Homemade Brioche Doughnuts

These brioche doughnuts are going to become your new favorite doughnuts and make you forget all about those average doughnut stores. These doughnuts are soft and fluffy and SO flavorful. Have them plain like a classic doughnut with a cinnamon sugar topping, or fill them with your favorite toppings like custard, jam, Nutella, and more!

I am very passionate about doughnuts. Like VERY. They are definitely one of my favorite desserts; I mean, a bread dough that’s fried? It surely can’t get better than that.

I’ve had my fair share of doughnuts, from our regular old Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme to the fancy $$ doughnuts. Honestly, while I’ve had some really good doughnuts, there is always something missing from the ones we get at stores. They are almost never fresh and end up tasting dry and bread-y.

I’ve been craving an EPIC doughnut for a while now, and I knew the best place I could find it was right here in my kitchen. There are many different ways of making doughnuts, but nothing matched the Brioche method.

Love bread? You’ll love this homemade cinnamon rolls recipe!

What Is Brioche?

Brioche is an enriched bread dough made with basic bread ingredients – butter, sugar, salt, milk, yeast, and flour. An “enriched” dough refers to a dough that has a high fat content (in this case, coming from butter). The high fat content in the dough makes the breads and doughnuts softer.

Brioche dough is very versatile – it’s used to make bread loaves, buns, doughnuts, and a lot more. If you have ever eaten brioche bread slices, you know how soft and fluffy they are compared to regular bread slices.

Similarly, it works really well for doughnuts as the high fat and sugar content makes the doughnuts soft and fluffy inside and does not dry them out during the frying process, which happens with most doughs.

How To Make The Brioche Dough

For the longest time, I assumed that Brioche dough would be very difficult to make. Turns out, it’s the complete opposite. It’s truly one of the easiest and least fussy bread doughs I have made recently.

There is very little active time involved in making the bread dough. The dough itself takes less than 30 minutes to preparing, and the rest is all about rising.

The dough can be made by hand or a stand mixer with the dough attachment. It will (obviously) be much easier to make with a stand mixer but can also be easily made by hand; you can count it as your day’s workout.

Here’s how to make the Brioche dough:

• In a bowl, add the eggs, sugar, and salt and whisk until fully combined. If you are using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment at this step. If not, you can use a hand whisk.
• Mix the warm milk with the yeast until roughly combined. Make sure the milk isn’t too hot or the yeast will not activate.
• Add the milk and rest mixture into the egg and whisk until combined, then add the melted butter and mix again.
• Add half of the flour and whisk until combined, then add the remaining flour and switch to the dough hook (if using a stand mixer) or start kneading by hand.
• If using a stand mixer, knead the dough on medium speed for 5-10 minutes, until the dough forms a smooth ball and climbs the top of the dough hook. If kneading by hand, knead for 10-15 minutes until the dough forms a smooth, clean ball.
• Transfer the dough ball into an oiled bowl and cover with cling wrap. Let the dough rest and rise in the fridge for about 3 hours, until it doubles in size. You can also let it rest in the fridge overnight.

How To Make Brioche Doughnuts

Once the Brioche dough is ready, you can use it to make breads, buns or doughnuts.

Here’s how you can make the Brioche doughnuts.

• Transfer the risen dough ball to a floured surface and knead it for 2-3 minutes until it’s smooth. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1.5 cm, making sure the thickness is even throughout the dough.
• Take a 7 cm round cookie cutter (or any cookie cutter of your choice), flour its sides, then cut the circles from the rolled dough and place them on a tray. If you want to create classic hole doughnuts, use a small cookie cutter or frosting tip to cut a hole in the center

Tip: Cut small square pieces of baking paper and place the doughnuts on top of these pieces. This will make it easier to pick the doughnuts up for frying without ruining their rise.

• Knead the offcuts and repeat the process until all the dough has been used.
• Cover the doughnuts lightly with a kitchen towel or cling film and place it in a warm place for 30-45 minutes until they double in size. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan (for deep frying) and bring it up to 170 degrees celsius (in non-temperature terms, that’s VERY hot oil).
• Once the doughnuts have risen and the oil is up to temperature, fry the doughnuts for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Check if they are cooked through by poking them with a toothpick or knife.
• Place the cooked doughnuts on paper towels to absorb the excess oil. While the doughnuts are still hot, roll them in cinnamon sugar.
• Let the doughnuts cool, then make a hole in the center of the full doughnuts using a small knife and fill them with any filling of your choice with a piping bag and enjoy.

You can find the mixer, cookie cutters, and other equipment I use to make this recipe on the “Shop My Favorites” page.

Filling Ideas For Doughnuts

These doughnuts can be enjoyed plain with cinnamon sugar or filled with absolutely anything you like. Here are a few filling ideas.

• Jam – you can roll them in icing sugar instead of cinnamon sugar for this filling.
• Vanilla Custard – you can use this easy recipe.
• Nutella
• Pistachio Butter
• Lemon Curd – you can use this easy recipe.
• Peanut Butter and Jam

Got more filling ideas? Tell me in the comments!

If you love doughnuts as much as I do, these will truly be life changing. You will never go back to those dry, boring doughnuts, believe me.

So, ready to change your life? Let’s get started.

PS: I always measure ingredients in grams, never in cups. Using a measuring scale is the only way to bake accurately. Cups are unreliable and can give different measurements, so I suggest you buy a measuring scale before you start baking! If you can’t get your hands on one, you can use the online tools for converting grams into cups; however, I do not guarantee their accuracy.

Homemade Brioche Doughnuts

5 from 3 votes

The best doughnuts you will ever eat made with a simple Brioche dough using only seven ingredients! Enjoy them plain with cinnamon sugar or fill them with delicious fillings like custard, Nutella jam, and more!

Servings 8 doughnuts

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Rest Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

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Equipment

• Stand mixer with whisk and dough attachment optional, but recommended
• Hand whisk
• Rolling Pin
• 7cm round cookie cutter or any cookie cutter of your choice
• Baking paper
• Saucepan for deep frying
• piping bags for filling

Ingredients

  

• 2 eggs
• 50 grams caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 10 grams instant yeast
• 240 ml warm milk
• 170 grams butter melted
• 560 grams all-purpose flour
• 300 ml vegatable oil for frying
• 50 grams white granulated sugar for cinnamon sugar
• 2 tsps cinnamon powder for cinnamon sugar
• Filling of your choice

Instructions

 

• Add the eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl. If using stand mixer, use the whisk attachment and whisk until combined, or use a hand whisk.
  2 eggs, 50 grams caster sugar, 1 tablespoon salt
• In a separate bowl, mix the warm milk with instant yeast. Make sure the milk isn’t too hot as that will kill the yeast. Add the milk mixture into the eggs and whisk until combined.
  10 grams instant yeast, 240 ml warm milk
• Add the melted butter and whisk again, then add half the flour and mix until you have a thick batter-like consistency.
  170 grams butter, 560 grams all-purpose flour
• Add the remaining flour and switch to the dough attachment (if using a stand mixer) and knead on medium speed for 5-10 mins until the dough forms a soft ball and starts climbing the dough hook. If not using a stand mixer, start kneading by hand and knead for 10-15 minutes until the dough forms a smooth ball.
• Transfer the dough ball to an oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap and let it rest and rise in the fridge for three hours. The dough should double in size during this time. You can also let it rest overnight, for 12-16 hours.
• Transfer the dough ball to a floured surface, knead it for 2-3 minutes until smooth, then roll it to 1.5 cm thickness. Make sure that the thickness in even throughout the dough.
• Flour the cookie cutter and cut circles out of the dough and place them on baking paper. If you want to make classic doughnuts with a hole, use a smaller cookie cutter or back of a large frosting tip to cut out a circle from the center of the doughnut. Tip: cut the baking paper into small square pieces and place each doughnut on a piece. This will make it easier to pick up and transfer the doughnut into the frying pan.
• Cover the doughnuts loosely with a towel or cling film and let them rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes until they double in size. Meanwhile, heat the oil to 170 degrees celsius.
  300 ml vegatable oil
• Once the doughnuts have risen and the oil is hot, cook them for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. To make sure they are cooked through, poke one doughnut with a toothpick or small knife – it should come out clean.
• Transfer the doughnuts on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil and roll them in the cinnamon sugar while they are still hot.
  50 grams white granulated sugar, 2 tsps cinnamon powder
• Let them cool down before filling. For filling the whole doughnuts, use a small knife to create a hole in the middle of the doughnut and use a piping bag to fill them and enjoy.
  Filling of your choice
• For filling, try out this vanilla custard recipe or this lemon curd recipe.

Notes

Storage:

These doughnuts can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two days. 

Make Ahead:

The brioche dough can be made ahead the night before and shaped and fried the next day.

Filling Ideas:

• • Jam – you can roll them in icing sugar instead of cinnamon sugar for this filling.

• • Vanilla Custard – you can use this easy recipe.

• • Nutella

• • Pistachio Butter

• • Lemon Curd – you can use this easy recipe.

• • Peanut Butter and Jam

 

Tips & Tricks:

• Make sure the milk is not hot when mixing it with yeast as that will kill the yeast and your dough will not rise. The milk should be lukewarm, around 30-35 degrees celsius.
• Knead the dough until it forms a completely smooth ball with just a little stickiness.
• When rolling the dough, make sure to properly flour the surface and the rolling pin to avoid it from sticking.
• Do not roll out the dough thicken than 1.5-2cm or the doughnuts will become too big and misshapen after rising.
• The dough should have even thickness all across or your doughnuts will have uneven thickness.
• Cut baking paper into small squares and place each individual doughnut on it. This makes it easy to pick the doughnut and transfer it to the frying pan without disturbing the rise of the dough. 
• Make sure the oil is at the right temperature before adding the doughnuts into it. If you don’t have a thermometer, heat it until it’s very hot the way you would for deep frying potato fries.
• You will have to reduce and increase the heat throughout the cooking process, make sure to keep it balanced so that the doughnuts get cooked from inside and not just browned from outside. 
• Keep an eye on the doughnuts and don’t let them get too dark.
• If your dough does not rise, it means that your yeast is dead. In this case, buy new yeast and make sure the milk isn’t too hot.
• If the doughnuts come out dry, it means you have overcooked them. 
• Roll the doughnuts in cinnamon sugar while they are still hot so that it sticks on the surface.
• If filling the doughnuts, make sure they have completely cooled down before filling or the heat will melt the filling.

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword: brioche, brioche doughnuts, donut, donut recipe, doughnuts

I am so excited for you to try this recipe, it’s definitely one of the best things I have made so far. I am also excited to see what fillings you all will use so I can get some fun ideas, too!

If you give this recipe a try, don’t forget to let me know how you liked it in the comments. And of course, share it with me on Instagram!

PS: You can also make mini donuts with this recipe, here’s the full guide!

Until next time.