Sourdough Brioche Recipe
This Sourdough Brioche recipe will become a favorite in your kitchen! Just a few simple ingredients and a couple of steps will have you pulling these delicious, flavorful loaves out of the oven. Perfect for sourdough beginners and experts as well.
Freshly baked sourdough bread has become a staple in our home. I bake a few loaves every week so that we always have homemade bread on hand. This sourdough brioche recipe is a favorite, one reason being it’s so easy to make.
My sourdough starter is several years old now and a constant companion on our kitchen counter. If you’re new to creating or maintaining a sourdough starter, check out this post with all of the details you’ll need.
Some of our family’s favorite sourdough recipes include waffles, pancakes, biscuits, crepes, chocolate cake, pizza, coffee cake, and challah. This brioche is another favorite of ours because it’s just a little different from a basic loaf of sourdough bread and my children love it.
This is a great recipe for your first time getting used to baking with an active sourdough starter instead of commercial yeast. But even if you’ve been baking with sourdough for years, you’ll still love this tasty, sweet bread.
A few extra ingredients including eggs, butter, honey, and buttermilk along with its unique shape makes this sourdough brioche a family favorite. Serve it for breakfast or a special afternoon snack, you can’t go wrong!
This is a simple and delicious sourdough recipe and I know you’ll love it! Pass the second loaf on to a friend and make their day!
Timeline for Sourdough Brioche Recipe
The night before you want to bake sourdough brioche, pull your starter out of the fridge (if you’re keeping it there) and feed it.
You will need 1 1/2 cups of starter for this recipe so feed your starter enough so that there will be some left over after you measure out the 1 1/2 cups for the recipe. I usually feed mine about 1 1/2 cups of flour and 1 cup of water.
Stir well and allow to sit on the counter all night.
In the morning, your starter should be active and bubbly. If it isn’t, feed it a little more and let it sit for a few more hours until it’s ready.
Measure out what you need for the recipe, feed your starter again, and return it to the fridge until you want to bake with it again.
Following the steps in the recipe, begin by mixing the dough in the morning. Depending on the rising time, you should be able to bake the loaves in the afternoon. They’ll be ready for supper or they can be stored overnight and your family can enjoy brioche for breakfast the next day!
Keep reading for some ideas on how to serve this sourdough brioche.
Ingredients for Sourdough Brioche Recipe
A basic loaf of sourdough bread only requires a few ingredients: wild yeast (sourdough), flour, water, and salt. That’s it! It’s amazing that so many other variations can be made from this basic recipe, like sourdough brioche!
This recipe adds a few extra delicious dough ingredients to make a special loaf of bread that’s fluffy and a little sweet. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Active Sourdough Starter- Make sure your starter is fed and active and bubbly before making this recipe. Because you won’t be using commercial yeast, your sourdough starter must be ready to go! Feed it the night before you want to bake with it.
- Butter- Be sure to soften your butter to room temperature but don’t melt it. Using homemade butter makes this bread even more homemade and it’s easy to do. Here’s a post all about homemade butter!
- Buttermilk- If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, it’s easy to make! Fill a liquid measuring cup with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Fill the cup with milk the rest of the way until it reaches the 1-cup mark. Allow to sit for a few minutes and you’ll have some buttermilk!
- Eggs- I love cooking with the eggs from our ducks but chicken eggs work just as well. The egg yolk adds a nice yellowish tint to this beautiful bread and the egg wash on top makes it even prettier!
- Honey- Raw, local honey is always best. We use honey from our own bees, such a treat! You can even use crystallized honey in this recipe.
- Salt
- All-Purpose Flour- You can use bread flour instead if you prefer. You can also use whole-wheat or your favorite flour.
Tools You Will Need
Sourdough brioche might sound and look fancy, but the tools to make it are not! All you will need to make this bread is:
- Stand mixer- With the dough hook attachment. I use a Bosch mixer and love it. This is optional as you can mix this dough by hand kneading on a lightly floured work surface with no problem. If you’re using a mixer with a metal bowl, you’ll want to place the dough in a glass or ceramic mixing bowl for rising.
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans- This recipe yields two loaves of sourdough brioche bread. You’ll want to make both loaves at the same time so it’s handy to have two loaf pans.
- Tea towel- For covering the dough during rising. You can also use plastic wrap or beeswax wrap. Read all about beeswax wraps in this post.
- Pastry brush and small bowl- For adding the egg wash before baking.
How to Make Sourdough Brioche
The night before you want to bake this sourdough brioche bread recipe, feed your starter.
In the morning, your starter should be nice and active, and bubbly. If it isn’t, feed it again and allow it to sit for a couple more hours until active.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand depending on your preference, cream the soft butter on medium speed.
Add in the active starter, honey, eggs, buttermilk, and salt. Mix on medium speed until the ingredients are well combined.
Turn the speed down to low and mix in the flour, one cup at a time, until you have a smooth and only slightly sticky dough, about 5 minutes. I use about 5 1/2 cups of flour but you might need more or less, depending on the hydration of your starter (how thick or thin it is).
Cover the ball of sourdough brioche dough in the bowl with a damp towel and allow it to rise in a warm place until double the size, about 4 to 5 hours. I proof my dough near our wood stove during the winter months so it’s nice and warm and rises fairly quickly. You might need more or less time depending on the temperature in your kitchen. An oven’s proofing setting is also a great way to proof dough on chilly days.
Once the dough is double in size, remove it from the bowl onto a clean countertop and use a bench scraper or spatula to cut the dough in half.
Cut each half into 8 equal pieces that are roughly the same size.
Grease each loaf pan generously with butter or line them with parchment paper. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place in the bottom of the bread pan, 4 dough balls on each side for 8 total in each loaf pan.
Cover the loaf pans with the tea towel and allow to sit in a warm spot again to rise until double in size, about 2 to 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
While preheating, mix up the egg wash using 1 egg and a drizzle of water. Whisk well until foamy.
Use a pastry brush and generously brush the egg wash all over the tops of the loaves.
Bake the loaves for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until nicely golden brown on top. If the tops start to brown too quickly while the loaves are still baking, lay a piece of aluminum foil on top of the loaves and allow them to finish baking.
Remove from the loaf pans and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before slicing and enjoy this delicious bread.
How to Serve Sourdough Brioche
Sourdough brioche is a soft, slightly sweet bread that is perfect for many uses. Here are some ways to enjoy it:
- Fresh- This bread is so soft and fluffy, it’s perfectly delicious fresh and warm from the oven. Even after a day or two, it’s still so yummy to just cut a slice and enjoy it!
- Toasted- Toast is always a treat in the morning when it’s covered with butter, honey, cinnamon sugar, or homemade jam. Pair it with a smoothie or a fried or hard-boiled egg and you’ll be all set.
- French Toast- Sweet brioche makes a delicious French toast! Whisk together a few eggs, whole milk, ground cinnamon, and homemade vanilla extract. Dip and fry up in a buttered cast iron skillet for an extra-special breakfast with some butter and pure maple syrup.
- Bread Pudding- Bread pudding is a great way to use up bread that is past a few days old or starting to stale. Sourdough brioche works so well with bread pudding since it’s fluffy and sweet already.
- Eggs in a Basket- A breakfast favorite, cut a hole out of a slice of brioche, fry in butter, and drop in an egg. This post has all of the instructions for this tasty morning meal.
- Sandwiches- Although a bit sweeter, sourdough brioche still makes excellent sandwich bread. Slice it up and let everyone make their own for lunch using all the fillings you have on hand.
- Grilled Cheese- Again, just because this is a soft, sweet bread doesn’t mean it can’t go well with savory ingredients! Fill slices with your favorite flavorful cheese and fry up for an easy, homemade lunch or supper. Serve with soup to make it heartier.
When you’re not using your loaf of sourdough brioche, store it in a bread box, loaf tin, or linen bread bag for a couple of days until it loses its softness. Read this post to learn all about properly storing sourdough bread and ways to use it when it starts to get old.
Or freeze the extra loaf for another day! I always freeze extra sourdough bread in a pillowcase. If I want it for breakfast the next morning, I pull the frozen loaf out and let it sit on the counter overnight.
This bread makes a lovely gift too! It’s so pretty with the unique top and shiny egg wash. Give the second loaf to a friend along with some homemade butter or a little jar of jam or honey. How nice!
Sourdough Brioche Recipe
Sourdough can be intimidating and challenging when first learning to bake with it instead of commercial yeast. This recipe for sourdough brioche is a simple place to start since it doesn’t take a long time and can be made in one day with little effort.
But even if you’ve been baking with sourdough for years like myself, this is still a wonderful recipe to have on hand! I bake brioche often and our family loves it. Toasted with butter and honey or dredged in eggs and cooked into French toast, it’s versatile and yummy.
Enjoy the soft inside and golden crust along with the taste of sourdough and you’ll be whipping up this brioche recipe all the time!
Sourdough Brioche Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 2 9 by 5 inch loaf pans
- Pastry brush and a small bowl
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Active sourdough starter
- 1/2 cup Butter, softened
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 3 Eggs
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 1 1/4 tsp Salt
- 5 1/2 cups All-purpose or bread flour
Instructions
- The night before, remove the sourdough starter from the fridge and feed it. Allow it to sit n the counter all night.
- In the morning, the starter should be active and bubbly. If it isn't, feed it again and it should be ready in a couple of hours.
- Measure the active starter that you'll need, feed your main starter, and return it to the fridge until you want to bake with it again.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl to knead by hand), cream the softened butter on medium speed.
- Turn the mixer off and add in the active sourdough starter, honey, eggs, buttermilk, and salt. Mix on medium speed until ingredients are well combined.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough is smooth and only slightly tacky.
- Cover the dough in the bowl with a damp tea towel and allow it to sit in a warm place until double in size, about 4 or 5 hours.
- Remove the ball of dough and using a bench scraper or spatula, cut it in half. Cut each half into 8 equal pieces.
- Generously grease two loaf pans with butter. Take each piece of dough, roll it into a ball, and place in the loaf pan, 4 on each side for 8 total in each loaf pan.
- Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 or 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 egg with a splash of water until foamy. use a pastry brush to generously brush the egg wash all over the tops of the loaves.
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. If the tops begin to brown too much, just lay a piece of aluminum foil on top of them and allow the loaves to continue baking.
- Cool on a wire rack completely.
