With its golden exterior and lightly sweet, feathery inside, a French brioche celebrates the beautiful marriage of baking bread with butter. It’s just as swoon-worthy as a croissant, but is far easier—and faster—to make. Use this Basic Brioche Dough to create pillowy loaves of your own.
The French name of this brioche refers to the shape (tête means head). One of the most recognizable forms of brioche, it’s noted by a smaller dome (the head) atop the larger round loaf. It’s often simply called a Parisienne.
For individually-sized brioche loaves, opt for the Mini Brioche à Tête. They’re perfect for breakfast. We like to pluck the têtes off and scoop spoons of frozen granita, seasonal jam, or hazelnut spread, such as Nutella, in the remaining brioche.
By arranging balls of dough in a single pan, you’ll get a loaf of brioche that pulls apart almost like monkey bread.
Adding dark chocolate to basic brioche gives it a rich, deeply satisfying twist that feels just as at home on the breakfast table as the dessert plate.
