Chocolate Brioche Bread
Homemade Brioche Bread is a soft and buttery bread with a light and fluffy texture. Adding chocolate takes it to a whole new level of wonderfulness.
Brioche bread tastes very like croissants, due to the copious amounts of butter that are added. Unlike croissants though, it is so much easier to make.
As well as butter, lots of eggs are added, giving it an enriched texture. Homemade brioche bread is far superior to shop-bought because we don't skimp on butter or eggs and the whole process is not rushed.
One thing to bear in mind is to ensure that you allow plenty of time for all the proves that are needed. In total, the bread needs to prove 3 times for a total of about 7 hours. You may want to choose to prove you brioche bread overnight, then all it takes is the shaping and last prove in the morning before baking.
I adore this bread and often make it for a breakfast treat at the weekend.
Fancy a change for breakfast? How about trying these tasty Cinnamon and Maple Syrup Buns
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Why is this Chocolate Brioche bread so good?
Enriched with lots of eggs, some honey, milk and plenty of butter✔️
Perfect for breakfast✔️
Great to get some goodness into picky eaters✔️
Use for sandwiches or toast✔️
Tastes of croissants but easier to make✔️
Serving Suggestions
Due to its soft and enriched texture this chocolate brioche bread is delicious just on its own, or try it
- toasted with some jam, I prefer just jam, there is plenty of butter in the brioche already;
- used for sandwiches, banana sandwiches with chocolate brioche bread are absolutely gorgeous.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Fast-acting yeast: use the 7-gram sachets, these do not need to be activated in liquid first.
Bread flour and Plain (all-purpose) flour: bread flour contains more protein and so produces more gluten, meaning our final dough has a nice bready yet cakey texture.
Honey: for sweetness and flavour and a bit of goodness.
Eggs: lots are added to give this chocolate brioche its enriched texture and the yolk of another is used to glaze it and give it a shiny brown texture.
Unsalted butter: you can use salted butter, if so only add ¾ of a teaspoon of fine salt.
Caster sugar: important to retain moisture in our brioche loaf.
Vanilla extract: for a subtle vanilla touch of flavour.
Dark chocolate: or you can use chocolate chips.
Warm milk: the milk needs to be warm in order to activate the yeast so that the bread rises when proving. Hand hot is fine, like baby bath water temperate!
Fine salt: it is very important to keep control of the yeast when making brioche, otherwise it will prove way too fast and this will impair the final flavour.
Instructions
See end of post RECIPE CARD for precise quantities and instructions.
Picture 1 - beat your eggs, honey and vanilla extract together.
Picture 2 - mix your flours, salt and sugar in a large (preferably metal) bowl.
Picture 3 - alternately add your eggs and warmed milk to your flour mixture, kneading on a low setting with the dough hook.
Picture 4 - beat the mixture on low until it comes together, it will look a bit lumpy at this stage.
Picture 5 - add your softened butter in thirds, kneading for a minute in between.
Picture 6 - knead for another 8-10 minutes until the dough is just tacky to touch, it will be softer and wetter than normal bread dough.
Picture 7 - remove your dough and roll it into a large ball on a floured surface. Grease your bowl and return the dough to the bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm (plastic wrap).
Leave to prove for about 2 hours, until doubled in size.
Knead 2-3 times and then return to your oiled bowl, cover again with oiled clingfilm (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, or until doubled in size.
Remove from the bowl, knockback and roll-out, sprinkle over the chopped chocolate and gently knead it in.
Split the dough into 6 equal size balls then place into your greased loaf tin. Leave to rise again for 30-45 minutes. Then glaze with the yolk of an egg.
Picture 8: bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden on top. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.
Top Tips
Chop your chocolate up small
If your chocolate is too large it will weigh the brioche dough down and you will have holes in your final loaf, so it needs to be chopped up into small pieces.
Don't give up kneading
It can take quite a while for the dough to knead to the right consistency, so don't give up. If after kneading for 10 minutes your dough is very wet, add 3 tablespoons of bread flour and knead in for another 5 minutes.
Ensure you leave your dough to rise until doubled
Once the dough has doubled it has proved enough, this may take only 1 hour if your room is very warm or 3 hours if the room is not so warm. The same applies to the refrigerator proving, only remove once doubled, this will take at least 4 hours.
Leave space in the oven for the brioche bread to rise
I learnt this the hard way, having had to peel my brioche loaf from the top of my oven the past! I now bake brioche in the lower third of my oven to ensure it never happens again!
Variations
For Plain brioche rolls, leave out the chocolate altogether and shape your bread, after it's final prove, into 12 rolls. Pop them into muffin cases for the final prove, then egg wash and bake for about 20 minutes until golden all over.
For Fruity brioche bread, swap the chocolate for dried mixed peel, along with the zest of one orange and one lemon. remove the vanilla extract but add a tablespoon of freshly squeezed orange juice instead.
Storage
Freeze in slices, and defrost as needed
Chocolate brioche bread will stay fresh for 24 hours if kept airtight.
If you won't use it all up in that time, I recommend slicing it up and freezing it in slices, covering each one with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and then defrosting and using it as needed.
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the Recipe Card below.
FAQ
Not only will it have doubled in size, but the dough will also have a shiny exterior, and when pressed will slowly return to normal, leaving a small indent.
Linked Recipes
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Brioche Bread
Here's what you'll need...
Ingredients you'll need...
- 5 Large eggs (4 eggs and 1 yolk) at room temperature (US = extra large)
- 2 teaspoon Honey
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 300 g Strong white bread flour or 2 cups and 2 tablespoons
- 190 g Plain flour or 1 cup and 6 tablespoons (all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon Fine salt
- 7 g Sachet of fast-acting yeast
- 55 g Caster sugar or 4 tablespoons (super fine sugar)
- 55 ml Whole milk or 4 tablespoons
- 150 g Unsalted butter or 10 tablespoons - cubed and at room temperature - plus extra for greasing your loaf tin
- 100 Dark chocolate or ½ Cup - chopped into tiny pieces
- Olive oil (or vegetable oil) to grease your bowl
- 1 Egg yolk or milk for glazing
Here's what we do...
- Beat your eggs, honey and vanilla extract together.
- Place your flours, salt, yeast and sugar into your stand mixer bowl and stir to ensure thoroughly mixed.
- Heat your milk until warm, 10-15 seconds in a microwave should be enough, be sure to use a microwavable container.
- Pour a third of your egg mixture into your flour mixture and knead on a low setting until it just starts to mix in, about 20 seconds or so, then add in half of your warm milk and mix again for the same amount of time.
- Repeat until all of your egg and milk have been added.
- Knead for about 2 minutes on a low setting until all of your flour mixture has been incorporated.
- Add a third of your softened butter and knead, again on low, for a minute. You will still have some small lumps of butter remaining after a minute, that's fine.
- Repeat with the next 2 lots of your butter, kneading in between each one for a minute on low.
- Knead on a medium-high setting (I used setting 2-4 on my KitchenAid) for 8-10 minutes.
- The dough is ready once it has an elastic quality to it, and when it is tacky but not overly wet and sticky. It will be wetter than normal bread dough. If you dough is still very wet add 3 tablespoons of flour and continue kneading for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it on a floured surface.
- Oil the bowl, to stop the dough from sticking when you replace it, I used olive oil.
- Knead the dough a few times, then make it into a ball shape and return it to your oiled bowl, cover the bowl with oiled clingfilm (plastic wrap).
- Leave to rise in a warm place for approximately 2 hours. When ready it will have doubled in size, this can take anything between 1-3 hours.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and knead 3-4 times.
- Return to the bowl (re-oil if needed), cover with the oiled clingfilm (plastic wrap) but this time place in your refrigerator for 4-24 hours. Again it will need to have doubled in size before it is ready.
- Grease your loaf tin.
- Remove your brioche dough from your bowl and sprinkle over your chopped chocolate, knead the chocolate in a few times until equally mixed in.
- Split the dough into 6 equal size balls and then insert the balls into your greased loaf tin.
- Leave to rise for 30-45 minutes, the dough is ready when it has risen to just above the edge of the tin.
- Preheat your oven to 170°C Fan/190°C/375°F/Gas mark 5
- Separate your egg and paint the yolk over the top of your brioche bread using your pastry brush, then bake for 35-40 minutes, the bread is ready when it is a deep golden colour all over and sounds hollow when you remove it and tap the base.
- Leave in the tin for 5-10 minutes to cool and then remove and leave to continue cooling on a cooling rack.
Supporting Notes
Don't give up kneading - it can take quite a while for the dough to knead to the right consistency, so don't give up. If after kneading for 10 minutes your dough is very wet, add 3 tablespoons of bread flour and knead in for another 5 minutes.
Ensure you leave your dough to rise until doubled - once the dough has doubled it has proved enough, this may take only 1 hour if your room is very warm or 3 hours if the room is not so warm. The same applies to the refrigerator proving, only remove once doubled, this will take at least 4 hours.
Leave space in the oven for the brioche bread to rise - I learnt this the hard way, having had to peel my brioche loaf from the top of my oven the past! I now bake brioche in the lower third of my oven to ensure it never happens again!
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