No Knead Brioche
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This no knead brioche is soft, rich, and incredibly tender with a light, buttery crumb. It has that classic brioche flavor you love, but without the need for a stand mixer or complicated kneading. If you’ve ever felt intimidated by brioche, this method makes it simple and approachable.
Ok I love a slice of homemade bread – like my easy sandwich bread, whole wheat sandwich bread or maybe even a slice of Challah. But brioche? Oh that’s bread to the next level!
I started testing this recipe because traditional brioche can feel a little fussy—lots of mixing, kneading, and watching the dough closely. I wanted a version that still delivered that rich, buttery texture but was much easier to make, especially for home bakers without a mixer.
After testing, I found that a simple fold-and-rest method combined with an overnight rise gives you the same beautiful structure without all the work. I adapted the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated Everyday Bread cookbook, which is a great book on bread if you’re looking to level up your bread game!
The dough develops strength over time instead of kneading, and the long rest in the fridge deepens the flavor. I also use all butter here for that classic brioche richness—it’s what gives you that soft, tender crumb and slightly sweet flavor.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bread flour: gives the dough structure and helps create a soft but sturdy loaf. Substituting with all purpose flour may yield a shorter loaf.
- Instant yeast: can be mixed directly into the dry ingredients without proofing. If you use active dry yeast, the rising times may be longer,
- Salt
- Eggs: use room temperature so they incorporate smoothly
- Unsalted butter: melted and slightly cooled so it doesn’t scramble the eggs
- Milk: room temperature helps the dough mix evenly. Use whole milk for best texture.
- Granulated sugar
- Egg wash: helps create that shiny, golden crust
How To Make No Knead Brioche
Start by whisking together your flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Mixing the dry ingredients first ensures the yeast and salt are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, milk, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Make sure your butter isn’t too hot here—you don’t want it to cook the eggs.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until a cohesive dough forms and no dry flour remains. The dough will be soft and sticky—that’s exactly what you want. Cover the bowl and let it rest for about 10 minutes. This short rest allows the flour to hydrate, making the dough easier to work with.
Now instead of kneading, you’ll build structure through folds. With wet fingertips lift one side of the dough up and fold it over the center. Turn the bowl slightly and repeat, doing about 4 folds total. This strengthens the dough without kneading.
Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes, then repeat the folding process. You’ll do this a total of 4 times, resting 30 minutes between each round. With each set of folds, you’ll notice the dough becoming smoother and stronger.
After the final fold, cover the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 16 hours, or up to 48 hours. This long, slow rise develops flavor and makes the dough much easier to shape.
When ready to shape, transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and divide it into 8 equal portions. Shape each piece into a smooth ball by pulling the edges into the center, then flipping it over and gently rolling it under your hand to tighten the surface.
Place the dough balls seam-side down into a greased loaf pan in two rows of four. This creates that classic brioche pull-apart look.
Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise until the dough has puffed up and reaches about ½ inch below the top of the pan.
The dough should spring back slowly when gently pressed—this tells you it’s ready to bake.
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Brush the top with egg wash to get that shiny, golden crust, then bake until deep golden brown and the internal temperature reaches about 190°F.
Let the bread cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. It’s important not to slice into it while it’s still warm—this can make the inside gummy instead of light and fluffy.
Troubleshooting Brioche
If your brioche didn’t turn out quite right, don’t worry—this dough is very forgiving once you know what to look for.
- Dough feels too sticky to handle: This dough is naturally soft and slightly sticky—that’s what gives you a tender crumb. Use lightly floured hands or wet fingertips when handling instead of adding more flour, which can make the bread dense.
- Dough isn’t rising well: This usually comes down to temperature. If your kitchen is cool, the dough will take longer to rise. Try placing it in a slightly warm spot, like your oven with just the light on.
- Bread is dense instead of light and fluffy: This can happen if the dough didn’t rise long enough or if too much flour was added during shaping. Make sure the dough has visibly puffed up before baking.
- Top browns too quickly: If your brioche is getting too dark before it’s fully baked, loosely tent it with foil for the remaining bake time.
- Inside is gummy after baking: This usually means it was sliced too soon or slightly underbaked. Let the loaf cool completely before cutting, and check that the internal temperature reaches about 190°F.
- Dough feels weak or doesn’t hold shape: This can happen if the folding steps were rushed. Each round of folds builds structure, so make sure to complete all the sets with the proper rest time in between. And make sure to use bread flour. All purpose flour can make for a weaker structure that’s harder to shape.
How To Serve
You can let the bread cool, slice and serve it up warm with butter. Try my cinnamon honey butter or my honey butter recipe instead. You could top with a bit of jam as well!
If you have leftovers, I love turning the brioche into a delicious grilled cheese for lunch or French toast for breakfast! You could top with my strawberry topping and whipped cream for an over the top breakfast treat.
Storage
Store the brioche covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Because it’s enriched with butter and eggs, it’s best enjoyed within the first couple of days for optimal texture.
You can also freeze baked brioche. Once fully cooled, wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap and store in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
More Recipes To Try
If you want to bake up more delicious homemade bread, try my cinnamon roll recipe with cinnamon roll icing. Or maybe my pecan sticky buns (my Dad’s favorite!).
Or try my Monkey Bread baked in a bundt pan and topped with icing.
No Knead Brioche
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (270 g) bread flour spooned and leveled
- 1 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 8 Tablespoons (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- ¼ cup (60 ml) milk room temperature
- 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water with pinch salt (for egg wash before baking)
Instructions
- Make the dough. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, yeast and salt. In a second bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter, milk, and sugar until sugar has dissolved. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir together until a cohesive dough forms, and no dry flour remains. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes. 2 ¼ cups (270 g) bread flour 1 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast ¾ teaspoon salt 3 large eggs 8 Tablespoons (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter ¼ cup (60 ml) milk 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- Complete folds and rest. With wet fingertips (or you can use a greased bowl scraper complete folds by pulling up on dough one side and lifting straight up (without tearing) then folding it over into the middle. Repeat the folds by turning the bowl 90 degrees and folding dough again. Do a total of 4 folds. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Repeat this process, every 30 minutes 3 more times. After the fourth final fold cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 16 hours (up to 48 hours).
- Shape the dough. Transfer the dough to a well floured surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions (you can eyeball or use a scale). Shape each portion into a smooth ball flattening each dough ball then bring up the sides of the dough and pinching it into the center. Then flip the dough ball over and with a cupped hand roll it around to create a smooth ball. Place the dough balls (seam side down) into 2 rows of 4 into a greased 8 ¼ inch-4 ½ inch loaf pan.
- Second Rise. Cover the pan loosely with greased plastic wrap (so it doesn’t stick) and let rise for 1 ½ – 2 hours until the loaf reaches ½ inch below the lip of the pan, and dough springs back minimally when poked with a fingertip. If you’re using a 9×5-inch loaf pan then increase rising time by up to 30 minutes.
- Bake. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350oF. Lightly brush the loaf with the egg wash and bake until deep golden brown and internal temperature reaches 190oF, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Turn bread out on to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing (do not slice while warm as it can cause the interior to become gummy). 1 large egg
Notes
- Storage: Store the brioche covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Because it’s enriched with butter and eggs, it’s best enjoyed within the first couple of days for optimal texture.
- Freezing: You can also freeze baked brioche. Once fully cooled, wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap and store in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
