Chicken Free Brioche Loaf

Total time11 hr 15 min

Prep time40 min

Cook time35 min

4.7

(14)

Rich, pillowy, and impossibly golden, this brioche loaf is the kind of bread that makes you want to clear your whole Sunday afternoon just to bake it. The magic is in the slow butter incorporation — adding those softened cubes gradually over ten-plus minutes builds a dough that's silky, glossy, and genuinely luxurious without a single shortcut. An overnight cold retard in the fridge does double duty, firming up all that butter while quietly deepening the flavor in a way a same-day loaf simply can't match. The four-ball shaping method gives you that classic domed, pull-apart top that looks like it came straight out of a Parisian boulangerie window. Since every ingredient here is straightforward pantry and dairy staple — flour, butter, eggs, milk, yeast — there's no need to scrutinize labels or swap anything out to keep it poultry-free. The egg wash delivers that deep chestnut crust that practically begs to be torn into while still warm. Slice it thick for French toast, layer it with jam, or honestly just eat it plain — it's that good.

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Ingredients

10 servings

For the dough

¼ cup whole milk, warmed to 110°f (43°c)
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp fine salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
14 tbsp (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, softened

For the egg wash

1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp whole milk

Instructions

1
Combine the warmed milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy and fragrant.
2
Add the flour, sugar, salt, and 4 eggs to the yeast mixture. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and mix on low speed for 2 minutes, until the ingredients are just combined into a shaggy mass, then increase to medium speed and knead for 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.

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