Trader Joe's Brioche Recipe

Trader Joe's brioche is a soft, slightly sweet bread enriched with eggs and butter. A homemade loaf takes three eggs and ten tablespoons of butter to two and three quarter cups of flour: knead the dough until smooth, let it rise, chill it overnight so that it can be shaped, set six balls in a loaf pan, let them rise again and bake at 350°F for about 38 minutes.

What Trader Joe's says about its brioche

In October 2026 a search for brioche on Trader Joe's website shows nine products, among them Brioche Buns, Brioche Hot Dog Buns and a Sliced Double Chocolate Brioche, but no plain sliced loaf; the site notes that it does not show every product. The Brioche Buns are described as eggy and extra moist, with butter for richness, and their ingredients begin with flour, water, sugar, egg, butter and yeast. One bun, 67 grams, has 180 calories.

A slice of the loaf below, one twelfth, comes to about 230 calories by USDA figures; it holds more butter and egg. It is a homemade brioche, not Trader Joe's formula, and MakeFoodLovely is not connected with Trader Joe's.

Recipe

Brioche Loaf

A homemade brioche loaf with eggs, butter and a little sugar, in the manner of the brioche Trader Joe's sells. One 9 by 5 inch loaf, twelve slices.

5.0 (1)Print

Prep

30 min

Cook

38 min

Total

11 hr 30 min

Serves

12

Cuisine

French

Ingredients

• For the dough:
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup warm milk
• 3 large eggs
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• For the egg wash:
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the warm milk and 3 eggs and knead with the dough hook on medium-low speed for 5 minutes, until a stiff dough forms.
2. Add the butter a tablespoon at a time, waiting until each piece has disappeared, then knead for 8 minutes more, until the dough is smooth, shiny and pulls away from the bowl.
3. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours, until doubled. Press the air out, cover again and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
4. Divide the cold dough into 6 pieces, roll each into a ball and set them in two rows in a buttered 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Cover and let them rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until they reach the rim of the pan.
5. Heat the oven to 350°F. Beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of milk and brush it over the loaf.
6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until deep golden and 190°F in the middle. Turn the loaf out and let it cool on a rack for 1 hour before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories:

230

Calculated from the ingredient quantities above using the USDA FoodData Central database, then divided by the number of servings. It is an estimate and will vary with the exact products you use.

How much butter makes a brioche

Brioche is defined by its eggs and butter. Wikipedia's article gives a common ratio of flour to butter of 2 to 1 and notes that richer and leaner versions have always existed. This loaf sits on the lean side, at about 2 1/2 to 1 by weight, which keeps it firm enough for sandwiches and toast.

Why the dough is chilled

Warm brioche dough is too soft to shape: the butter in it is nearly liquid. Eight hours in the refrigerator firm it up, and the slow rise in the cold adds flavour. The dough can stay there for up to 24 hours.

• Butter at room temperature, soft enough to press a finger into. Cold butter stays in lumps; melted butter makes the dough greasy.
• Long kneading. The dough looks hopeless for the first minutes after the butter goes in, then comes together.
• A slow second rise. Cold dough takes up to two hours to reach the rim.

Buns from the same dough

Divide the cold dough into 8 pieces, shape them into balls, flatten them slightly on a lined baking sheet, let them rise for 1 1/2 hours, brush them with the egg wash and bake at 375°F for 15 to 18 minutes.

Toast, French toast and the freezer

The loaf keeps 3 days at room temperature in a bag. Slices freeze for 2 months and toast straight from the freezer. Brioche that is a day or two old makes French toast that holds its shape; the frozen French toast page names it as one of the breads to use.

Other Trader Joe's breads and bakes on this site are the sourdough sandwich bread and the protein pancakes.