Brioche Dough Calculator
Calculate brioche dough by baker's percentage from flour weight.
Returns butter, eggs, milk, sugar, and yeast for rich, medium, and lean styles.
What makes brioche special:
Brioche is a French enriched bread where butter content can reach 50 to 80% of the flour weight, far more than any other bread.
The result is a rich, tender, golden crumb with a flavor somewhere between bread and pastry. All that fat coats the flour proteins and gets in the way of gluten forming, which is why brioche needs long mixing and cold butter added in stages to build any structure at all.
Baker’s percentage formula:
All ingredients in professional baking are expressed as a percentage of flour weight:
Ingredient weight = Flour weight × Ingredient percentage / 100
Brioche formulas by style:
| Ingredient | Brioche à Tête (rich) | Brioche Nanterre (medium) | Pain Brioché (lean) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flour (bread, 12%+ protein) | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Butter | 65–80% | 40–55% | 20–35% |
| Eggs | 50–60% | 40–50% | 30–40% |
| Sugar | 10–15% | 8–12% | 5–8% |
| Salt | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Milk | 5–10% | 10–15% | 15–20% |
| Yeast (instant) | 1.5–2% | 1.5–2% | 1.5–2% |
Example calculation (Brioche à Tête, 500 g flour):
- Flour: 500 g (100%)
- Butter: 500 × 0.70 = 350 g (70%)
- Eggs: 500 × 0.55 = 275 g (~5–6 large eggs)
- Sugar: 500 × 0.12 = 60 g (12%)
- Salt: 500 × 0.02 = 10 g (2%)
- Milk: 500 × 0.08 = 40 g (8%)
- Yeast: 500 × 0.018 = 9 g (1.8%)
- Total dough weight: ~1,244 g
Critical technique notes:
The dough must be mixed until it passes the windowpane test: stretch a small piece thin enough to see light through it without tearing. This takes 15 to 25 minutes in a stand mixer at medium speed, which is far longer than any lean bread needs.
Butter must be cold but pliable (about 15°C / 60°F). Add it in small pieces once the dough has developed some gluten. It will look like it has broken and fallen apart. Keep mixing. It comes back together, and this is the point where most first attempts get abandoned.
Fermentation schedule:
- Mix and knead: 20–30 minutes
- Bulk ferment at room temp: 1–2 hours (until 50% risen)
- Refrigerate overnight: 8–16 hours (cold retard develops flavor)
- Shape cold (much easier to handle when chilled)
- Final proof at room temp: 1.5–3 hours
- Bake at 175–190°C (350–375°F): 25–40 minutes depending on size
Egg wash:
For the classic glossy golden crust, brush with egg wash (1 egg + 1 tbsp milk + pinch of salt) before baking. Apply two thin coats: one before the final proof and one just before it goes in the oven.
Yield by pan size:
| Pan | Dough Weight | Bake Time |
|---|---|---|
| Brioche à tête (small) | 60–80 g | 15–18 min |
| Brioche à tête (large) | 350–400 g | 30–35 min |
| Brioche Nanterre (loaf) | 600–700 g | 35–40 min |
| Brioche buns | 80–100 g each | 15–20 min |
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
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