A luxuriously soft and buttery, with a hint of orange throughout. Great for snacks, sandwiches, French Toast or to simply eat warm from the oven as they are.

This is a wonderful French Bread recipe for a sweetish bread, it's a buttery bread and fluffy, and the texture is soft and tastes luxurious.

I've been making different varieties of brioche bread for many years, it's such a versatile bread, and if you enjoy a little sweetness in a bread roll, then this Orange brioche bread is the recipe for you! 

For this recipe today, I've added a lovely orange flavor.

It's not overpowering, you just get a hint of orange when you take each bite.

You only need the orange zest so squeeze the oranges and have a fresh orange juice or add it to our Tropical Smoothie so you don't waste!

If you'd like to make plain brioche bread, simply leave the orange zest and extract out from the ingredients. 

This recipe for orange brioche bread is fairly straight forward.

The only downside is you do need to give it time to rest before baking, so it isn't a bread you can make and bake all in one go.

However, the wait is definitely worth it once you get these rolls from the oven and take a bite into one! 

We often get asked questions on our bread recipes so I've decided to answer the most common ones below. 

Can you refrigerate brioche dough?

Because you need to rest the dough to let it prove, this is a great recipe to make the day before, and allow to rest in the refrigerator overnight.

For example, you can prepare these orange brioche rolls the night before Thanksgiving or Christmas day and simply shape and bake in the morning so they're nice and fresh to serve for a lovely breakfast or brunch, or alongside your Thanksgiving dinner. 

This recipe will make 9 rolls or 1 loaf using a 9-inch loaf pan.

Obviously, if you're feeding a crowd, or want to make up a few batches, multiply the recipe. 

How long does brioche last before baking?

The brioche can rest in the refrigerator, (remember to cover with plastic wrap) for up to 3 days as long as it is periodically punched down, or it can be used after 7 hours

Can I freeze these orange brioche bread rolls?

Yes! They'll keep nicely in the freezer for about 2 months.

Just defrost to room temperature and warm through in the oven or microwave if you want to serve them warm.

How long does brioche last?

If you're storing these rolls at room temperature, I would suggest in an airtight container.

They will last for about 2 days, without going dry.

Otherwise, pop them in the refrigerator in an airtight container or bag and they'll keep for an extra couple of days. 

How do you know when brioche is cooked?

There are a couple of ways I use to see if the brioche is cooked through. Firstly, you can use a skewer, poke it right through the center of the middle roll in the baking pan and see if it comes out clean. 

Alternatively, you can flip the bread onto a clean tea towel and knock the bottom side and listen if it sounds hollow.

This latter method will be hot so make sure you have some oven gloves on or suitable protection so you don't burn your hands! 

What can I use Brioche bread for?

At the end of this recipe, I've listed a few suggestions for serving the brioche. Take a look and see what you fancy! 

Prep Time

10-11 hours

Cook Time

20-30 minutes

Makes

9 Rolls or 1 loaf

Ingredients

4 Cups of 500 g Strong White Bread Flour
1 ½ Tsp Salt
5 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast
⅔ Cup or 140 ml warm Milk
5 medium eggs
½ lb or 250 g unsalted butter, softened
Zest of 2 Oranges
2 Teaspoons Orange Extract

Instructions

1. In a stand mixer, using a dough hook, add the flour, and on one side of the bowl add the salt and sugar, and the other side, add the yeast.

You don't want to add the yeast together with the salt as this will kill the yeast.

2. Warm the milk through in a microwave for 30 seconds then add to the flour, along with the lightly beaten eggs.

Mix on a slow speed for 2 minutes, then increase to medium speed for a further 6 – 8 minutes, until your dough becomes soft and shiny looking.

3. Add the softened butter, orange extract, and orange zest and continue to mix for a further 4 – 5 minutes.

Don't worry as the dough will be very soft. This is normal.

4. Lightly grease a large plastic bowl then transfer the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate overnight or at least for 6 - 7 hours. The dough needs to chill in order for it to firm up a little and you can shape it.

Remember, the dough is quite wet before chilling and resting. ** Save the plastic wrap as you will need it in step nine.

5. Grease and flour a 10 inch or 25cm round deep cake tin.

If you don't have these pan sizes, you can use a rectangle pan or smaller round pans.

I used a 10-inch springform pan, and also some other smaller pans because I made 2 batches. 

6. Lightly flour your work surface and remove the brioche dough from the fridge.

Gently tip the dough on to the work surface and gently fold it over a few times so you knock the air out.

7. Divide the dough into 9 equal size pieces.

Then shape the dough into balls.

The easiest way to do this is to flour your hands then take one piece of the dough and squeeze it through your hand and then tuck the extra bit of dough underneath as you see in the photo.

8. Transfer the dough balls to the baking pan, leaving one dough ball to pop in the center, so you have 8 balls around the side and one in the middle.

If you have smaller pans, arrange the rolls so there's a bit of space in between so they can rise.

9. Cover the brioche rolls with the plastic wrap and leave in a draught-free, warm place to rise for 2 – 3 hours.

The rolls should have doubled in size and risen to the top of the baking pan.

10. Heat the oven to 375 F or 190 C.

11. Once your brioche has risen, place in the oven for about 20 - 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

**Note: because this recipe has a high butter content, you will notice the rolls will brown a lot quicker than normal.

That doesn't mean they are cooked through in the center. Use a skewer and insert it into the center roll to see if it comes out clean.

Then you will know if the rolls are cooked through.

If you are worried the rolls are browning too much, pop a sheet of foil over them to stop them taking on too much color.

12. When done, remove from the oven. Allow to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before removing and placing on the rack to cool.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our Orange Brioche Bread recipe. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

Serving suggestions on how to eat brioche.

Use as a side dish with dinner, such as a casserole

Slice up any leftover brioche and make a French Toast Bake.

Make a lovely Grilled chicken burger.

Make up a batch of smaller brioche rolls and serve as party food and people can help themselves. 

Use as burger buns. They're so delicious with a meaty burger in them! Try them with our Jack Daniels Burgers!

Use as bread rolls in leftover ham or turkey sandwiches. So delicious!

Have on their own, with some butter and jam, warm from the oven, or as part of an Afternoon Tea. yummy!

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