Somethings in life are so darn good that you can only identify them in French. Like Brioche for example. A classic French bread, brioche is a sinfully rich, golden, soft bread with a thin, flaky crust and a silky crumb. In other words, I love brioche! And in part two of this Mother’s day inspired post (continuing from yesterday’s Dairy Free Nutella recipe), I’ve got a dairy free version of brioche that I KNOW my mom will absolutely love! After all, what better way to eat dairy free nutella than with a warm, toasted slice of Dairy Free Brioche Bread!
Brioche is a wonderfully rich bread due to its high butter and egg content which also gives it that characteristic golden, lustrous exterior. It’s a soft dough because of that richness and converting it to a dairy free version proved to be a little more difficult than I had envisioned. Especially because butter is an absolutely crucial ingredient in making brioche. It took me a few tries to get it right, but the final payoff made it all the more worthwhile!
So what did I do?
Usually when you have to substitute butter to make a recipe dairy free, you have to take into account the typically higher water content of the dairy free butter alternative (compared to real butter). Which meant I had to rely more on the eggs (than the butter alternative) to get that characteristic richness of brioche. My first couple of attempts at this didn’t work because I used too much butter and the dough didn’t rise properly. I ended up with something that resembled a dry cake that crumbled at the slightest touch. So back to the drawing board, I went.

I also had to take into account the type of liquid I used to make the brioche loaf soft (and delicious!). Milk is what I usually use at this point, but that was obviously out of the question. I tried coconut milk (diluted with water to replicate the consistency of regular milk), but that didn’t work either.
Mr K seemed to be happy with the failures and went on devouring them nonetheless, but I was getting increasingly more frustrated. I usually have a much easier time converting a recipe into a dairy free version.
And then finally, success! I used high gluten flour and lactose free milk (the idea was to make it lactose free, not gluten free or vegan, so it wasn’t an issue to use lactose free milk – almond milk or soy milk should has worked well for a completely dairy free version too ).
I have used a dough hook as you can see in the picture above, but this dough is so incredibly soft which means it’s going to stick to the bottom and the sides of your mixer, so you will need to scrape down the sides of your mixer as you go to ensure complete mixing. When I make regular brioche I use the paddle beater in my mixer, but that won’t work for this dough because if you mix this too fast, the gluten strands will break and you will end up with a very cakey loaf of bread. Not pretty, not yummy, not good.
But with a dough hook though? EXCELLENT results! I mean look at that crumb? 🙂
This dough is probably one of the softest doughs I’ve ever handled. It was so soft that the impressions I made in the dough with my fingers when I transferred it into the loaf pan actually remained. So handle this dough very gently, like you would handle your friend’s baby.
On to the recipe now.
Looking for more recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
Ingredients:
- 18 oz / 510 g bread flour
- ½ cup warm water warm to the touch
- ½ cup Soy Milk or Lactose Free Milk will work too
- 3.5 oz/ 100g white sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 oz / 85 g of vegan butter softened (I used Earth Balance baking sticks)
- 2 ½ tsp instant dry yeast
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Instructions:
- In your mixing bowl, combine ½ cup of the bread flour, water, 2 tbsp of the sugar. Mix until the sugar has dissolved. Then mix in the yeast and let it stand for 30 minutes until it becomes frothy.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk the milk and egg yolks together. Add this milk+yolk mix into the yeast along with the rest of the flour and sugar. Using a spoon, mix the ingredients together, till the flour absorbs all of the liquid.
- Attach the dough hook to your mixer and knead the dough for 15-20 minutes, pausing from time to time to scrape the sides and the bottom to ensure even mixing.
- Add the butter in 3-5 additions, mixing well in between, to make sure each portion of butter is well incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the sides and the bottom (dough is very soft and sticky), and knead for a further 10 minutes. You may need to increase the speed a little to make sure the butter incorporates full into the dough.
- Cover the bowl with a moist cloth or plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size - about 1 hour (in colder weather, it can take a bit longer).
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and grease a loaf pan - I used one that is 9inch long 5 x 5 inches.
- Knock down the dough and carefully transfer it into the bread pan. Let this rise again for about 40 minutes until it has risen to the top of the loaf pan.
- Lower the heat to 300° and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until the bread turns a golden brown. (keep checking the oven every 15 minutes to make sure the bread doesn't get burnt. Cover with foil, if the crust is starting to burn. The bread should sound hollow when tapped on top). The BEST sure-fire way to tell if the bread is done is by using a probe thermometer - insert the thermometer from the side of the bread to the middle (so that noone can tell you've pierced the bread) to check the internal temperature. When it registers at least at 200°F/ 93°C the bread is done.
- Leave it to cool for a few minutes, or until it is cool enough to handle. Then remove from the pan and let it cool to room temperature. The bread may deflate slightly and will be extremely soft when warm.
- Slice and serve.
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
If you are anything like Mr. K and I, you’re not going to wait until the brioche loaf cools down to cut into it and then devour it. And look how soft it is? Like a hot knife through… brioche.
The first thing we did was to toast some bread slices, and then spread some dairy free butter & some raspberry preserve on top. It was amazing! A freshly baked bread, a toasted bread slice and some fruit preserve on top. The beauty in the simplicity will never cease to amaze me!
We also enjoyed a slice with some of this dairy free Nutella spread {Mocha Hazelnut Spread}, but we did more with this bread too! 🙂 And it was beautiful! But that’s a post for next week, so don’t forget to stop by next week for that. 🙂 I know you will love it! Especially if you have lactose intolerant friends and/or family.
I cannot tell you enough how insanely soft and rich this brioche bread is! If you decide to eat this bread just on its own, with nothing else, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least bit!
You can follow me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST and GOOGLE-PLUS to get a sneak peek of Monday’s post and what we did with this brioche, and updates on delicious recipes that appear on the blog.
A final note to my wonderful readers – Thank you so much for all the lovely emails and comments you send my way. They never fail to make my day! 🙂 I’ve got a few recipe requests from some of you, which have inspired me, and I am currently working on those too! 🙂
And don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes and updates from Giramuk’s Kitchen by entering your email address below (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing.
Liz Calabro says
I loved your recipe!!! I am working at a kosher steakhouse and I can’t use dairy so I used soy milk and one of the chefs suggested beef butter made from rendered beef fat. They came out amazing but I needed to add salt. Thank You for this recipe, it saved my life.
Martha Clark says
I have a daughter in law who is dairy free and gluten free, would using a good gluten free flour also work with this recipe?
Dini says
Hi Martha
I don’t recommend using gluten free flour for this recipe. Brioche requires gluten development so that it can hold the structure will all the other ingredients in it.
I would recommend following a gluten free brioche recipe to get better results.
Carlene Wilson says
I used Store bought gluten free flour and everything else stayed the same.
Its in the rising stage right now.
Sure hope it works! I have sure missed cooking and baking the conventional way
Dini says
Hi Carlene!
I’m glad that you’re giving this recipe a go. However please note that the flour is an important part of this recipe and swapping it for gluten free flour can have an effect on the texture of the loaf. Since this is already a really soft and slack dough with little structure, the lack of gluten completely can make the loaf too delicate. The loaf might have a crumbly texture without the gluten in it. Please do let me know how it turns out.
Sana says
hi dini can you please suggest a non dairy substitute for vegan butter in your recipe ? i can’t find the one that you are using. i can only find vegetable spreads. many thanks
Dini says
Hi Sana! Dairy Free spread is too soft to use for this bread since the dough is soft as it is (plus it does have a lot of water content)… so I have never attempted to use a vegetable spread. However, coconut oil or shortening could work, but it would be great if you maybe added some butter extract to add the flavor of butter to it (but it’s not necessary!)
Sana says
thank you for the prompt reply 🙂 coconut oil sounds great ! i will try searching for butter extract. many thanks again.
Dini says
No problem at all! I hope it comes out delicious 🙂 I know Wilton sells butter extract, but I haven’t used it. You can absolutely go without it though! The texture and richness is what’s most important about this 🙂 Please let me know how it comes out with coconut oil? I would love to know!!
Sana says
I used butter flavoured crisco. My only problem was the bread collapsed in the middle after few minutes of being taken out and I knew instantly that the middle was not cooked in the centre . Before taking the loaf out of the oven, I checked with a skewer inserted in the centre of the loaf, and it came out clean ( I was not sure what hollow sound means when tapped). Any pro tips please ?
Dini says
Hi Sana!
I have been trying to figure out a simpler way to describe “a hollow sound”… I promise I will get back to you on that! I’m guessing the middle was not done but the top part was, so the skewer still came out clean 🙁
You know how when you tap a wall, if there’s a hole behind the wall, it sounds deep? But if there’s no hole, it sounds kind of shallow? So what you’re looking for is when you tap the top or the bottom of the loaf, for it to sound like there’s nothing inside.
I promise I’ll come up with a better explanation! I didn’t want to leave you hanging without a response from me 🙂
Sana says
i don’t know how did the skewer came out clean !! I inserted it all the way down until it touched the bottom. Sorry but I still don’t know how will I manage to undertsnad by the sound only 🙁 any other way to check if it’s done ? many thanks
Dini says
If the top part of the loaf is done, then the “raw” dough can get stuck in the dry area and the skewer can come out clean. I do check it with a kitchen thermometer for some bread, but not for this one. I also insert the skewer in a few places too (If you try the same area through the baking process, it wont work.
I looked for a video that might explain the “hollow sound” but this is what I was able to find. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXOueywHx6E
If you’re not in a hurry to make it again, I will make this bread this weekend to check for other indications for done-ness and will let you know 🙂
Sana says
please do ! i will eagerly wait for your reply 🙂 thanks
Sana says
hi can i use dairy free vegetable spread instead of the vegan butter or can you please suggest a substitute ? I can’t find any vegan butter. my daughter can’t have dairy. many thanks !
Lauren says
This looks amazing!! I LOOOOVE brioche and I really want to make this, but with coconut milk – were you using canned or something in a carton? Is it the fat content of the cow’s milk that we need to have to match the consistency?? In my house we don’t do soy, can’t do nut milk, and we don’t use vegan butters. (My son has an intolerance for something other than lactose in the cow’s milk so that’s out of the question)…would you pretty please help me figure out some combo of coconut milk to use as the liquid??
I’m thinking a bit of the canned stuff thinned with a bit of coconut milk from the carton to thin (instead of water). Thoughts??
Any other bread bakers here with any advice??
Thanks
Dini says
Hi Lauren! Thank you so much for visiting my blog! This definitely was an insanely good loaf of bread 🙂 You can absolutely make it with coconut milk. As to whether it’s the fat consistency that we have to meet is a REALLY good question. I haven’t given it much thought until now. I would say, just go with the carton coconut milk as it should resemble the consistency of milk more. Since brioche can be made with full fat milk, and low fat milk, it should be ok! But I’ll look into it and let you know 🙂
It would be a very interesting experiment for me to undertake sometime soon! 🙂
Lauren says
Thanks a bunch for you quick response! I plan to make it within the week…I’ll let you know how goes!!
Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake says
I’m planning a french toast recipe at the moment and been looking for a good brioche recipe to use for it, totally gonna use this one! Since it’s dairy free, it might even be a tad kinder on my diet too 🙂
I’m also gonna be combining one of your other recipes in this french toast, I might end up having to call it “French Toast a la Dini” 😉
Connie says
This looks amazing! I was wondering if I could split this recipe into two days? Can I refrigerate it to rise overnight and then take it out and let it rise for an hour during the second rise before I bake it in the morning?
Thank you!!
Dini says
Thank you so much Connie! 🙂
Some traditional brioches are risen overnight, but I did not do that for this dairy free version. I’m not a 100% sure, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work for this too.
Technically the first rise will start in the fridge (as a slow cold rise) and you will have to let it continue to rise until it doubles in volume the next morning at room temperature (in a warm place). Please let me know how it goes. Thank you so much for bringing it up as I am very curious to know too! I will definitely be trying an overnight rise the next time I make this 🙂
Josette says
Beautiful! Looks like your dairy-free modifications are perfection! 🙂
Dini says
Thank you Josette! This turned out to be much softer than regular brioche too, There is a chance I might make this my “regular” brioche… 😀
Margy@lapetitecasserole says
One of my closest friends has dairy intolerance, I’m going to sent her your link… I’m sure she will appreciate it very much!
Julie is Hostess At Heart says
Another bread enthusiast! This bread looks amazing with a beautiful crumb. I use a lot of almond milk and am sure that will work here too.
Jess@CookingisMySport says
Boy does this look GREAT. I almost can’t believe that you got these kinds of results with no dairy. This brioche is perfect in every way Dini, well done you!
Kaila (GF Life 24/7) says
I loved learning about how you made this recipe dairy free. It looks delicious and I found your explanations to be spot on! As someone with celiac disease and food allergies, I appreciate when people explain their reasoning for substitutions because even if I can’t eat that dish, I might be able to re-use their reasoning somewhere. Happy FF, and have a fabulous weekend! 🙂
Amanda @ The Chunky Chef says
Oh sweet yumminess…. that bread looks amazing!!! I’ve never made brioche before, but this one has my name on it. I want to make it and then use the bread to make french toast!! 😀
Dini says
Thank you Amanda! 🙂 You definitely should make it! It’s so much fun whether it’s regular or dairy free (especially with a Chocolate swirl in the middle!)
& guess what?? I made French Toast with this too!! 😀
Maureen says
That is such a beautiful loaf of brioche. It’s hard to believe it’s dairy free. 🙂
Dini says
Thank you so much Maureen! My husband actually preferred this to the regular Brioche I make! 🙂
Katie @ Recipe for Perfection says
Great to have a dairy free option! Sometimes there are so many dietary restrictions to take care of that my head spins- vegetarian, dairy free, low sugar, oh my! 🙂 This looks delicious, and I’m a huge fan of brioche.
Dini says
Thank you Katie 🙂 I love Brioche too!
Stephanie says
I just saw this on Pinterest and it caught my eye right away!! Then I saw that it was yours! 🙂 Of course it is- everything that you make gets my attention! This looks so good, I have a dairy free person at work who I’m definitely sharing this with 🙂
Dini says
Thank you Stephanie!! 😀 I have sent this to my family too so that they can try the recipe! Hopefully they like it as much as I did! 🙂