Braided Brioche Bread Recipe (with Video)

1. Make the tangzhong slurry by mixing the flour and milk, and heating on medium-low heat until it comes together into a thick paste.
2. Add the tangzhong to the remaining cold milk, yeast, flour, salt and sugar and knead for at least 5-7 min if using a standing mixer, and 7-10 min if by hand. This will be sticky but doable; try not to add too much extra flour.
3. Then add in the butter and knead it again. You will need to get your hands dirty if kneading by hand, but keep kneading until the butter feels combined into the dough. This gives brioche its signature threadlike texture.
4. Cover your dough and let it rise in a warm place for 60-90 min until it doubles in size.
5. Once risen, shape it however you’d like! You can play around with many different types of strands or rolls, and use Pearl sugar if you’d like.
6. Brush with egg wash and let the shaped loaf rest for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 in the meanwhile.
7. Brush with egg wash again and bake at 350F for 20-30 min until the bread has a golden color and feels hollow when you knock on it. Baking time will vary based on how you shaped your bread.
8. Enjoy! I love to slice the bread and toast it again, smother with jam or butter and devour. It’s so good!