If you’ve never had the pleasure of Brioche French Toast, it’s high time you become acquainted. Rich, flavorful, and ever-so-tender brioche is dipped in a simple milk and egg custard base before being pan-fried to perfection. Breakfast bliss, here we come!
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About This Recipe
I don’t know about you, but I adore my yeasty breakfast foods. If I’m having a croissant, I want the real deal, flaky, buttery, laminated goodness! Well, I’ve long felt that way about french toast, too. That is, until I discovered the secret: brioche french toast is simply the best.
In this delectably soft and deeply flavorful breakfast, you get the double whammy effect of rich brioche, a simple egg and milk custard, and the magic of melted butter as a frying oil. It’s superlative.
If you’re feeling daunted by the task of making your own loaf of bread before indulging, don’t fret. You can either a.) make your brioche up to a month ahead of time by freezing it, or b.) get a lovely loaf from your local purveyor of grocery store. The custard and frying step is as easy as can be, so it’s still 100% within reach!
Brioche is such a versatile enriched bread to work with - not only can you make french toast with it's delicious taste and texture, it's the perfect base for filled strawberry bavarian brioche doughnuts and passion fruit cream doughnuts!
Ingredients & Substitutions
For the homemade brioche, you’ll need:
This homemade bread recipe will yield two loaves, which is perfect for numerous slices of brioche french toast.
- Granulated Sugar - You need enough to bring your yeast out of hibernation and add a bit of sweet flavor to your french toast loaves.
- Active Dry Yeast - Be sure to proof your yeast before you try making any bread!
- Lemon Zest - While this is an optional, non-traditional flavor addition for brioche, the bright flavor is welcome in this tasty french toast recipe.
- All-Purpose Flour - This will yield the lightest, tenderest crumb, so try not to replace it.
- Eggs - Let them come to room temperature before incorporating them into the brioche dough. We don’t want to overknead (which can result in a tough loaf), and cold eggs are notoriously difficult to incorporate into doughs.
- Unsalted Butter - You know my thoughts here: grass-fed, organic, and/or cultured are all good things.
For the simple egg custard, grab:
- Milk - I usually keep whole milk on hand, but feel free to swap in skim or 2% with a splash of cream or half-and-half to make it a little richer. You can also use creamy non-dairy milks like oat or full-fat canned coconut milk.
- Eggs - Yep, there’s a lot of eggs in this recipe. Better grab a dozen just to be sure.
- Cinnamon, Cardamom, & Nutmeg - These warming spices are my personal favorite trio for french toast. The cardamom is especially delicious if you end up adding the lime zest to your brioche.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Dough Attachment - Kneading enriched bread is no joke! I highly recommend you use a stand mixer, but you might find success using a hand mixer. I have a feeling you’d still be tired though!
- 2 Standard Loaf Pans - That means 9x5 inches or the slightly smaller 8.5 x 4.5 inch version.
- Heavy Bottomed Sauté Pan or Griddle - Since butter is a delicate ingredient, it’s important to maintain control over the temperature of your pan. Heavy bottomed pots and pans distribute heat more evenly, preventing certain areas from scorching. Electric griddles are also an excellent choice, if you have the kitchen space.
How To Make Brioche French Toast
Make Brioche
Step 1: Activate the yeast. Mix the warm water, sugar, and yeast together in a bowl and let it sit until bubbles start to form on the surface.
Step 2: Make the dough. Mix the lemon zest, eggs and flour into the yeast mixture until combined. Knead the dough until it looks smooth and glossy.
Step 3: Let it proof overnight. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover it in plastic, and let it proof until the dough has doubled in size. Afterward, punch down the dough with your fist and place it back in the fridge overnight.
Step 4: Shape into 6 even boules.
Step 5: Divide, 2nd rise. Place 3 boules in each prepared loaf pan. Cover with a clean cloth and set in a warm, draft-free environment until doubled in size (about 1.5-2 hours).
Step 6: Brush & bake. Gently brush both proofed loaves with egg wash and bake at @330 for 35 minutes
Turn It Into French Toast
Step 1: Make custard. Whip together the milk, eggs, and spices until well combined.
Step 2: Dip & pan-fry. Once the brioche has cooled to room temperature, slice each loaf into even pieces. Working in batches according to the size of your pan, dip slices in the french toast base on each side, then pan fry in butter until golden brown on both sides.
Step 3: Garnish & enjoy! topped with fresh fruit, powdered sugar maple syrup and dusted with powdered sugar.
Optional Variations
Brioche french toast is simply divine, but there are plenty of ways to customize this recipe to your liking. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Try other loaves! Brioche is just one kind of enriched dough. Challah, sweet Hawaiian bread, and even my brioche-based babka (chocolate hazelnut, raspberry pecan, or s’mores) would be delightful.
- Make it a Monte Cristo. Add a few slices of ham or turkey and gruyere or swiss cheese, plus a swoosh of dijon mustard and mayo between two slices of your brioche before dipping it in the french toast batter. Pan-fry as recommended, then sprinkle with a touch of powdered sugar and a dollop of raspberry jam for the best late-night sandwich of your life.
- Use a different spice mix. Try another combo using warming spices like ginger or pumpkin pie spice, or go in a totally different direction and make this a savory breakfast instead.
- Turn it into a brioche french toast casserole. Then serve alongside Seeded Apricot & Coconut Granola and Acai Smoothie Bowls!
Expert Tips
- DON’T skip the overnight rest. The dough continues to ferment slowly overnight within the low temperatures, which is essential to developing the brioche’s flavor.
- Create a proofing drawer with your oven. If you live in a cold climate or have a drafty house, you may want to create a warmer environment to speed up the rise time. To do this, place cake tin or other heat-proof dish in the bottom of your oven while it is turned off. Add boiling water, then place the brioche on one of the racks above it and close the door. You’ve created a perfect, cozy nest for the yeast to work!
- Store your yeast in the refrigerator or freezer to prolong its shelf life.
- Salt can kill yeast, so make a buffer with your flour before adding it to the proofed yeast mixture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Set your oven to 150F and place a parchment-lined baking tray (for easy cleanup) inside. As your brioche french toast reaches golden brown perfection, slide it in the oven. It’ll keep for up to 20 minutes without drying out too much, which should be plenty of time to make a batch to feed the whole team.
Eggy bread. How cute is that?
Pain Perdu, which literally translates to “forgotten or lost bread.” Turns out, even stale brioche is great in this tasty recipe!
More Breakfast Recipes
As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try this recipe for my deliciously custardy Brioche French Toast, please share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
Brioche French Toast
Equipment
- 2 Loaf Pans
Ingredients
Brioche Loaves
- ¾ Cup (175 g) Warm Water
- ¼ Cup (50 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
- 3 ¾ Cup (500 g) All-Purpose flour
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ⅓ Cup + 1 Tablespoon (100 g) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- Egg wash, 1 egg whisked with a tablespoon of milk or cream
Frying Brioche into French Toast
- ⅔ Cup (135 g) Milk
- 3 (72 g) Eggs
- ½ teaspoon (135 g) Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 3 Tablespoons (150 g) Unsalted Butter, for pan frying
Instructions
Brioche Doughnuts
- Mix together the warm water, sugar and yeast together in your stand mixer’s mixing bowl. Let this mixture rest undisturbed for 5-10 minutes until you start to see bubbles start to form on the surface.¾ Cup Warm Water, ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar, 1 teaspoon Active dry yeast
- Add your lemon zest, flour, and eggs to the active yeast mixture using the paddle attachment. After one minute of mixing on medium speed, the ingredients should be well combined. At this point, switch to using the dough hook attachment and knead for 6-8 minutes before adding salt and butter one tablespoon at a time. Continue kneading with the dough hook for another 5-8 minutes until the dough looks smooth and glossy and you notice that the dough is not sticking to the sides of the bowl. This means that your dough has been well developed and we can stop mixing.1 teaspoon Lemon Zest, 3 ¾ Cup All-Purpose flour, 3 Large Eggs, 1 ¼ teaspoon Salt, ⅓ Cup + 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and allow to proof for 1.5 to 2 hours covered in plastic wrap. You’re looking for the dough to have about doubled in size before moving on to the next step. If your kitchen tends to run quite cold, try to find a warm spot to leave the dough for this resting period. Then, remove the plastic wrap, and degas the dough by punching it down before recovering and placing in the fridge overnight. This overnight rest of about 12-14 hours is essential in order to develop flavor as the dough continues to ferment slowly within low temperatures.
- After the dough has rested overnight – it’s time to start shaping! Divide your dough using a sharp knife or a bench scraper into 6 even pieces. Gently degas each piece by pressing on top of the ball with the heel of your hand before forming into a tight boule. Place 3 boules in each sprayed/greased loaf pan. Cover with a clean cloth and set in a warm, draft-free environment until doubled in size, about 1.5 to 2 hours.
- Gently brush both proofed loaves with egg wash and bake at 330°F for 35 minutes or until the internal temperature of your loaves reach 190°F. Once baked, remove the loaves from their pans and allow to cool on a cooling rack.Egg wash
Frying Brioche into French Toast
- Whisk together the milk, eggs, and spices until well combined.⅔ Cup Milk, 3 Eggs, ½ teaspoon Cinnamon, ½ teaspoon Cardamom, ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- Once the brioche has cooled to room temperature, slice each boule into 3 even pieces. Working in batches according to the size of your pan, dip slices in the french toast base, then pan fry in butter until golden brown on both sides.3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- Top french toast with fresh fruit, powdered sugar, maple syrup and dust with powdered sugar.
Video
Notes
- DON’T skip the overnight rest. The dough continues to ferment slowly overnight within the low temperatures, which is essential to developing the brioche’s flavor.
- Create a proofing drawer with your oven. If you live in a cold climate or have a drafty house, you may want to create a warmer environment to speed up the rise time. To do this, place cake tin or other heat-proof dish in the bottom of your oven while it is turned off. Add boiling water, then place the brioche on one of the racks above it and close the door. You’ve created a perfect, cozy nest for the yeast to work!
- Store your yeast in the refrigerator or freezer to prolong its shelf life.
- Salt can kill yeast, so make a buffer with your flour before adding it to the proofed yeast mixture.
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