Sugar Brioche 

I recently attended an online course by Antonio Bachour where I learned how to make sugar brioche. This versatile brioche dough can be used to create a variety of delicious treats such as filled sweet buns, brioche bread, brioche rolls, and more. I wanted to share this recipe with all of you, so you can enjoy it too.

Sugar brioche is known for its incredibly soft, rich, and buttery texture, with just the right amount of sweetness to make it perfect for both simple and more elaborate pastries. What makes this dough especially wonderful is its versatility. Once prepared, it can easily be shaped and adapted into countless baked goods depending on your mood or occasion. From classic brioche loaves and fluffy dinner rolls to filled pastries, braided buns, and fruit-filled treats, the possibilities are endless.

One of the things I loved most about Antonio Bachour’s approach was the balance between elegance and practicality. The dough develops a beautiful structure while still remaining light and tender, creating that signature melt-in-your-mouth brioche texture. During baking, the aroma of butter, sugar, and freshly baked bread fills the kitchen and instantly makes the entire process feel rewarding.

This dough also works beautifully with a variety of fillings and toppings. Chocolate, pastry cream, cinnamon sugar, fruit preserves, nuts, or even a simple sugar topping pair perfectly with its buttery richness. You can make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight, which helps deepen the flavor while making shaping even easier the next day.

Although brioche may seem intimidating at first because of its enriched dough and high butter content, the process becomes very manageable once you understand the mixing and proofing stages. Patience is key, and the final result is absolutely worth it. The dough becomes silky, smooth, and incredibly satisfying to work with.

Whether you are baking for breakfast, brunch, holidays, or simply to enjoy a special homemade pastry with coffee, this sugar brioche recipe is one you’ll want to return to again and again. It’s elegant enough for celebrations yet comforting enough for everyday baking, combining professional bakery quality with homemade warmth and flavor.

Brioche Dough

• 560 g bread flour
• 53 g sugar
• 30 g invert sugar or honey
• 265 g butter (cold, cubed)
• 225 g whole egg
• 112 g egg yolk
• 30g fresh yeast
• 13 g salt
• 20 g milk
• 6 g vanilla extract

Topping 

• sugar for sprinkling on top
• 50g butter cubbed into small cubes 

Directions 

• In a mixer fitted with the hook attachment combine flour, salt, sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, invert sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Mix at low speed for 5 minutes.
• Add half of the butter and fresh yeast and mix for 10 minutes at low speed. Finally, add the rest of the butter and mix for 10 minutes at low speed.
• Use a plastic dough scraper or a spatula to turn the dough out onto a clean, very lightly floured work surface. The dough will be very moist. Knead it by hand a few times and then form it into a ball.
• The dough must not reach more than 24°C.

• Transfer the dough, smooth side up, to a clean large bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in the refrigerator at 6°C until tripled in size (about 24 hours)
• Remove the dough from the fridge.
• Coat round ring molds, 10cm wide , with butter. Scale 80 gr of brioche, form balls and flatten the dough. Place the dough into the molds.

• Proof at 28°C for about 2- 2 ½ hours until doubled in size and with a puffy appearance.
• Brush with egg wash and with the finger press down to create some holes, filling each hole with a cube of butter. Sprinkle on top with granulated sugar.

• Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350F/170 C.

Enjoy!

Sugar Brioche (Antonio Bachour Style)

452kcal

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Prep 45 minutes mins

Cook 10 minutes mins

Rise Time 1 day d 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total 1 day d 3 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

An ultra-luxurious, melt-in-your-mouth pastry brioche learned directly from master pastry chef Antonio Bachour. Enriched with an incredibly high ratio of whole eggs, extra egg yolks, honey, and rich butter, this moist dough undergoes a slow, 24-hour cold fermentation to build complex flavors and structural strength. Shaped in round ring molds, they are poked, filled with butter cubes, heavily sugared, and baked into golden perfection.

Servings 12 Individual Sugar Brioches

Cuisine French

Ingredients

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The Enriched Brioche Dough

• ▢ 560 g Bread Flour
• ▢ 53 g Sugar
• ▢ 30 g Invert sugar (or pure honey)
• ▢ 225 g Whole eggs (approx. 4.5 large eggs)
• ▢ 112 g Egg yolks (approx. 6 large yolks)
• ▢ 20 g Milk
• ▢ 6 g Vanilla Extract
• ▢ 13 g Salt
• ▢ 30 g Fresh yeast (See Notes for dry yeast conversion)
• ▢ 265 g Cold butter (cut into small cubes)

The Signature Topping

• ▢ 50 g Unsalted butter (cut into tiny cubes, kept cold)
• ▢ Granulated sugar for heavy sprinkling
• ▢ 1 Egg (beaten, for egg wash)

Equipment

• ▢
  Stand Mixer (with dough hook attachment)
• ▢
  10cm Round Ring Molds Essential for keeping the soft buns uniformly round
• ▢
  Kitchen Scale Crucial for scaling exact 80g portions
• ▢
  Plastic Dough Scraper
• ▢
  Pastry Brush

Method

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

Machine Emulsification & Mixing

1. In your stand mixer bowl fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the bread flour, salt, granulated sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, invert sugar (or honey), milk, and vanilla extract. Mix on a low speed for exactly 5 minutes until a dense, uniform paste develops.
2. Add half (approx. 132g) of your cold, cubed butter along with the 30g of crumbled fresh yeast into the moving bowl. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes.
3. Drop the remaining half of the cold butter cubes into the bowl. Continue mixing on low speed for an additional 10 minutes until the fat is completely emulsified, leaving the dough smooth, shiny, and pulling away cleanly from the walls.
4. Turn the moist, highly enriched dough out onto a clean, very lightly floured workspace using a plastic dough scraper. Knead lightly by hand just a few times to smooth it out, then form it into a tight ball. Ensure your internal dough temperature does not exceed 24°C (75°F).

Cold Fermentation & Shaping

1. Transfer the smooth dough ball to a large, clean bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator set at 6°C (43°F). Let it slow-ferment undisturbed for approximately 24 hours until it has cleanly tripled (3x) in size.
2. Remove the cold, firm dough from the fridge. Generously coat your 10cm round ring molds with butter and place them onto a baking sheet. Use a kitchen scale to divide the dough into precise 80g portions. Roll each piece into a smooth ball, place it inside a mold, and press down firmly to flatten it evenly across the bottom.
3. Let the molds proof at 28°C (82°F) for 2 to 2.5 hours until the dough has doubled in size, showing a light, puffy appearance.

Poking, Dressing & Baking

1. Gently brush the tops of the puffy dough circles with your egg wash. Lightly grease your index finger with butter or oil, then press straight down into the dough to create several deep pockets/holes across each bun.
2. Press one tiny cube of cold butter directly into each of the poked holes. Finish by generously sprinkling a thick layer of granulated sugar across the entire top surface of the buns.
3. Preheat your oven to 350°F (170°C). Bake the sugar brioches for exactly 10 minutes until the edges are beautifully golden brown and the sugar-butter pockets are bubbling. Cool on a wire rack.

Nutrition

Calories452kcalCarbohydrates41gProtein11gFat27gSaturated Fat15gPolyunsaturated Fat2gMonounsaturated Fat8gTrans Fat1gCholesterol242mgSodium257mgPotassium130mgFiber1gSugar7gVitamin A917IUVitamin C0.1mgCalcium42mgIron1mg

Notes

• Converting Fresh Cake Yeast to Dry Yeast: If you do not have access to artisan fresh baker’s yeast, you can easily substitute it with commercial dry yeast. To convert from fresh to dry instant yeast (or active dry yeast), multiply the weight by 0.33. For this recipe, replace the 30g of fresh yeast with 10g of Dry Instant Yeast, blending it directly into your dry flour base during step 1.
• The Crucial 24°C (75°F) Temperature Ceiling: Highly enriched doughs containing massive amounts of butter can easily break if the friction of the mixer warming the bowl melts the fats. If the internal temperature of your dough approaches 24°C (75°F) during the long 25-minute mix, immediately stop the machine and place the entire bowl into the freezer for 10 minutes to cool before finishing the mix.
• What is Invert Sugar and Why Use It?: Invert sugar is a liquid pastry paste that binds water exceptionally well. Using it helps keep the baked brioche moist, soft, and completely fresh for days longer than standard sugar alone. If you cannot find commercial invert sugar trimoline, you can substitute it with an equal weight of standard pure honey or light corn syrup.
• Why Use Round Ring Molds?: Because this dough is incredibly rich in fat, it becomes highly pliable as it proofs at 28°C. Baking them inside greased 10cm pastry rings forces the expanding dough upward rather than letting it melt outward into flat puddles, achieving that iconic tall, dramatic patisserie shape.

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