Vegan Brioche

I am fully confident saying that I am a sourdough novice, but I am a yeasted bread EXPERT.

Guys. Yeast is the best. It is. the BEST. It not only is a leavener, but also a flavor developer and an active culture?? The dream. PLUS IT MAKES BOOZE. Ok enough talking about yeast, let’s talk about this recipe.

A brioche is an enriched dough, and it’s often said that is must contain egg, butter and sugar. But after a bit of tweaking and a loooot of testing, I found that you can omit the egg, add vegan butter and still get that soft, rich, buttery and crusted loaf that people think of when they think of a brioche.

This vegan bread can be shaped into whatever size or shape you want, plus the proofing time is relatively low for a bread recipe. It’s an easy go-to for dinner rolls, a white bread loaf or even babka if you’re feeling creative!

Vegan Brioche Loaf

It is no secret that I am HOPELESSLY addicted to the Great British Baking Show (this season is adorable and has already made me cry once…or twice) but if I were to ever be on the show, this would 1000% be my recipe during bread week. It has never failed me, it always turns out so perfect and the kneading process is so therapeutic. If you’re a yeasted bread newbie, highly recommend starting with this one!

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Prep Time:25 minutes mins

Cook Time:30 minutes mins

Rising Time:1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish, Snack

Keyword: baking, bread, brioche, vegan

Servings: 16 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup plant-based milk at 115-123 degrees fahrenheit
• ½ cup water at 115-123 degrees fahrenheit
• ¼ cup Earth Balance or vegan butter of choice melted
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 packet 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
• 4 cups of all-purpose flour 480g
• 1 extra cup of flour for kneading 120g
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• Optional melted vegan butter or egg wash for non-vegans
• Flakey salt for topping

Instructions

• Mix together your milk, water, earth balance and sugar in a bowl. Stir to combine and then pour the yeast evenly on top. Stir again and then let the mixture activate for 5 minutes. It should be very foamy, if it isn’t your yeast is probably dead and you will need to start over.
• In a large bowl, mix four cups of flour with the salt, and pour in your yeast mixture. Knead this dough on a floured surface for at least 10 minutes. You’ll know you have developed enough gluten when you poke the dough and it bounces back, leaving almost no indent. It’s impossible to over-knead this by hand, so when in doubt, keep kneading!
• Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with cling wrap and let the dough rise for an hour in a warm spot.
• After the dough has doubled in size, uncover it, punch it down and place it on a floured surface. This dough is super versatile, so you can shape it however you like! It makes 16 servings so if you are doing loaves, I recommend forming at least two.
• Place your shaped dough on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover again and let rise another hour.
• Preheat your oven to 375F and then brush the rolls with either egg wash or melted Earth Balance for color.
• Bake at 375F for 30 minutes and that’s it!
• Serve warm!