Chocolate Chip Brioche Recipe

This Chocolate Chip Brioche Recipe makes a brioche loaf rich with butter and packed with chocolate chips. It’s an indulgent breakfast when toasted and slathered with butter or made into French toast.

So read on for all the detailed tips and tricks for making the king of enriched breads. Or just grab two sticks of softened butter, hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make a brioche with chocolate chips!

chocolate chip brioche loaf sliced on a wood cutting board.
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Ingredients

flour, sugar, eggs, milk, butter, chocolate chips, yeast, and a small bowl of salt.

The base of this chocolate chip brioche loaf is an enriched bread just like my raisin challah, Japanese milk bread, and my Portuguese bread. Being enriched means that this chocolate chip bread has not only flour, yeast, and salt, but the bread dough also has milk, eggs, and butter.

 

Different brioche recipes vary the amounts of these ingredients, with most brioche recipes having a butter to flour ratio of at least 50% by weight. Go higher, and you have a brioche that’s rich and cake-like but challenging to make. Go lower and it’s an easy brioche recipe to make and to handle but with a taste more like brioche bread. This brioche recipe sits pretty much right in the middle.

If you and your family are like my family and insist on throwing chocolate chips into everything, check out my chocolate chip banana bread, chocolate chip blueberry muffins, chocolate chip scones, or chocolate chip pound cake. Of course, there’s also always chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, double butterscotch chocolate chip cookies, or chocolate chip M&M cookies!

Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and variations

  • Make this recipe as chocolate chip brioche buns instead of shaping it as a single loaf.
  • Sub raisins for the chocolate chips (but don’t tell my family I said it was ok).
  • Once you’re comfy with brioche, make a Nutella babka.

Recipe tips and tricks

While it is possible to make brioche by hand, it takes a TON of work and I wouldn’t recommend it.

Step 1: scald the milk. Scalding, i.e. heating it until just below boiling, breaks down milk proteins that would otherwise prevent gluten formation and yeast growth.

Step 2: Add the flour, sugar, yeast and salt to your stand mixer bowl and mix briefly. This brioche bread recipe uses all-purpose flour instead of bread flour to have a slightly more tender brioche than you would get with a higher protein flour.

Step 3: Add the scalded milk and mix on low until all of the flour mixture has been moistened.

flour and other dry ingredients in mixing bowl with hand holding paddle attachment.
clumped dry ingredients in a mixing bowl with hand holding paddle attachment.

Step 4: Lightly beat the eggs together in a small bowl, then add them all at once to the mixing bowl with the flour mixture and mix until the dough starts to come together. (My egg yolks were very orange!)

Step 5: Gradually add the butter in small cubes, one at a time, and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

It should take a few minutes to add all the butter and another 7 to 10 minutes of beating. Be careful not to let your mixer motor get too hot! Knead in the chocolate chips on low or by hand.

yellow orange dough on a dough hook in a mixing bowl.
smooth shiny dough with chocolate chips and hand holding dough hook in a stand mixer bowl.

Step 6: Shape the chocolate chip brioche dough into a ball and let it rise in a greased mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap until doubled in size. This will take about 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

ball of chocolate chip brioche dough in a bowl before rising.
ball of chocolate chip brioche dough in a bowl after rising.

Tip from the wise quacker: The best ambient temperature for making bread is in the high 70s. If your home is cool, you can create a warm, place in two ways: 1) Turn on your oven (use the proofing function if it has one) and turn it off when it reaches 80 degrees. Or heat a microwave-safe cup of water in your microwave for a minute or two. Remove the water and quickly add your bread dough.

Step 7: Turn the dough out onto your clean countertop, deflate it, then shape it into a loaf. Place the brioche loaf into a greased 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and let the brioche dough rise again until it sits about an inch above the pan lip, about 1 hour.

chocolate chip brioche loaf in a greased loaf pan before rising.
chocolate chip brioche loaf in a greased loaf pan after rising.

Before you are ready to bake your chocolate chip brioche, heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This initial high temperature will help your brioche dough get a great “oven spring.”

Brush the risen brioche loaf with egg wash, being careful not to get the egg on the edges of the pan or your brioche may stick on release. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until the internal temperature of the brioche is 190 to 195 degrees, about another 40 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, tent the loaf with foil.

Remove the chocolate chip brioche immediately from the pan, and let it cool at least an hour before slicing.

chocolate chip brioche loaf sliced on a wood cutting board.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make this brioche with chocolate chips ahead of time?

Yes, probably best is to do the first rise overnight in the refrigerator and then proceed with the recipe.

How should I store my brioche?

Store your chocolate chip brioche loaf in a plastic bag or other air tight container on the countertop. You can toast it lightly to refresh it, if you like! Brioche can also be frozen for up to three months.

Check out other bread recipes from the Ugly Duckling Bakery archives like:

Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.

Recipe

Chocolate Chip Brioche Recipe

No ratings yet
Category: Bread
Cuisine: Unspecified
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
rising times: 3 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 18 half-inch slices
Calories: 254kcal
This Chocolate Chip Brioche Recipe makes a brioche loaf recipe rich with butter and packed with chocolate chips. It's an indulgent breakfast when toasted and slathered with butter or made into French toast. So make this king of enriched breads with chocolate chips today, and you'll be making brioche with chocolate chips every weekend!
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Equipment

  • Stand mixer

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup (60 milliliters) whole milk
  • cups (400 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 packet (2¼ teaspoons or 7 grams) instant yeast
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs room temperature, 3 for brioche dough and 1 for egg wash
  • 16 tablespoons (227 grams) unsalted butter room temperature and cut into ½ inch cubes
  • 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Scald the milk by heating it in a small pot over low heat just until small bubbles appear at the edges of the pot. Turn the heat off and let the scalded milk cool until just warm to touch.
    ¼ cup (60 milliliters) whole milk
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Add the scalded milk and mix on low until all of the flour mixture has been moistened.
    3½ cups (400 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 packet (2¼ teaspoons or 7 grams) instant yeast, ½ teaspoon salt
  • In a small bowl, lightly beat three of the eggs, then add them all at once to the mixing bowl with the flour mixture and mix on low until the dough starts to come together.
    4 large eggs
  • Turn the mixer up to medium to knead the brioche dough and start adding the butter cubes one at a time. It should take a few minutes for you to add all the butter and it to get incorporated into the dough.
    16 tablespoons (227 grams) unsalted butter
  • Use the mixer to knead the brioche dough until it is smooth and elastic. Try to resist the urge to add any more flour, but you might need to scrape the bowl to get to release from the bottom of your mixing bowl. It will be sticky at this point.
  • Add the chocolate chips and knead using the mixer or by hand until fully incorporated.
    1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
  • Shape the brioche dough into a ball and let it rise in a greased mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap until doubled in size. This will take 1½ to 2 hours.
  • Punch down the brioche dough, then shape it into a loaf. Place the brioche loaf into a greased 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the brioche dough rise again until it sits about an inch above the pan lip, about 1 hour.
  • About 30 minutes before you are ready to bake your chocolate chip brioche, heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat the final egg in a small bowl, and brush the risen brioche loaf with egg wash, being careful not to get the egg on the edges of the loaf pan.
  • Bake for 10 minutes at 400℉, then reduce the oven temperature to 350℉ and continue baking until the internal temperature of the brioche is 190 to 195℉, about another 40 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, tent the loaf with foil.
  • Remove the chocolate chip brioche immediately from the pan, and let it cool at least an hour before slicing.

Notes

This chocolate chip brioche loaf recipe will make about 16 to 18 half-inch slices or about 10 to 12 slices if you want thicker slices for French toast.
While it is possible to make brioche without a stand mixer, expect it to be very challenging and to require a lot of sticky kneading. 
Scalding the milk breaks down the milk proteins that would otherwise prevent gluten formation and yeast replication.
This brioche bread recipe uses all-purpose flour instead of bread flour to have a slightly more tender brioche than you would get with a higher protein flour.
High 70s is the ideal temperature for making bread including this chocolate chip brioche loaf. If your kitchen is cooler than this, you can create a warm, draft-free space in your microwave by heating a cup of water or in your oven – but be careful not to turn your oven on to full temperature!
Baking the brioche loaf at a higher temperature to start will give you better initial rise.

Nutrition

Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 93mg | Potassium: 115mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 371IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
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