Brioche Bread with Fresh Milled Flour
This brioche bread is made with fresh milled flour and is pillowy soft and full of flavor! Buttery, rich, and lightly sweet, this bread is delicious in French toast, made into sandwiches, or warm from the oven with butter.
Servings: 2 loaves
Calories: 2839kcal
Equipment
- 2 9x5 bread pans
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm milk
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1 packet
- 1 tbsp honey
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 3 1/2 cups hard white wheat flour spooned and leveled (455g)
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup butter very soft (2 sticks)
For the egg wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Add milk, yeast and honey to a small bowl and whisk together gently. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Whisk in eggs, then add vanilla, sugar, flour and salt and stir to form a sticky dough.
- With a standup mixer, use a dough hook attachment to knead on low speed for 3-4 minutes.
- Add butter and continue to knead on medium speed (5-6) for about 5-6 minutes. The dough should be a little sticky, pulling off the sides of the bowl and it will be tacky, but smooth. It should also not stick to your fingers when you poke it. It will be really stretchy. (Tip: don't be tempted to add any flour. If its still really sticky, just knead it for a couple of more minutes. This is more tacky than your typical bread recipe)
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. wet your fingertips and fold the dough in on itself, starting on one side, rotate, fold it in, until each side has been folded in. Flip it over and tighten it into a ball.
- Transfer to a bowl and cover to rise for an hour.
- Still covered, after an hour, transfer the dough to the fridge to chill for 8 hours.
- After 8 hrs, remove it from the fridge and bring it to room temp. Place it on a lightly floured surface and divide into 16 pieces, and shape into balls.
- Lightly grease 2 9x5 bread pans, and arrange the balls in 2 rows of 4. Cover and rise again for 3-4 hours. Its not going to double in size, but they should rise enough where each piece is pressing into the next.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk eggs and milk, brush the top and bake 35-40 minutes. Cool it on a wire rack for 10 minutes before cutting into it.
Notes
- Check out the process photos in the post above or the video here in the recipe card to get a good idea of what your dough should look like at each step.
- I use butter to grease the bread pans. You can also use any oil.
- If you opt for milling your own flour, I recommend investing in a high-quality grain mill (I use the Mockmill professional grain mill). It makes a huge difference in the final texture of your bread.
- Keep in mind, the rise time will vary depending on the warmth of your home. If the temperature of your house is quite cold, you can let the dough rise in the oven with the oven light turned on.