Sourdough Brioche Recipe

Yield: slices

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 40

Bulk Fermentation Time: 7

Total Time: 11 10

This Sourdough Brioche turns out soft, rich, and buttery every single time. Thanks to the tangzhong method, a quick little trick that keeps your dough extra moist, you get that bakery-style texture without any fuss.

5 from 3 votes

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Equipment

Ingredients

Tangzhong

40 grams all-purpose flour about 1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon
200 grams milk 3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon

Sourdough Brioche

150 grams active sourdough starter about 3/4 cup
240 grams tangzhong all of the tangzhong mixture
100 grams sugar 1/2 cup
100 grams milk, cold 1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon
280 grams eggs, cold about 5 eggs
12 grams salt 2 teaspoons
750 grams bread flour about 5 cups + 1/3 cup
255 grams unsalted butter, cold 18 Tablespoons
egg wash egg yolk + splash of milk

Instructions

Before mixing the dough, prepare the Tangzhong.

Bring a small saucepan or skillet to medium heat. Once hot, add the milk and flour and whisk constantly until a thick paste forms. (about 1-2 minutes)
40 grams all-purpose flour, 200 grams milk
Remove the saucepan from heat and allow the Tangzhong to cool before preparing the dough. To do this quickly, spread the thick paste over a large plate, cover it with plastic wrap and place it into the fridge. It should be cool enough within 5-10 minutes.

Mix the Dough

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, add the active sourdough starter, cooled Tangzhong, sugar, cold milk, cold eggs, flour, and salt. Mix on low for about 5 minutes until all of the ingredients are incorporated and a stiff, thick dough forms. While the dough mixes, prepare the butter.
If you are using a Kitchenaid stand mixer, one tool I highly recommend is a dough hook shield! This prevents the dough from climbing up or clogging up your mixer. Since this recipe makes 2 loaves, it’s a lot of dough to knead. During my testing trials, the dough continuously climbed up my dough hook, but not with this shield! Cheap investment, but so helpful!
150 grams active sourdough starter, 240 grams tangzhong, 100 grams sugar, 100 grams milk, cold, 280 grams eggs, cold, 12 grams salt, 750 grams bread flour
To incorporate easily, the butter should be cold, but not rock hard. I like to remove it from the fridge 5-10 minutes before adding it to the dough. Slice the cold butter into 20-22 slices total.
255 grams unsalted butter, cold
While still mixing on low, add one slice of butter every 10-20 seconds.
Once all of the butter has been added, increase to medium speed and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes more or until the dough is smooth, elastic, tacky to the touch and passes the windowpane test.
While kneading the dough, the mixer will get warm, which in turn can heat the dough. It is important to keep the dough cool to prevent the butter from melting. If you notice that the dough is getting warm, stop kneading, cover and place the dough into the fridge to cool for 10-15 minutes. Then continue with the kneading until it passes the windowpane test.

Bulk Fermentation:

Place the dough in a straight-edge bowl, covered with plastic wrap or a reusable shower cap and leave to double in size. At 70 degrees F, this took about 7-9 hours.
Once the dough has doubled in size, keep covered and place it in the fridge overnight or up to 48 hours. Brioche dough is very sticky, so a cold proof helps the dough to be more manageable while shaping. If you’d like to skip this step, place the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours for easier shaping.

Shaping:

Remove the dough from its container onto a clean work surface and divide the dough in half (about 940 grams each). Press or roll the dough out with a rolling pin to remove air bubbles. Shape into two loaves such as a plain loaf, a loaf of 4-8 rolls or into a braid.

Plain Loaf Shape

Remove and roll out the dough into a large rectangle, the width of the dough should be about the length of your loaf pan. Then roll the bread dough into a log, like you would a cinnamon roll. Curl the ends of the dough under itself and pinch the seams together.
Place the shaped dough in the greased loaf pan. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Roll Loaf Shape

Divide one half of the brioche dough (940g) into 8 even pieces (about 117g).
With one piece of dough, pull the corners of the dough towards the center, flip, and then roll each piece of dough into a round, tight ball. Repeat until all the rolls are shaped.
Place the 8 dough balls in the greased loaf pan. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Braided Loaf

Divide the brioche dough (940g) into 3 even pieces (about 313g). Roll each strand to about 10 inches long.
Connect the tops of each dough rope together, then spread them out on the work surface. Take the right piece of dough and cross it over the middle piece of dough. Then take the left piece of dough and cross it over the middle piece of dough. (Refer to photos above)
Continue this pattern until the dough is completely braided. Curl the ends underneath itself before placing the dough into the greased loaf pans. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Second Rise

Once shaped, place the dough into two greased 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pans for taller loaves or 9 x 5 inch loaf pans for wider loaves. Cover and leave to puff up for its second rise. I placed my dough in my favorite proofing box at 90 degrees F for 4-5 hours. You could also place the loaves in an OFF oven with just the light on to help speed up this step.
You want the dough to double in size. It should look light and airy. The dough shouldn’t be cool to the touch. Since this is an enriched dough and it is cool from being in the fridge, this step will take some time. Be patient. Don’t rush this step, otherwise the brioche will bake up dense.

Bake

Just before the dough has risen at least 1 inch above the rim for the 8.5x4.5 inch loaf pan or to the rim for the 9x5 loaf pan, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. With a pastry brush, top the dough with an egg wash.
egg wash
Place the loaf pans on the middle rack in the hot oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue to bake for 40-45 minutes or until the internal temperature is 180-190 degrees F.
If the tops of the Sourdough Brioche is getting too dark, cover with a piece of aluminum foil and continue to bake.
Let cool completely before slicing and enjoy!

Notes

Refer to a Sample Baking Schedule above!

How to Store

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to a month. Slice before freezing for easy access.

FAQs

Can I use this recipe to make sourdough brioche rolls?

Absolutely! Remove the dough from the fridge and divide the dough into 30 rolls (60 grams each roll). Let them proof in a warm spot until they have almost doubled in size and the dough feels light and airy to the touch, not cold or dense. ( This took about 1 1/2 hours at 90 degrees F) rush with an egg wash and bake at 400 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until the internal temps is 190 degrees F. Top the rolls with butter and enjoy warm!

Can I use this recipe to make sourdough brioche hamburger buns?

Yes! Follow the same directions as the brioche rolls, but instead divide the dough into 15 buns (120 grams each bun). Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temp is 190 degree F.

Nutrition

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