Brioche Nanterre
Contains egg (no meat or fish)
A rich, feathery French brioche with 50% butter and plenty of eggs, cold-fermented overnight and baked as two loaves of joined, glossy domes.
Brioche Nanterre is a French bread from France, ready in about 17 hours 45 minutes and made with bread flour, egg and unsalted butter. It serves 16 and is rated advanced to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rest
- 4 h 30 min
- Total
- 17 h 45 min
- Serves
- 16
- Level
- Advanced
- Calories
- 274
Includes an overnight (8–12 hour) cold ferment in the fridge after a 1-hour bulk.
Method
Step 1
In a stand mixer (opens in a new tab) with the dough hook, mix the flour, sugar (opens in a new tab), salt, yeast, cold eggs (opens in a new tab) and milk (opens in a new tab) on low for 4 minutes, then on medium for 8–10 minutes until the dough pulls cleanly from the bowl and stretches into a thin windowpane. Develop the gluten fully now — it's much harder once the butter is in.
Step 2
With the mixer on medium-low, add the butter a few cubes at a time, waiting until each addition disappears. Keep mixing until the dough is glossy, smooth and elastic again (about 8 minutes). Check the dough stays below 26 °C; if it gets warm and greasy, chill the bowl for 10 minutes.
Step 3
Cover and bulk ferment 1 hour at room temperature, then press flat, cover and refrigerate 8–12 hours. The cold firms the butter so the dough can be shaped.
- 2 min
Step 4
Butter two 900 g (2 lb) loaf tins (opens in a new tab). Divide the cold dough evenly into 16 pieces (about 72–74 g each; weigh them so the tins fill evenly) and roll each into a tight ball. Place 8 balls in two staggered rows in each tin.
Step 5
Brush with egg (opens in a new tab) wash and proof at 24–26 °C (no warmer, or the butter melts out) for 2½–3 hours until doubled, domed just above the rim and very jiggly. Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 180 °C (fan 160 °C).
Step 6
Brush again and bake 30–35 minutes until deep golden-brown. Cover with foil if they darken early. The centre should read 88–90 °C.
- 35 min
- 180°C · fan 160 °C
- Oven (opens in a new tab)
- Food thermometer (opens in a new tab)
Step 7
Cool 10 minutes in the tins, then turn out onto a rack and cool at least 1 hour.
About this dish
- Origin
- France · Well documentedBrioche has been made in France for centuries; the Nanterre shape is one of several classic forms.Also popular in Belgium, United KingdomMore food from France
- Dish
- Breakfast · Brunch · Breads & flatbreads · Pastries
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked, Fermented
- Taste
- buttery, rich, sweet
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free - Good for
- Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Festive & celebration
- Cook more with
- Bread flour · Egg · Unsalted butter · Milk · Sugar · Instant yeast
- Techniques
- Baking · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Milkfrom milk, unsalted butter
- Contains: Eggsfrom egg
- Contains: Wheatfrom bread flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom bread flour
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
274 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 68 g · recipe makes 16
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 10%
- Carbohydrate 39%
- Fat 51%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 274 kcal | 406 kcal |
| Protein | 6.9 g | 10.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 26.9 g | 39.9 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 26 g | 38.6 g |
| Sugars | 4.1 g | 6.1 g |
| Added sugars | 3.8 g | 5.6 g |
| Fibre | 0.9 g | 1.3 g |
| Fat | 15.4 g | 22.8 g |
| Saturated fat | 8.7 g | 12.9 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 115 mg | 171 mg |
| Sodium | 277 mg | 411 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.7 g | 1 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 74 mg
- Calcium
- 25 mg
- Iron
- 1.8 mg
- Magnesium
- 11 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 143 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.5 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 111 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Under-proofed brioche tears and is dense; give it the full time.
Common mistakes
- Adding butter that is too soft or too early, giving a greasy, slack dough.
Serve with
- Toasted with jam, for French toast, or with foie gras or pâté.
Storage
- Keeps 3 days wrapped; freezes for 3 months.
Reheating
- Toast slices or warm in a low oven.
Variations
- Brioche à tête: Bake 60 g portions in fluted tins with a small 'head' on top.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 40 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 11 h
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Final proof · about 2 h 45 min
Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.
Bake · about 35 min at 180 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
Cool · about 1 h
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
- Start to finish: about 16 h. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | Flour | 500 g | 100% |
| Egg | Egg | 300 g | 60% |
| Sugar | Sugar | 60 g | 12% |
| Milk | Other liquid | 52 g | 10.3% |
| Salt | Salt | 10 g | 2% |
| Instant yeast | Yeast | 7 g | 1.4% |
- Total flour
- 500 g
- Hydration
- —
- With milk, eggs…
- 54%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Salt 2% — normal for bread.
- Sugar 12% — an enriched, sweet dough; rises more slowly and browns quickly.
If something goes wrong
Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Spreads flat / no oven spring
Likely causes
- Over-proofed
- Weak shaping (no surface tension)
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much water for the flour
What to do
- Shorten the proof; bake when the poke springs back slowly
- Shape tightly so the skin is taut
- Preheat fully (30+ minutes; with a stone or Dutch oven, 45)
- Lower hydration or use bread flour
Collapsed or sunken middle
Likely causes
- Oven door opened too early
- Too much leavening or sugar
- Under-baked centre
- Over-proofed yeast dough
What to do
- Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
- Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
- Test the centre before removing
- Proof less
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Cracked or domed top
Likely causes
- Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
- Too much leavening
- Overmixed batter
What to do
- Lower the oven 10–15 °C
- Use the exact leavening amount
- Fold just until combined
Big holes or tunnels
Likely causes
- Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
- Air trapped while shaping bread
- Uneven proof
What to do
- Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
- Degas gently and shape tightly
- Proof covered in an even, warm place
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
Dry or crumbly
Likely causes
- Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
- Over-baked
- Too little fat or sugar
What to do
- Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
- Check 5 minutes early
- Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source
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