weighed 28 grams of honey first then added water until the weight reached 300 grams.
Next time, I’ll try using bread flour. Thanks for the recipe and the video tutorial.
Great to hear these turned out well, Diana! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of your notes. This is definitely a wet, sticky dough, but it’s that stickiness that creates a nice, light airy roll in the end. Hope they tasted as good as they looked 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’ve made these many times and now have a raisin bun riff. I double the sugar, add rum soaked raisins, zest of an orange and lemon, some ground cloves and cinnamon.
And the recipe is perfect as is for burger night ❤️. Thank you!
That all sounds amazing!! Thank you for writing and sharing 🙂
Great recipe! Had a difficult time with the dough, next time will put 1 cup water instead of 1 1/3 cup (per your instructions in the notes). Used flour mix made for burgers (from a mill in France). The buns came out very fluffy and delicious. Thank you!
Great to hear, Ginka! Yes, it’s definitely a wet dough. Using less water should help. Glad the buns turned out well 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi Alexandra
I have made these many times and love them. Can I form the rolls then freeze unbaked? How long to rise from frozen? Should I egg wash prior to freezing?
Thanks for your help?
Nancy
Belwood Ontario ok
Hi! I think you can. I’ve done this with other breads but not brioche. It should work fine. I would let them rise for 4 to 5 hours at room temperature. After 4 hours you’ll likely know if they’ll need another hour or so — they should look the same as when you let them rise without freezing them. I would do the egg wash just before baking them. Good luck!
A huge fan of your delicious peasant bread and looked to see if you had a brioche bun recipe. Oh my! They turned out so beautiful they literally look like they came from a high end bakery. Then I tasted them. Delicious!! Now because so many brioche recipes call for mire than 1 egg I went ahead and threw in one egg yolk with the 1 egg. It didn’t ruin it. Not even sure it did anything. Thank you for this recipe!! It is outstanding!!
So nice to read all of this, Donna 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thank you so much for writing and sharing your notes… an extra yolk never hurt anyone 🤣
Hello! I have just discovered I am lactose intolerant. Could I use oat milk? Thanks for a great sounding recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
Yes!
Thanks for the quick reply! I did use the oat milk and the buns came out perfect, as fluffy as I was wishing.
Great to hear, Gina!