Pillowy soft and buttery, this gluten free brioche is all you’ve ever dreamed of from a gluten free bread and more!!
I never stop. Seriously. I never stop fiddling with things. Sometimes that’s a bad thing, but sometimes it can be really, really good. And today it’s really, REALLY good!
I have several recipes that make really soft and light loaves of bread. But lately I’ve been obsessed with trying to make something like the loaves and rolls that I often buy for my son from Aldi. They’re brioche hot dog and hamburger buns, as well as brioche loaves, and when you pick them up it’s like you’re picking up nothing. They are SO light and ethereal and soft. Of course I’ve never tasted them, but Brandon tells me all the time how wonderful they are.
You should be happy that I rarely leave well enough alone because some of my best recipes are created from not leaving well enough alone. I strive for perfection in my baking, and if I can ever make something better than it was before, I’ll never give up until that happens. With all that in mind, this amazing gluten free brioche bread was born!
What is in Gluten Free Brioche?
So here’s the deal. There is 1 whole egg and 6, yes 6! egg yolks in this dough. And a half cup of sugar. And six tablespoons of butter. Let’s just get that out of the way. I know many of you are clicking out of here right now. But for those who stuck around, I appreciate your faith in me. After all, we’re making the best of the best, the richest, the bread behind the saying “Let Them Eat Cake.” We’re making brioche, people, not health food!
I know many people out there eat gluten free because they think they’re being healthier. And maybe they are. Who am I to say? I’m not a nutritionist. But if that’s what you’re after when you visit my site, I’m so sorry to disappoint you but none of my recipes are made to be healthier. Not saying that some of them aren’t healthy. But they are ALL made as a way of being able to feel normal and have the things we, who were told we can’t eat gluten, can no longer have. These recipes are not necessarily for those who choose to eat gluten free for a healthier lifestyle.
In addition to all the eggs/egg yolks, sugar, and butter, there’s also the usual suspects–my gluten free bread flour blend, yeast, psyllium husks, salt, baking powder, and milk.
How to Make GF Brioche
- The dough begins in a stand mixer, BUT I’ve heard from some of my readers who have made many of my doughs in a large bowl with a handheld mixer with success! If yours has dough hook attachments, use them.
- After mixing, cover the dough and refrigerate it for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days. We’re opting for a cold bulk fermentation instead of the usual method of letting it rise in a warm area until doubled in size. It will still double in size, but this time it’ll do it in the fridge. Do not skip the fridge step because you’ll have a mess on your hands.
- Remove from the fridge and knead on a well-floured surface. It will be sticky. Shape it into a loaf shape and place it in a well-greased 8 by 4-inch loaf pan and cover it loosely with plastic wrap.
- Allow it to rise until it rises above the pan. This can take anywhere from a half an hour to 2 hours or more. Be patient.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the brioche for 30-35 minutes. A knife inserted all the way through to the bottom of the bread will come out clean or nearly clean. This is a better test than the temperature test for this loaf. It will also be very light in weight relative to its size.
- Remove it from the oven and brush it with melted butter. Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then carefully remove the loaf from the pan to finish cooling on a wire rack.
Gluten Free Brioche FAQs
In a word, no. The egg, and especially the egg yolks, are what make this bread so light and fluffy. Without them, I don’t think you’ll get the texture that I was after and achieved in this bread. Egg yolks also offer extra fat in this bread, but in addition they allow for a more tender and even texture.
I often get asked about substitutions, within my bread flour blend itself OR within my recipes. And I get it. Some people can’t have eggs, or dairy, or nightshades, etc. And I feel tremendously for those people and try to help when I can. But my wheelhouse is solely gluten free, and I’m definitely no expert in any other allergen. That being said, I think you could substitute the milk in this recipe with a non-dairy milk and the butter with a non-dairy butter. I also think an oil, such as vegetable, canola, or even coconut, would work well, but the amounts may need to be adjusted. You’ll need to experiment.
The crazy good part about this bread is that it will stay soft for DAYS!!!! Even over a week, if wrapped well! I know. I couldn’t believe it either. But it’s true. I thought I found the holy grail of gluten free breads when I made my best ever gluten free white sandwich bread. It is a great loaf of bread and not to be dismissed. However, this is a whole different type of bread. I mean, brioche. Need I say more?
This soft and buttery gluten free brioche bread is a total game changer in the gluten free world! I can’t wait for y’all to try it and let me know what you think!!
Soft and Buttery Gluten Free Brioche
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups (245g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tbsp plus ¾ teaspoon (12g) instant yeast
- 1 tbsp (5g) whole psyllium husks (or 1½ teaspoon psyllium husk powder)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tbsp (85g) butter, very soft or melted
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 6 large egg yolks, at room temperature
For Brushing
- 1 large egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water and a pinch of salt (for egg wash)
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted (for brushing)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, weigh the flour blend, sugar, baking powder, yeast, psyllium husks, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add the softened or melted butter and mix on low using the dough hook or the beater blade. Add the egg and egg yolks, followed by milk. If using the dough hook, slowly add the liquid. Knead/mix on medium high for about 5 minutes. Dough will be wet and sticky and stretchy, which is completely normal.
- Scrape the dough into the middle of the bowl (or into another bowl) and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight (or up to 3 days).
- On baking day, remove the dough from the fridge and knead it on a well-floured surface until smooth. Use plenty of extra flour as it will be very sticky. You can also place it in the freezer for 10 minutes to make it easier to work with if it's hot in your kitchen. Shape it into a loaf shape that will fit an 8½ by 4½ inch pan. Place it into a well-greased loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap loosely (tucked in around the edges) and allow it to rise until doubled in size and cresting above the top of the pan by about one inch. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on your proofing area.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash gently. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted all the way into the bread to the bottom comes out clean to nearly clean. You can also tell if it's done by feel. If the loaf feels relatively light for its size (picking up with pot holders in the pan), it's done.
- Remove the bread from the oven and immediately brush with melted butter. Place the loaf (in the pan) on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove it from the pan and continue cooling until warm or room temperature before cutting.
- This bread will keep, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to a week. For any longer storage, freeze whole or cut into slices.
Andrew says
Hey, do you know whether there's a way to modify this for a bread maker machine? (I got one recently but don't have a suitable mixer for hand making)
Also: Any suggestions for what the additional egg whites can be used for? (Just because I hate to think of wasting them)
Kim says
Hi Andrew! I don't have a bread machine so I'm not exactly sure about that. But within this recipe post, there are several suggestions for using the leftover egg whites 😊
Tom chris says
dfd
Danah Alshammari says
I just made it for the first time following the steps to a T, it came out perfect. I’m so happy, it’s so delicious! Thank you so much for sharing your genius recipes, you are a blessing!!!
Kim says
Awe, you're so sweet!! Thank YOU🤗
Mari says
So lovely! I modified the recipe just a bit in order to make the lemon beignets of my dreams 🥰
Thank you so much for continuing to share your incredible recipes with our gf community!
Rosa says
We don't have your kims g/f flour in sydney australia
Kim says
I don't sell it (yet). I offer the recipe for you to make it using a few different gf flour components.
Judy says
Great recipe for my GF nieces. With a few tweaks. I had all the ingredients except for the psyllium husk powder, which I found out once i had put the milk on to heat so i substituted gr flax seed. As a pastry chef, i found the ratio of sugar to flour etc, to be super high so i cut that in half and added 1/4 tsp extra salt since i only ever have unsalted butter in my fridge. I also added an extra half cup of the flour since my batter was very cake like. Overnighted it, but it was still very runny so kneading it was impossible. Since i was making gf buns for a BBQ i scooped them into my ring molds instead of kneading. The results were great.
mark says
@Judy, that sounds great. I thought I was the only one that had a runny batter. Added lots of flour so I could knead it a bit before putting it in the bread pan.
I was also wondering if I could reduce the amount of sugar like what you did.
In the end, the bread came out high and relatively fluffy. The only problem was that it was a tad dry. I watch it and kept testing for doneness. Maybe I should've taken it out sooner.
Kim says
I'm so glad you had success, especially with all the substitutions! The sugar plays a huge role in the texture of the dough, so if you try it again and leave the sugar as is, you'll find you are able to knead it. Gluten free baking is very different from wheat baking.
Ella says
You changed this recipe up quite a bit so I'm not surprised you didn't get the results you were expecting. Gluten free baking is very different from regular baking, the same rules do not apply. I have found that when you follow gluten free bread recipes to a T they almost always turn out great!
Mark says
I started making the dough for the brioche, but it looks more like a thick cake batter.
I put it in the fridge and hoping that it wlll thicken up or else I won't be able to knead it.
Any suggestions?
Shari Monfred says
Hi Kim, I made both the Brioche Bread and Italian Bread the last couple of days. They both turned out amazing!!! Better than the first time I attempted your breads. I live in Arizona so we are extremely hot in the summer, so needless to say things rise fairly quickly. I found with both of the breads I needed to cover the loafs with foil around the 1/2 way point in the cooking time. For the Italian Bread. I added the foil cover with 13-15 mins remaining and cooked for a total of 38 mins, then took out of oven removed my stone, left the broiler/foil large pie plate at the bottom of the oven, turned oven off, then placed the loaf with the foil cover back in the oven directly on rack and left for a final 5 minutes. Once completely cooled cut into Italian loaf and it was beautiful and cooked all the way to the bottom. Wasn't doughy at all. YAHooooo!!! For the Brioche loaf my total cooking time was 40 mins and covered with foil with 10 mins remaining from my initial time of 32 mins. After initial time completely used a knife to check for doneness. Ended up cooking an additional 8 mins. Cooled till warm cut slices and it's perfect!!! Thank you once again for these amazing GF recipes, I share them with both my Sons and spouses who are also Celiac and they are in love with everything I bake. wishing you a very blessed weekend. Looking forward to making your raisin oatmeal cookies, as this is one of both my husband and my favorite cookies. However, every one of your cookie recipes I have made has been a hit. You're the best
Kim says
Thank you so much, Shari, for your continued support and kind words and comments 😍😍😍
Connie says
This is THE best GF bread I have ever had! I and some of my family are celiacs. My daughter just brought over a slice of the brioche bread she had made, and ohhh, my! She said she followed your recipe to a "T", *but* she left it overnight in the frig, in her lidded bread bowl (no time to cook it last night). She opened it up this morning, removed the very bowed lid, and it poofed WAY up! She thinks it fermented slightly, which adds a lovely, smooth texture to any bread. Anyway...heaven in the mouth! TY for such a great recipe!
Kim says
Awe, thank you so much Connie!!
Kim says
Awe, yay!!!!!! So glad you all liked it 🥰
Lisa says
Hello Kim! First of all, THANK YOU for your commitment to perfecting GF cooking! I am currently trying this brioche recipe (dough is in the fridge!) . I live in Colorado, do you have any suggestions for high altitude GF baking? Any adjustments I need to make? Thank you again for all of your yummy recipes!
Kim says
Hi, Lisa! I'm so sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. There's always a SEA of comments and questions I need to go through and sometimes it just takes a little more time than usual to respond to everyone.
If you haven't figured it out by now, I'd suggesting checking out this article from King Arthur Flour: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking Unfortunately, I'm right at sea level so I know absolutely nothing about high altitude baking.
Timothy says
I made many mistakes while making this... but it still tastes pretty good! I didn't use the flour blend because I didn't feel like it (I just used King Aurthur's GF Flour), but next time I will put the effort in for that. Also, I thought I poured out in 100g less of flour on accident, so I added 100g extra, but I might of been fine with the first measure. My timer got turned off by a family member, so my bread ended up just barely undercooked. Still edible, just a little denser/wetter than intended. My bread tastes a little fermented, which could be any of the previous issues, or the intended result of the recipe. Overall, I'm still eating it! If a messed up loaf tastes alright, then a correct loaf must taste really good. I'll update/reply to this once I do end up making a second loaf.
Isobelle says
Made this today. The dough was so pretty when I took it out of the fridge in the morning. Did the kneading, rising, and baking. It turned out nice, light, and airy. I used your bread dough, all the listed ingredients, and followed the recipe to a tee!!
It is a tad sweet (in a good way) and tastes a little eggy. What should it taste like?
Donna Antaramian says
So you don’t raise this before you put it in the frig over night?
Kim says
No, I don't for this recipe because it will get a little bit of rise in the fridge overnight, but also because I want more of a tight crumb to the brioche and I find that this step helps.
Donna says
thanks for getting back to me. I am not sure what I did wrong but my batter came out looking like cake batter.
- I use you bread flour blend and yes it was made with authentic food superfund white flour
- I always weight out everything but wondering if my scale is having issue
- I purchase a jar of Fleischmann's Classic Bread Machine but it does say right on the jar Also ideal for all RapidRise recipes. Could this be the issue??
- I have found I am extremely sensitive to psyllium husk or powder (it make me very ill) I did cup the milk down to 3/4 of a cup. I have successfully made your Artisan bread several times without the psyllium husk and cut the water to less than 1 1/2 cup and it came out fine and was delicious. I have also successfully made Hawaiian rolls.
I will try this again because this bread looks too good.
Kim says
It does start out like a thick cake batter, but once it's been in the fridge overnight it stiffens up nicely. Did you watch the video? It is a softer, looser dough than most of my doughs, but it's still able to be kneaded. However, without the psyllium husks it may be more difficult. The brand of yeast should be fine.
Donna says
I watched the video several times. My batter was much thinner than yours. After I refrigerated it overnight it did rise but was extremely difficult to work with - I could not shape it as you did yours in the video, I barely was able to get it in a pan. I must eliminate the psyllium husks I just can’t tolerate it with the amount of potato starch in your bread flour recipe - I am sick all night. I have eliminated it in your artisan bread and reduced the amount of water and I don’t have an issue working with the dough. Because I live up north, I have been proofing in a warm oven. I have noticed several places you have mentioned doing that as well. I covered as you did and placed it in the oven for 2 hours, when I went to take it out - oh my it rose and cascaded over the side and onto the rack below thankfully I had something on that rack to catch the overflow. I am sure I did something stupid, but I am not giving up on it just yet.
Kim says
Some of my dough recipes started out without the use of psyllium husks, such as the artisan bread, so I knew it worked fine without it. The brioche, however, was only ever made with psyllium husks so maybe it just doesn't work without them.
jeffrey m anderson says
could you use this recipe in a bread machine
Kim says
I don't have a bread machine so I can't say for certain, but I do know that readers have made some of my other bread recipes in a bread machine with success, so I don't see why this wouldn't work.
Tony says
recipe looks good, as a bread baker I will say that normally using instant yeast, it does not need to be added to a warm liquid to bloom the yeast, instant is most often added straight to the dry components. Active dry And fresh must be bloomed....but making for my GF girlfriend that can't get good bread products.
Kim says
I agree and normally never bloom my yeast in the liquid because I always use instant yeast. However, I read in one of Peter Reinhart's books that he did a test and although he normally doesn't bloom it either, he found that when he did, the rise on his loaf was a little higher so I thought I'd give it a try. You definitely don't have to, but gf baking needs all the help it can get so anything more you can do to help it along is worth it 🙂
Jessica says
So I used King Arthur AP blend, reduced the milk by 1/4 cup and didn't add psyllium husk and it was VERY wet. I watched the video and mine was a lot more wet. I added about a half cup more flour and the psyllium husk and it was a little stringier, still seemed too wet but ended up rising well. It was not hard to shape it for the final rise even though it was a very soft dough.
The bread came out pretty good, a little tender of a crumb, would have liked more of a stretch. I also was hoping it would be lighter (was not dense by any means) and I think I attribute that to my addition of extra flour.
I think I will try again and trust the process. Do you think the KA flour will make a large difference? My sister just bought all the ingredients for your flour blend (completely uncoordinated, we didn't know we were both working on your recipes) so maybe I will try it with that blend next week!
Kim says
Yes, using a different flour blend will result in very drastic differences. I even have a disclaimer at the bottom of nearly all of my bread recipes (I might have forgot a few) that states that if you don't use my flour blend, you most likely will not get the results I achieve. I developed my own blend because I tried all those other blends and was unhappy with the results.
Amy Huwa says
This is a game changer! My son and I are Celiac and this is just freaking amazing bread!! We love it! My son keeps saying how it's soft and easy to eat. Thank you for sharing your magic! If you are reading this to decide if you want to make it....this is your sign!!!
Kim says
Thank you so much, Amy!!! So glad you and your son love it 🥰
Meredith says
I just made it. While the inside looks , outside is very bumpy on top and came much more brown then broiche typically is. When adding the flour are you supposed to add enough and knead it until it's no longer sticky?
Kim says
Yes. If it's browning too quickly, tent it with tin foil.