Soft and Buttery Brioche Bun Recipe
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This easy, soft, and buttery Brioche Bun recipe is perfect for hearty sandwiches or burgers. It is tasty enough to make every bite delicious. If you love a good brioche roll but have never thought about making your own before you are in for a treat.
Are you still eating buns that are tasteless? What if I said you could make your own buttery soft buns in your own kitchen? Go grab your apron and we’ll talk you through everything you need to know about this recipe so you too can embrace your new favorite bun for burgers and sandwiches.
What’s to love about Brioche?
These Brioche buns are easy to make, buttery to eat, and freeze well. They make a good sandwich fantastic. The recipe is versatile, you can make large buns or small slider buns, and a variety of toppings to make each recipe slightly different. It’s also a dough that can be made ahead of time.
Once you try brioche, your standard is going to be set very high. In addition to these amazing buns, we now enjoy an amazing brioche bread loaf and overnight brioche cinnamon rolls. They’re amazing!
Note: We let this bread rise overnight in the refrigerator so they’re mixed up one day and baked the next. By doing that you get the optimum in flavor and texture.
Ingredients for the Brioche Buns Recipe
We use real full-fat unsalted butter, preferably European butter that’s got a higher fat content and less water to give our brioche bun recipe a melt-in-your-mouth texture. If you use salted butter reduce the salt in this recipe from 1-1/2 teaspoons to 1 teaspoon. You want the butter to be at room temperature meaning that when pressed with your finger it leaves a dent, not melted or runny.
Unbleached flour is less processed since it doesn’t go through the bleaching step. It’s denser and can help yeast work better giving it a better rise. It’s a good option for baking recipes that require structure like yeast breads and pastries. In most cases, you can use either bleached or unbleached flour without noticing a difference.
Non-fat dry milk adds protein to our bread recipe without adding liquid. It makes a softer, more tender crumb.
We use fresh grade A large eggs in brioche rolls. They add an extra layer of flavor and richness that regular bread just doesn’t have. They also give it that golden, slightly glossy crust that makes it look as good as it tastes.
Instant Yeast has small granules. This lets it work without needing to be activated in liquid. You can add it directly to the recipe.
Just a little sugar adds flavor. It doesn’t make the bread sweet like our Hawaiian Bread Rolls. Instead, it balances the savory and sweet tastes perfectly.
How to Make Homemade Brioche Buns
Since the dough is so soft and buttery, I find this recipe is easiest to make using an electric stand mixer. Combine the ingredients and let the mixer knead your dough.
Let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator. The next day split the dough into ten equal pieces.
Roll each piece into balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. If using parchment paper, I recommend spraying it with non-stick cooking spray. Tenderly flatten each ball slightly with a bench scraper or a spatula brushed with oil. Any flat surface will do. That way they are all the same size in height and diameter. It works better than your hand.
Hostess Tips
You can top them with anything you like. John likes sesame seeds but plain or poppyseed are delicious too. Or you can go all out and use our whole-grain blend recipe.
Another nice thing about this recipe is that you make the dough up one day and bake them the next so it isn’t an all-day thing.
This recipe was adapted from King Arthur Flour. I’ve made them several times. Their recipe says that it makes six rolls. I would say it makes six bread bowls! The first time I made the recipe, I remade them into eight and they were still a very generous size. For a reasonable sandwich size, I make ten buns. Ten good-sized brioche buns that are the size of a regular hamburger bun.
I wanted my Brioche buns to be the same size. So, I used a kitchen scale to measure the dough. Then, I divided it into 10 equal pieces. Laugh if you must, it makes my OCD heart very happy.
Use an instant-read thermometer to test the bread for doneness. We bake to 190ºF.
How to serve
If you’re looking for a gourmet sandwich to serve with buttery brioche buns, look no further than our BBQ Brisket Sandwich, Thai Chicken Sandwich, or Ham and Cheese Sliders. Oh, and don’t forget Burgers!
Once your bread is no longer fresh, it makes the most amazing French toast, Bread Pudding, and French Toast Muffins!
I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe as much as we do. Drop me a comment below, and don’t forget to give it a star rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Your comments and ratings help others decide if this recipe is for them too.
Brioche Bun Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Dough
- 2¾ cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 326g
- ¼ cup nonfat dry milk 35g
- 2 tbsp sugar 25g
- 1¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp instant yeast
- 3 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk white reserved for wash (below)
- ¼ cup lukewarm water 57g
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter, softened 142g
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg reserved from above, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
- Mix and knead the dough ingredients —I used my stand mixer. Go to the original recipe shown in notes if using a bread machine. Hand kneading isn't recommended for this recipe.
- To make a smooth, shiny dough. It starts out sticky and takes 15 to 20 minutes of kneading in a stand mixer to develop. I used the paddle attachment for 8 minutes and then switched to a dough hook attachment, all on a speed of 4.
- Form the dough into a ball, place it in a large greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 1 hour.
- Refrigerate the covered dough overnight (or 8 hours+), to slow its rise and make it easier to shape.
- The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator, and divide into 8 to 10 pieces, depending on the size of the buns you want.
- Shape each piece into a ball, and place onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2" to 3" between them.
- Cover the buns, and let them rise until they're quite puffy. This may take as little as 1 hour; or more. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375 °F.
- Brush the buns with egg wash, and sprinkle with seeds if using. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, tenting with foil after 10 minutes if they appear to be browning too quickly. The finished buns will register at least 190 °F on a digital thermometer inserted into the center.
- Remove the buns from the oven, and cool on a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
We love baking bread, and rolls. Some of our favorites include these Sweet Molasses Brown Bread Rolls, Potato Rolls, Hawaiian Rolls, and our super easy 1-hour roll recipe. I hope if you make them you’ll let me know how it goes!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Don’t forget to pin it for later and follow me on Pinterest for more delicious recipes like this one!
This brioche bun recipe was first released on March 16, 2016. It has been updated to improve our readers’ experience. We added simple details and new images. No changes were made to the actual recipe.
There are soooo many sandwiches that I would love to eat on these brioche buns! You make the best bread, Julie, seriously!
Thank you so much, Ashlyn!
These are gorgeous!! These would make a great addition to my table this weekend!
Thank you, Michaela! I hope you had a great Easter!
You are the bread making master! These buns look so delicious and I can only imagine how delicious your home smells. Homemade bread is the BEST!!!
Thank you so much! I have so much fun playing with bread dough!
These look awesome. I’m picturing a little sandwich with fresh tomato and buffalo mozzarella. Yum!
Thank you Debi! That would make the perfect sandwich. It reminds me of summer and I hope it is a heck of a lot warmer than Spring has been!
These look perfect!!!! I think i’d have to make a fantastic breakfast sandwich using these!!! Thanks for another incredible recipe!
Thank you Angela!
I love brioche, so deliciously soft (and great for French toast too). These look fantastic!
Thank you Caroline! Hope you are enjoing FF!
This brioche bun looks so good.. I am salivating! When can I visit you Julie?? I have to taste some of your goodies!!
Just kidding!! ( about visiting) Happy April Fool’s Day!
Are you kidding? I would LOVE to bake a few for you, and I would welcome you at my kitchen table anytime!
Beautiful! And so much better than hamburger buns!!!
Thank you so much!
They look amazing, so perfect! And now I realise why my buns are always different sizes..I never think to weigh the dough!!
Thank you Elaine! This is basically a no fail recipe.
These brioch buns look so soft and delicious- perfect!
Thank you Michelle!
I do like my burgers and what a perfect way to make them special with your own homemade buns. Perfect timing as grilling season is almost upon us 🙂
Thank you Judi! I had a reader suggest making a bunch and putting them in the freezer. I think that is exactly what I will be doing. I love grilling season!
they look picture perfect! yumm
Thank you Lynz! They are quite fun to make, and delicious to eat.
Pretty sure I died and went to brioche heaven after seeing this recipe and the pictures I definitely need to try this one out Julie!! Thanks for the super recipe <3
Thank you Aena! They are so yummy and easy! Have a wonderful day!
Brioche rolls for burger and hotdogs are a relatively new thing around me (never spotted them before 2 summers ago). I tried them – hesistantly – and fell in love. I can’t wait for BBQ season and a freezer full of these rolls to pull out. Thanks Julie
Oooooh a freezer full. That would be like gold! Thank you Jane!
I felt the same way Julie, I’ve never been a fan of sandwiches, they just never floated my boat. My ex-boyfriend loved sandwiches and somewhere along the way I also fell in love with them, but it all starts with the bread. Loving the recipe. Can’t wait to try it out myself.
Thank you Mary! We are definitely on the same sandwich page! Let me know if you give them a try. They are easy to make.
Your brioche beautiful buns would make any sandwich into a super star.
Thank you so much! I appreciate you stopping by and hope you have a wonderful day.
Look at the gorgeous crumb of these buns…
Love the recipe too! King Arthur has one of the best recipes for the breads and buns…
Eggs are adding to the strength of these buns, I guess!
Thanks Sonal! KAF is my go too. I love their forum and read the reviews so I know they are going to work without me experimenting. It drives me crazy when you try a recipe and that there is no way it’s going to turn out.
From scrath buns are on my baking to-do list Julie. Thanks for making it look so easy, these look stellar 🙂
Thank you so much Jess! I know they will come out perfectly from your kitchen too!
I know just what you mean about not being a sandwich person, I am the same way. And it is a whole different world when you use high quality bread, especially homemade! I have been wanting to make my own hamburger buns forever but have never gotten around to it. Need to try this!
Thank you Meghan! This is an easy peasy one and comes out great every time.
You need to open a bistro or something Julie! Such amazing breads you bake. Not Kidding!
Ha! I used to think that sounded like fun, but these cooking shows show how unromantic that venture would be.
Super Julie, better than a bakery, definitely perfection in those brioche buns. Love the different kind of toppings you’ve used. I hope you enjoyed your Easter. I have some questions on the bread thingy, I’ll shoot you off an email about it sometime soon.
Thanks Loretta! Shoot me an email and we can chat. We finally have a beautiful day and things are greening up. So excited to go walking today.
Aw, too bad little Julie didn’t have these yummy brioche buns to nosh on! Meanwhile, I could use, oh, say five of these buns. Delish recipe. Thanks for sharing this Julie! 🙂
Ha! You’re hilarious. I would have been a fat little Julie if I would have had these buns to nosh on!
I only made true brioche with the little knob on top about 36 years ago and thought they were so much work, I never made them again!!!!! Yours look so light and not too hard to make. Have I had enough time off?
Ha! Good to see you Johanne! I’ve never made the knob brioche. This one is easy! I was going to say as easy as pie, but I don’t know who coined that phrase, pie isn’t that easy!
How can you not care for sammitches in general. I can understand with this fantastic bread, but really??!?! 😉
Thanks Debbie! I like them now. I just didn’t like the plain Jane dry things called sandwiches when I was a kid.
Oh Julie…. They look so pretty! I love the color and I can almost feel the buttery flavor. 🙂
Thank you so much Ana!