The dough for this no-knead brioche bread comes together in 5 minutes and requires nothing more than a bowl, whisk, and spatula. Start to finish, it can be made in 4 hours, but requires only 25 minutes of active time. Find step-by-step instructions below 🍞🍞

A halved loaf of brioche.

Brioche is a soft-textured, slightly sweet, rich-tasting bread often made with sugar, milk, and heaps of eggs and butter. I recently came across a recipe calling for 6 eggs and 20 tablespoons of butter. The recipe yielded one loaf. One loaf! Two and a half sticks of butter for one loaf!

Even if that brioche is the brioche to end all brioches, I will never make it. How could I when I know that a lean dough — one made with flour, water, and salt alone — can produce something as completely delicious and satisfying?

In the original Tartine cookbook, the authors note “different types of brioche dough are made depending on how they will be used, with the formulas varying primarily in the percentage of butter.” Tartine makes a less-rich brioche because they use it for bread pudding and bostock.

This is the most compelling reason in my mind to make a “light” brioche: if you view brioche mostly as a vehicle for making exceptional bread pudding, French toast, and the like, it might be wise to save all of those eggs and all of that butter for a recipe in which they’ll really shine.

PS: No-Knead Brioche Rolls

How to Make Brioche: A Step-by-Step Guide

Gather your ingredients.

Ingredients to make brioche on a countertop.

Stir together the dry ingredients. Whisk together the wet.

Wet and dry ingredients in bowls to make brioche bread.

Combine the two until until you have a sticky dough ball:

A bowl filled with mixed brioche dough.

Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, roughly two hours.

A bowl of risen brioche dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface:

Brioche dough turned out onto a countertop.

Divide into two equal portions.

Brioche dough divided into two portions.

Shape into batards.

Shaped brioche loaves on a countertop.

Transfer to buttered loaf pans and let rise until the dough crowns the rim of the pans. I love these pans for this recipe and others (namely this banana bread.)

Brioche dough in loaf pans.

Transfer to a 375ºF oven for roughly 45 minutes.

Two loaf pans filled with brioche dough ready for the oven.
A loaf of freshly baked brioche in its loaf pan on a cooling rack.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Two loaves of freshly baked brioche on a cooling rack.

This brioche is delicious toasted with butter and jam, but it’s especially good in this brioche bread pudding recipe.

A halved loaf of brioche.

And it freezes beautifully, too. See notes in the recipe below.

A slice of brioche bread on a cutting board.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
A halved loaf of brioche.

No-Knead Brioche Bread

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.9 from 62 reviews

Print Recipe
Save Recipe

Description

Adapted from my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs.

This recipe is very similar to the one in my book, but I’ve added weights for all of the ingredients, and instead of simply dividing the dough and plopping it into bread pans, I now like to turn it out onto a floured work surface, divide it into two even portions (by weight), and shape it before transferring it to the buttered loaf pans. 

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. 

For a half recipe, see the notes below. 

Water: This is a very wet dough. If you live in a humid area or you have trouble working with sticky doughs, I would start with 1.75 cups (425 g). Reference the photos above and the video for how sticky/wet the dough should appear. 

If using active dry yeast: Sprinkle the yeast over the whisked together wet ingredients (which should be lukewarm to the touch) and let stand for 15 minutes or until it gets foamy; then proceed with the recipe.

To freeze: Let the loaves cool completely, then tuck them into an airtight bag or vessel and freeze for up to 3 months (or a bit longer). 

Ingredients

  • 6 cups (768 g) all-purpose or bread flour
  • 1 tablespoon (15 g) kosher salt
  • 2.5 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast, see notes above if using active dry yeast
  • 1/3 cup (77 g) sugar
  • 1.75 –2 cups (425-450 g) lukewarm water, see notes above
  • 2 eggs (100 g)
  • 1/2 cup (125 g) milk
  • 6 tablespoons (80 g) butter, melted
 

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the flour, salt, yeast, and sugar.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, water, and melted butter.
  3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir with a spatula till you have a sticky dough ball. 
  4. 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.
  5. Grease two 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pans with butter. Heat your oven to 375ºF. 
  6. There are two ways to proceed after the first rise: 1. You can simply deflate the dough using forks to release the dough from the sides of the bowl and to divide it into two equal portions; then use oiled hands to transfer the dough to your prepared pans. (Dough is very wet and sticky—this is normal.) 2. Or you can cover a work surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured work surface and shape it into a rough ball, using as much flour as necessary—the dough is very wet and sticky. Use a bench scraper to divide the dough into two equal portions. (Depending on how much water you are using, each portion will weigh between 790-805 grams.) Shape each portion into an oblong loaf or batard (see video guidance here) and transfer to prepared loaf pans. 
  7. Let rise until dough begins to crown the rim of your pan. This may take 45 minutes to an hour (or more or less depending on how warm your kitchen is). 
  8. Transfer pans to oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until evenly golden or until an instant-read thermometer registers 205ºF or higher. Turn loaves out onto cooling racks and let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting. 

Notes

Half Recipe Quantities:

  • 3 cups (384 g) all-purpose or bread flour
  • 1.5 teaspoons (7 g) kosher salt
  • 1.5 teaspoons (5 g) instant yeast
  • 3 tablespoons (38 g) sugar
  • 0.75 –1 cups (170-227 g) lukewarm water, see notes above
  • 1 egg (50 g)
  • 1/4 cup (62 g) milk
  • 3 tablespoons (40 g) butter, melted
  • Prep Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: French