Homemade Brioche Doughnuts

The only recipe you need for homemade Brioche Doughnuts! These swoon-worthy and scrumptious doughnuts are pillowy-soft and full of flavor. Tried and true, fluffy brioche dough rolled in sugar and filled with nearly anything you desire as they are highly customizable! Bakery-style goodness everyone will love, so rich and buttery!

I just love making doughnuts, y’all. Wait- doughnuts or donuts…how do you spell it?! No matter what, we all enjoy one, I’m sure. I once had this idea to go on a national doughnut adventure where I would visit a few of the world’s best doughnut shops. My goodness, how fun would that be! I’ve had some very memorable doughnuts over the years in various cities. Those mems, damn good.

Homemade Brioche Doughnuts! 😍

Gahhh! Brioche doughnuts are probably one of my most favorite doughnuts, ever. They differ from a regular doughnut in that they’re richer due to the amount of milk, eggs, and butter. A standard doughnut pales in comparison to a brioche doughnut, in my humble opinion of course. As a result, brioche doughnuts are pillowy-soft, extra tender/fluffy, and much more flavorful.

You’ve likely had brioche bread, hamburger buns, hot dog rolls, french toast, and more. Brioche dough is enriched with heaps of richness and a crowd fave for a reason. We’re gonna take all that brioche doughy goodness, fry it just like a doughnut spot, roll it in sugar, and then stuff it with filling…let’s go!

⇢ Cozy eats we love: croissant french toast bake, this sweet potato pie, weeknight favorite parmesan crusted chicken, delish jamaican beef patties, southern stunners like cabbage and sausage and red beans and rice!

DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs who I’m always so excited to partner with; all thoughts expressed here are my own. I’ve been a brand ambassador with them for some time now and love using their high-quality USDA Certified Organic eggs from free-range hens.

Their eggs come from small family farmers who raise their hens on farms where the hens are free to roam about in the sunshine. I like that their gold standard eggs are USDA Certified Organic, Certified Humane, and contain no antibiotics/hormones/pesticides. The best quality eggs for BBR recipes!

Ingredients For Brioche Doughnuts

(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card directly below.)

• Active dry yeast: This type of yeast needs to be dissolved in warm liquid to activate it. The mixture gets bubbly/foamy and gives off a fragrant smell prior to adding in the rest of the ingredients for the brioche dough.
• Granulated sugar: Activates the yeast and for sweetness in the dough.
• Whole milk: We wanna keep the richness here, and whole milk provides just that.
• Large eggs: Eggs are the ingredient spotlight for these brioche doughnuts! They contribute to tenderness. You’ll def want high-quality eggs to use! I lean on Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs because their eggs are just that with golden, rich egg yolks. Organic eggs make a big difference in flavor!
• Vanilla bean paste: It’s the best and I use it whenever I make these homemade brioche doughnuts. These doughnuts are vanilla-scented throughout and studded with those vanilla bean flecks!
• Bread flour: You will find bread flour sold in most grocery stores. Bread flour contains a higher protein content than traditional all-purpose flour and a higher protein content helps to create more gluten in the dough. Therefore, yielding ultra-soft, chewy, and tender doughnuts. Trust me on this.
• Salt: To provide some balance in the yeasted dough.
• Oil: Used for deep-frying the brioche doughnuts, I often use vegetable or canola oil. However, feel free to use any kind of neutral (flavorless) oil.
• Butter: Brioche dough is not complete without richness from butter!

How To Make Brioche Doughnuts

(Note: please see the recipe card directly below for the complete written instructions.)

1. Prep the dough: Bring the milk, sugar, and yeast together to activate. Then add in the flour, salt, eggs, and vanilla bean paste. Knead the dough in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment until a soft dough forms.
2. Slowly add the butter: Add the cubed butter in increments (a piece or two at a time), waiting until each piece is fully incorporated into the dough before adding the next piece. The process of adding the butter into the dough should take 3-5 minutes.
3. Let the dough rise overnight: Transfer the dough into a greased bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight (this is known as the first rise).
4. Shape the doughnuts: Take the dough out the fridge and place it onto a work surface. Using a kitchen scale, weigh the dough and then divide the dough into 14 equally weighted pieces for each doughnut. Roll each portion of dough into a tight ball and place them onto a baking sheet.
5. Let the doughnuts rise: Now that they’re shaped, let them sit out in a warm environment until the doughnuts are puffy (this is the second rise).
6. Give ’em a fry: Working in batches (about 2-3 at a time), place them into the oil and fry until they’re golden on both sides. Then set aside.
7. Toss in sugar: While the brioche doughnuts are still warm, toss them in the sugar and evenly coat on all sides. Set the sugared doughnuts aside to continue cooling down completely before filling.
8. Fill ’em up: Use a chopstick (or similar object) to poke a small hole into the side of each doughnut. Place the doughnuts into a baking pan to where they can stand upright. Then fill each doughnut. Serve immediately, yum!

Filling(s) For Brioche Doughnuts

This brioche dough recipe has been dialed in and perfected. As such, there are truly endless variations on how you can fill these doughnuts, friends! The choices are plenty and it’s one of my favorite things about making brioche doughnuts. Here are some of our favorite fillings to have fun with:

• Jams: As pictured, some sweet fruit jam, like raspberry jam is a huge favorite around here. Other honorable mentions include strawberry, apple, peach, guava, and other jam-packed adventures, ha! 🤣
• Custard: Oof, I sure do love me a custard-filled doughnut as well. We’ve done some vanilla bean and chocolate custards before, too. These add a delectable, creamy note against the palate…delicious!
• Pudding: Another crowd-favorite, fill these brioche doughnuts with your favorite puddings. Chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, lemon, butterscotch, banana cream, and tons more for an ultra-indulgent doughnut.
• Curd: You know I love me some classic lemon curd (🍋)! In addition, there’s other flavor combinations to enjoy here like any other citrus curd, berry curd, and tropical curd like passion fruit and mango curds!
• Cheesecake filling: This is a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla essence, and some liquid (heavy cream or milk) to loosen.

⇢ The sky is the limit for filling your homemade brioche doughnuts! Make them filled with all the same thing, a combination of two, or have different fillings for everyone to choose from. You seriously cannot go wrong!

FAQs For Homemade Brioche Doughnuts

As with many recipes, you may have additional questions for these brioche doughnuts. Like other BBR recipes, I always recommend sticking to the recipe as it is written in the recipe card, below. However, here’s some extra info:

1. Can I use instant yeast? I highly recommend using active dry yeast for these doughnuts, but feel free to use instant/rapid rise yeast.
2. Can I use all-purpose flour? Bread flour is clutch here, friends. This goes for the overall texture that these doughnuts will have. If you cannot access bread flour then all-purpose flour can be used, if needed.
3. Can I use other kinds of milk? I recommend using whole milk as the milk of choice here. A close alternative would be evaporated milk (we wanna keep the richness!). No other milks have been tested.
4. Can I bake these doughnuts? Baking these yeasted doughnuts would not turn out too well. You’d end up with a bun of some sort.
5. How much oil do I need? Just enough for the oil to come nearly halfway up the pot, enough for them to float. Splattering may occur with too much oil.
6. How do I get rid of oil? After frying, let the oil cool all the way back down to room temperature. Afterwards, use a funnel to strain the oil back into the same container it came from. Boom. Also, the oil is relatively clean and can be reused for other purposes. Team no waste!

Tips + Tricks, & More Information

• Room temperature ingredients: The eggs and butter need to be at room temperature. For the egg, this helps the dough to blend seamlessly. Eggs that are super cold from the fridge may cause coagulation. >> I like to set these out on the counter about an hour ahead of time and, in a pinch, submerge a cold egg in warm water for a bit to speed things up.
• Slowly add the butter. The process of slowly adding in the butter allows for the butter to build within the dough, in stages. The heat from the churning and the bit-by-bit butter slowly incorporates with the dough, like a synergy.
• Let the dough sit overnight. You can make these doughnuts all in one day, however, allowing the brioche dough to sit overnight is better. While the dough is resting (the first rise), it develops more flavor and is thoroughly chilled…which also makes it easier to handle.
• Watch the oil temperature. I’ve found the sweet spot for frying these doughnuts to be right around 320°F (160°C). When the oil is too hot, you can burn the outside of the doughnut while the inside may still be raw. Alternatively, when the oil is too low, the doughnut can be oily since it’s sitting in the oil for longer waiting to cook.
• Sugar the doughnuts asap. After frying the brioche doughnuts and when they’re cool enough to handle, toss the doughnuts in the sugar. The sugar ends up clinging to the doughnuts perfectly as they’re still warm, chef’s kiss.
• Cool before filling. Allow the sugared doughnuts to cool down completely before filling with whatever you desire.

All the heart eyes for these Homemade Brioche Doughnuts, y’all. They are seriously so addicting, whew! Be sure to tag @butterbeready in your BBR recipe creations, I sure love to see it when you do. Until next time! 🤟🏾

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