Sourdough Brioche

ByNatalya Syanova
Jump to Recipe Card

If you want to treat yourself and your family with the most delicious sourdough brioche, then you are in the right place.

I have already shared a sourdough brioche sandwich bread recipe on my website. This one is a little different with a larger amount of butter and eggs, that make this bread unbelievably soft.

One downside of the larger amount of butter and eggs is that it takes much longer to ferment the dough. In order to speed up the fermentation process I added small amount of yeast.

The recipe was adapted from Michael Roux.

Ingredients

Sourdough Starter 

Dough

  • 300g bread flour (100%)
  • 42g milk (14%)
  • 60g sourdough starter (20%)
  • 180g eggs (60%)
  • 90g sugar (30%)
  • 6g salt (2%)
  • 180g soft butter (60%)
  • 2.6g dry yeast (0.85%)
  • Zest of 1 orange (optional for more flavor)

Directions 

Day 1

Starter

  • 10 pm add liquid starter to the water and whisk together, add flour, mix well, let ferment covered at room temp 74-78F until it increases in size
  • In about 8-10 hours starter has to triple or more in volume.
  • Learn how to make starter from scratch here).

Day 2

Dough

  • 8 am in a bowl of mixer add milk,  sourdough starter, yeast (if using), sugar and eggs, whisk all together. Add flour, mix until no dry flour remains, cover and let autolyse for 1 hour.
  • 9 am Start mixing the dough with paddle, on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 minutes, or KitchenAid on speed 3 for 3-4 minutes until well incorporated. Increase the speed  and mix for 6-8 more minutes, until dough will come up together, and will wrap the paddle attachment.
  • Add salt and mix for a couple more minutes.
  • Add soft butter, mix for 10-15 more minutes on high speed until the dough is well incorporated and comes up together and will do popping sound during mixing.

Note: make sure the temperature of the dough won’t go higher than 82F/28C, otherwise gluten will start to break apart.

  • Cover and let it proof for 3-4 hours at 76-80F/ 24-28C.
  • During that time perform 2 stretches and folds.
  • The dough should become puffy.
  • 12pm -1 pm transfer the dough to the fridge for cold fermentation until the evening (for 8-9 hours).
  • 10 pm remove the dough from the fridge.
  • Shape as desired.
  • I divided it in 8 pieces and rolled them into small round buns.
  • Put a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom of your loaf pan.
  • Transfer the shaped brioche into the loaf pan.
Brioche Buns
  • Cover the dough and let it proof overnight (for 8-9 hours) at 70-72F /20-22C  until it doubles in volume.
  • Now, sprinkle some flour on top of your brioche or egg wash it, no toppings required.
  • Preheat the oven to 375F.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Sourdough Brioche

Sourdough Brioche

478kcal
No ratings yet
Share Print
Prep 35 minutes
Cook 40 minutes
Total 22 hours 15 minutes
If you want to treat yourself and your family to an incredibly decadent, rich pastry, this classic sourdough brioche is the perfect choice. It features a larger amount of butter and eggs to make the bread unbelievably soft, utilizing a tiny touch of yeast to keep the fermentation timeline perfectly manageable.
Servings 8 individual buns
Cuisine French (Viennoiserie / Enriched Bread)

Ingredients

The Sourdough Starter Levain (Night Before)
  • 5 g Sourdough starter culture
  • 35 g Water
  • 35 g Bread flour
The Enriched Brioche Dough
  • 300 g Bread flour (100%)
  • 42 g Milk (14%)
  • 60 g Active sourdough starter levain (20%)
  • 180 g Eggs (60% – roughly 3 to 4 large eggs)
  • 90 g Sugar (30%)
  • 6 g Salt (2%)
  • 180 g Soft butter (60% – Softened completely to room temperature)
  • 2.6 g Dry yeast (0.85%)
  • Optional: Zest of 1 orange for an incredible aromatic flavor boost

Equipment

Method

Day 1 – Active Starter Activation
  1. 10:00 PM: In a clean glass jar, dissolve your 5g of starter culture into 35g of water. Whisk together cleanly, then stir in the 35g of bread flour. Mix thoroughly, cover loosely, and let it ferment at room temperature 74–78°F (23–26°C) overnight for 8 to 10 hours until it triples in volume.
Day 2 – Autolyse, High-Speed Mixing, and Cold Retard
  1. 8:00 AM – The Autolyse: In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the 42g of milk, 60g of active overnight starter, 2.6g of dry yeast, 90g of sugar, 180g of eggs, and the optional orange zest. Whisk together, then dump all 300g of bread flour on top. Mix until no dry flour patches remain, cover, and let autolyse undisturbed for 1 hour.
  2. 9:00 AM: Attach your paddle or dough hook. Mix on the low speed of your machine for 2 to 3 minutes (or if using a KitchenAid mixer, run it on speed 3 for 3 to 4 minutes) until well incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix for 6 to 8 more minutes until the dough comes together tightly.
  3. Sprinkle in the 6g of salt and mix for a couple more minutes.
  4. The Butter Incorporation: Turn your machine to high speed and begin adding your 180g of soft butter a tablespoon at a time. Mix continuously for 10 to 15 minutes until the fat incorporates seamlessly, the dough slaps clean against the bowl walls, and makes a distinct popping sound. Critical Note: Ensure the temperature of the dough stays below 82°F (28°C) during this intensive knead, otherwise the gluten structure will break down.
  5. Cover the bowl and let bulk ferment for 3 to 4 hours at a warm 76–80°F (24–28°C). Perform exactly 2 separate rounds of structural stretch-and-folds during this window until the dough is light and puffy.
  6. 1:00 PM: Transfer the covered dough container directly into the refrigerator for a cold fermentation retard lasting 8 to 9 hours to solidify the heavy fats for shaping.
  7. 10:00 PM – Pan Shaping: Remove the chilled dough from the fridge. Divide it cleanly into 8 equal pieces using a bench scraper and roll each into a tight, smooth round bun.
  8. Line the bottom of your loaf pan with a sheet of parchment paper and arrange the 8 shaped buns side-by-side inside. Cover loosely and let proof on your counter overnight for 8 to 9 hours at 70–72°F (20–22°C) until it completely doubles in volume.
Day 3 – Golden Morning Bake
  1. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
  2. Brush the top of your puffed brioche dough lightly with an egg wash (or a quick dusting of flour). Slide into the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top turns a uniform, gorgeous golden brown. Let cool slightly on a wire rack before tearing into it!

Nutrition

Calories478kcalCarbohydrates55gProtein8gFat26gSaturated Fat16gPolyunsaturated Fat1gMonounsaturated Fat5gTrans Fat1gCholesterol53mgSodium218mgPotassium69mgFiber1gSugar24gVitamin A630IUVitamin C1mgCalcium66mgIron1mg

Notes

  • Why the Temperature Cap is Non-Negotiable: When executing step 5, it is vital to monitor your dough’s temperature. High-speed mechanical friction combined with a heavy 60% butter load can warm up the dough quickly. If the temperature climbs past 82°F (28°C), the solid fats will melt into a liquid oil puddle, destroying the gluten mapping and leaving you with a greasy, unbakeable brick. If it runs hot, pause the mixer and put the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes.
  • The Yeast Accelerator Advantage: Because a 60% fat and egg load places extreme weight on wild yeast cells, relying exclusively on a starter can cause fermentation to take days. Adding a tiny 2.6g pinch of dry commercial yeast acts as a reliable helper engine—safely streamlining your proofing windows so you can achieve an extraordinarily fluffy bake on a tight 3-day schedule.
  • Achieving Clean Shapes with Chilled Dough: Never attempt to shape an enriched brioche dough while it is at room temperature. The heavy volume of butter will make it feel slick, sticky, and frustrating to handle. The 8-hour cold fridge stay in step 7 turns the butter completely solid, transforming the dough into a firm, pleasant, clay-like consistency that shapes cleanly into perfect buns.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

33 Comments

  2. Hi!! Thanks for the recipe!
    Do you rest the percentage of flour present on the sourdough to the total flour? 300g total or 337.5g?

    Reply

  5. Hi Natasha! Happy 2022! I love your previous brioche, make it every week! Wanted to try this one out and I’m wondering why the starter here is different (liquid and not sweet). Thanks!! By the way, your baguettes have also been a great success at my home!

    Reply

    1. Ana, thank you so much for your kind feedback.
      I was exploring the way regular starter acts in brioche, and turned out great. Do both starters: sweet or just regular will work great.

      Reply

  11. This is a wonderful recipe. I have made several of your recipes and something just occurred to me this evening about using a technique in your recipes that I had not thought of applying to my own and I have not seen on other websites, which just mention using a fed starter.

    The technique is how you start the recipes by feeding a small quantity of starter.

    For my recipes, I have been feeding my whole container of starter, then adding a portion of it to my recipe, whatever amount. So tonight I pulled out my favorite recipe for sandwich buns, which I will be making this week. I will start by removing a small quantity from my jar, feed it with water and flour in quantities that will add up to the amount needed in the recipe. So simple!

    I think it will make a difference in the way the rolls rise, because there will be more oomph in a small quantity, than taking from the larger amount, I hope that makes sense. Thank you for the inspiration!!

    Reply

    1. Barbara, thank you so much for your desire to experiment with new recipes.
      Have a lovely bake 🙏

      Reply

  12. Hi there! I’m making this recipe and so far -i’m at bulk fermentation in the fridge- the dough feels soft as a cloud. I can’t wait to bake it.
    I do have one questions, is the second fermentation really out of the fridge? I ask because of seems a bit long. I hope the temp. doesn’t drop below 70, would it be ok to leave it a proofing drawer (On) or the over (with the light on) or is it best to leave it on the counter?
    Thank you in advance!

    Reply

    1. Besa, hi!
      I prefer to let it ferment at 70, to make sure it won’t get overproofed by the time you wake up.

      Reply

      1. Thank you for replying!
        would it be better to go back to the fridge? if so, for how long? same 8-9hrs.
        Thank you

  13. Bravo! This is the best sourdough brioche recipe I’ve found and I have tried many! I omitted yeast and it still turned out pretty good. Very light and tender, with just the right amount of sweetness. With coffee, it was a perfect Sunday brunch. Thank you so much!

    Reply

  15. Hi,

    Would this work to make burger buns? I can’t seem to find a sourdough burger bun recipe that is fluffy enough. They all turn out too dense.

    Reply

  16. Hi, it was going really well at the beginning, my dough was beautiful, but after the cold fermentation it became really stiff (because of the butter I suppose), is it normal? And it didn’t really rise a lot in the fridge and it rose only a little during the overnight proof at 22°C and the baking… The result, my brioche came very dense and not airy. I don’t know where I did go wrong, any advice? Thank you

    Reply

    1. Hello Saida, same thing happened to me. Out of the fridge it was really stiff and then it did not really change in volume during the overnight proof and almost did not rise in the oven. It resulted in something we couldn’t eat ^^’
      Did you give it a second try by any chance?
      Cheers

      Reply

  18. I saw this recipe and I had to try it. I’ve tried it twice already, first time was not so good, made couple rookie mistakes. Second time was very promising, however, the loaf burst open while in the oven. And I know you can’t tell me what went wrong, but are the any pointers or tips to prevent this. Does this mean it was over proof or underproof?. The loaf seemed ready to be baked. I did the poking test. I followed as closely as possible the timings.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating