Bread Machine Brioche Loaf
Aren’t bread machines the best? All the bread without the work! This bread machine brioche loaf is simple and gives you a delicious, versatile, and slightly sweet loaf. With its soft crumb and rich, buttery flavor, this brioche is perfect for sandwiches, toast, or even French toast. While this recipe is simple, it’s important to check your dough after it mixes it up. It might need a little tweaking.
Bread Machine Brioche Loaf
Equipment
- Bread machine
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar (see sweetness note)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 ½ large eggs (1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk; save the egg white for optional egg wash)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened and cut into pieces)
- 3 tablespoons warm water 110°F
Instructions
- Layer Ingredients. Add the ingredients to your bread machine pan in this order: water, milk, whisked egg and yolk, sugar, salt, and flour. Place the butter pieces on top of the flour. Make a small indentation in the flour and add the yeast.
- Select Cycle. Set your bread machine to the “Basic” or “Sweet” bread setting, with a light or medium crust option, and start the machine.
- Monitor Dough. After a few minutes of kneading, check the dough’s consistency. It should form a soft, smooth ball. If it’s too sticky, add a teaspoon of flour; if it’s too dry, add a teaspoon of water.
- Optional Egg Wash. Save the leftover egg white and lightly whisk it. When the machine signals the beginning of the bake cycle (usually after the final rise), gently brush the egg wash on top of the dough for a shiny, golden crust. This step is optional and just for appearance—the loaf will still taste great without it!
- Finish and Cool. When the cycle is complete, carefully remove the loaf from the machine and let it cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
- Sweetness Note: This recipe uses 2 tablespoons of sugar, giving the bread a pleasant, subtle sweetness. You can adjust the sugar amount to your taste:
- 1 tablespoon for a very mild sweetness (more traditional brioche flavor)
- 2 tablespoons for a noticeable sweetness (suitable for both sandwiches and toast)
- 3 tablespoons for a slightly sweet bread (great for French toast or pairing with jam)
- If you choose to double the recipe, just use 3 whole eggs.
I love making bread in my bread machine. I’ve made a delicious buttermilk bread, and this brioche loaf is just as good! It’s easy, everyone loves it, and you can eat it with anything.
Use it for sandwiches, toast, grilled cheese, French toast, or with a bowl of soup. Seriously, this bread tastes good in any way you want.
Key Ingredients and Tools
Here are a few key things to keep in mind for this recipe:
- Bread Flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which gives the brioche its structure.
- Instant Yeast. Instant yeast doesn’t need to be proofed in warm water before using, making the process quicker. You can usually find it in the baking aisle near the other yeast.
- Unsalted Butter. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt in the recipe.
Having the right ingredients will help you get the best results!
Troubleshooting and Help
While bread flour is best for the structure of the brioche, you can use all-purpose flour in a pinch. The texture might be slightly different, but it will still be tasty!
No problem! The “Basic” setting will work just fine.
Hmm, sometimes humidity can affect the dough’s consistency. Add a little more flour, just a teaspoon at a time, until it forms a smooth ball that’s slightly tacky but not overly sticky.
It sounds like the dough might not have enough moisture. Try adding a teaspoon of water at a time, mixing well after each addition until the dough comes together in a smooth ball.
If you have any more questions about this recipe, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below. I’ll do my best to answer them as quickly as possible.
I hope you enjoy this simple and delicious bread machine brioche loaf. It’s versatile so you can enjoy it anytime and with nearly any meal. Whether you’re toasting it with jam for breakfast or serving it alongside a soup for dinner, everyone will love it.
By Katie Shaw
Katie lives in Virginia with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens. She loves creating simple tutorials for sourdough, bread, and soap. Her recipes, articles, and YouTube videos reach millions of people per year.