These Light Brioche Buns are much heartier and flavorful than the reduced-calorie bread you can buy in the store. Save money and calories by making your own light bread!
Prior to the stay-at-home orders, if you told me that there would come a day when I’d be baking my own bread every week, I would have laughed in your face. I’ve always been best at just throwing a bunch of stuff together in a pan, but here I am now making donuts (Cinnamon Roll Baked Donuts, Red Velvet Donuts) and brioche rolls like nobody’s business. Who am I??
So it looks like stress baking truly is a thing! Now that I’m teaching from home, I’m able to let dough rise and rest for hours. I never had the time for that when I was running around all week, but now it’s nice to take a break from grading to go check on my bread, roll out the buns, let them rise again while I work some more. It’s pretty cathartic.
I started with this NY Times Recipe, which was fantastic. The only problem is that the rolls came out to 8 SP a piece, and they were HUGE. It’s a great recipe if you want to splurge, but I was hoping for one that I could make more frequently. I altered just a few things here and there to get these down to 4 SP each!
This is REAL, fluffy, flavorful bread. Not the reduced-calorie bread you buy in stores that can often times feel like you’re just eating air. And these are a pretty good size!
I love how versatile they are, too. Use them as hamburger buns or as rolls for sandwiches. Like this killer breakfast sandwich.
I’ve also shaped them into logs to make hot dog buns! I haven’t tried this as a whole loaf, but I bet it would be great. Not sure what the baking time would be on that, though. The key is to not over bake the bread. I did that once, and while still good, it didn’t have quite the same tenderness as my other batches.
HOw to Make Light Brioche Buns
This is honestly a pretty easy recipe for making your own bread. It takes a while, but most of that time is just the dough rising. The actual hands-on time is around 40 minutes total.
As with any baking, it’s important to follow the directions as closely as possible and to have the right kitchen tools. A stand mixer is ideal. If you have your dough hook, even better. I lost my dough hook years ago, so I used the paddle attachment to knead my dough. It’s a bit loud and chaotic but still gets the job done.
The next best tool is a food processor. The heat from your processor will make for a stickier dough, but you can use a spatula to move the dough to a bowl for the rise. Once it rises completely, the dough becomes much easier to handle.
The key to making the best Light Brioche Buns is patience. You need to let these rise a lot to get all of those air pockets that make for super fluffy bread. And once your rolls are formed and starting to rise, you CANNOT try to move them.
I tried to mess around with the one on the top left and it deflated a bit. Not the end of the world but a little frustrating when you’re putting so much time into something.
How do i store them?
I let them cool completely, then I store them in freezer bags, making sure I’ve let out most of the air. They keep in the refrigerator for a full week, or at least that’s as long as they’ve lasted between the two of us.
To reheat, toast them or throw them in the microwave. According to Jeff, 18 seconds is the perfect reheat time in the microwave. Lol I’m a toaster gal myself, so let me know if Jeff is right.
Well, I think we’re ready to start baking! The recipe itself is going to be pretty long, so bear with me. I hope all of my explanations will help if you’re a novice baker like myself.
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there.
Light Brioche Buns
Ingredients
- 3 1/3 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) instant/rapid rise yeast or active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp light butter (I love Balade brand; it's the closest to real butter that I've found.)
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp almond milk (or whatever milk you have)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp extra all-purpose flour, for kneading the dough (DO NOT add this into the first step)
Instructions
IF USING A STAND OR HAND MIXER*
- If you are using rapid rise/instant yeast, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in your large bowl. In a microwave-safe measuring cup, add water and milk. Microwave for 45 seconds, until very warm. Whisk 1 egg in separate bowl. Then follow directions as listed below.
- If you are using active dry yeast, whisk together flour and salt in your large bowl. In a microwave-safe measuring cup, add water and milk. Microwave for 45 seconds, until very warm. Whisk in sugar and yeast, then let stand for 5 minutes, or until yeast is foamy. Whisk 1 egg in separate bowl. Then follow directions as listed below.
- Set your mixer on low, then add in light butter. Mix for about a minute, or until butter is distributed through flour mixture.
- Turn the speed up to medium and slowly add in your wet ingredients, including the whisked egg. "Knead" the dough with your mixer for about 5 minutes, or until dough is slightly elastic.
- Use a spatula to form the dough into a ball. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes-1 hour if using instant yeast or 2 hours if using active dry yeast. You want your dough to double in size.
- Dust a cutting board with 1 tbsp flour. Use the extra tbsp to flour your hands. Scrape the dough onto your cutting board and knead just until the dough is not as sticky.
- Grease two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicon linings. Divide dough in half. Make each half into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion around on the cutting board until you make a circle shape (or log shape for hot dog buns). Place six rolls on each baking sheet, with a good amount of room between them.
- Cover both baking sheets with kitchen towels and let buns rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
- Set a large shallow pan or large skillet filled with 2 cups of water on floor of your oven. This will help keep your bread moist. Preheat oven to 400F. Once buns have doubled in size, whisk remaining egg with 1 tbsp of water. Brush tops of buns with egg wash. You could add sesame seeds at this point.
- Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- *If using a food processor, follow instructions as listed (according to your type of yeast) but pulse butter in, then add in wet ingredients through the feed tube. Blend on low for about 2-3 minutes, or until dough starts to come together a bit.
Hello Geri! Warm greetings from Canada! I just wanted to thank you for your “Light Brioche Buns” recipe! This was my first attempt at baking with yeast (other than using a bread machine!) and the results were wonderful! I also made your “Cinnamon Roll Baked Donuts” to rave reviews! Next up? Your “Red Velvet Donuts”! Thank you for creating such healthy, scrumptious recipes! You have a true fan to the north! We also have a fondness for California and look forward to returning some day soon! I hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy.
You are such a sweet person! Thank you for the comment; it totally made my day! Hope the same for you and your family. 🙂
I’ve made this recipe 4 times and cannot make the rolls rise! They turn out flat with a little mound and it’s a challenge to cut them in half. The flavor is amazing! I’ve tried both kinds of yeast following your instructions but still no luck. Please help me perfect your fabulous recipe!!
I am currently in the process of making these and microwaving the water and milk for 45 seconds makes the liquid way too hot. When working with yeast you do not want to add liquid that is really any warmer than room temperature. When you add super hot ingredients the yeast will die thus resulting in your dough not rising. I would recommend trying to microwave for 10 seconds and see from there.
Thanks for checking in. All microwaves are different, so that is a good tip!
Hi! I really appreciate your recipes and use atleast 2 of them a week & this is my second time trying these rolls. I just had a question about the dough. I use the dough attachment for my Ninja but the dough often has ‘cracks in it’ and even while rolling the doughs into balls. They basically aren’t as smooth as I feel like they should be for buns. Do you have any tips for that? It is almost like the dough isn’t connecting.
Thanks, Autumn! It sounds like your dough needs more moisture. I would add in a little extra water, maybe a tbsp at a time, until the dough is completely smooth. Hope that helps!
Hi there! I plan to make these, and am planning to make 1/2 Hamburger Buns and 1/2 into Hotdog buns! But quick question…it’s just my husband and I so we will only be eating 2-3 at a time. Do you think these would freeze ok, and if so…any tips on how to maximize successful freezing?
I do that all of the time! So fun. Hope you liked them!
These were amazing and very easy to make. I used a stand mixer with dough hook. The instructions were very clear and I didn’t change anything. I’m in Canada and could only find Gaylea Spreadable Light Butter; it seemed to work just fine.
I made these once they seemed to spread out in oven fairly flat. What did i do wrong? Trying to making today again.
They may have risen too much. Try rising for just an hour at first and see if they double in size by then.
Should the butter be cold, or room temperature?
Cold is best
Does all the flour listed as the 1st ingredient (3 1/3 c + 2 tbsp) go into the dough and then the 2 TBSP as the last ingredient is in addition to that for kneading?
That’s correct!
These were tasty but mine did not rise after I separated them into the 12 servings. They cooked up a bit and were more like slider bun sized. They were definitely not labor intensive which was nice! I’d make them again if I knew they would rise more! I want a big ol brioche bun! Haha
Thanks for the feedback! I’m going to review the recipe again this weekend. It has been years since I tried it, so I’ll make any adjustments of needed. 🙂
The link to the WW app is showing only 2 points per roll. When I look at the ingredient list in WW it shows 1.5 cups flour. Can you adjust the link so it uses the full amount kf flour listed in the recipe?
Thanks for catching that, Meredith. It should be all updated in the WW app now. Hope you enjoy the buns!