Easy chocolate brioche buns are a perfect addition to your breakfast basket. They are soft, pillowy, and loaded with chocolate chips.
Here we are again; it’s time for my monthly French baking challenge with a new recipe and I’m all excited about it. In case you missed it, I started this personal challenge in the beginning of the year and this is my eleventh recipe of the kind. All recipes have a special place in my heart and are somehow reminiscence of my childhood in France. Among others you can count the Apple Tarte Tatin, the French Lemon Meringue Pie, or the Canelés de Bordeaux.
Easy Chocolate Brioche Buns
Today’s recipe is making me ridiculously happy for two reasons: the mini chocolate chips and the kneading part!
Mini chocolate chips. First of all, the recipe involves mini chocolate chips. Don’t you love chocolate chips too? My favorite are always the ones that fall of the baking goods. You know, the little extra ones you always want to grab even though you have plenty of them in your treat. But the ones who don’t count are actually the ones that matter. They are just extra stuff, and we love extra stuff. Weird, but true.
A rising dough. The other reason why I’m so excited about this new recipe is because it involves a rising dough. I have always loved kneading dough by hand and find it quite relaxing most of the time. For the last couple of years, since I moved to the US and left my Kitchen Aid behind me in Sweden, I kneaded all my recipes by hand. But guys, I have got news for you: I finally decided to purchased a new one, the Artisan Red Kitchen Aid. I already love it!
Using a stand mixer versus kneading by hand
I received my Kitchen Aid this week and I already have tons of recipes I want to create with my new friend. To be really honest with you, after I left mine behind, I was not sure anymore that a Kitchen Aid was absolutely necessary to my baking recipes. Lately however, I have been working with more delicate recipes that are obviously way easier if you use a stand mixer. It prevents from creating a mess while kneading the dough on your counter top and insure the right texture to your bakings.
As an example, the stand mixer will considerably be a good help to get a light, soft, airy and pillowy texture to a French Butter Brioche. This applies to any other brioche recipe, especially when they involve great quantities of butter and eggs.
Today’s brioche buns are on the edge: with just a little experience, you can get a really good result by hand (this is what I did) but a stand mixer will spare you the extra effort. So if you are into serious baking too, a stand mixer is definitely to add on your (Christmas/Mother’s Day or whatever special occasion) baking gift list.
The easiest brioche bun recipe
French in all aspects, these chocolate chip brioche buns are a kids’favorite after school or a lovely family treat to enjoy for a cozy brunch or breakfast in the weekend. Much easier to prepare than chocolate croissants, they involve just a few basic ingredients, to which I added some orange flower water for extra taste. If you don’t have any, you could use juice and zest of a freshly squeezed orange, making sure you keep the same proportions.
Chocolate chips and other options. As for the chocolate part, I used mini chocolate chips which are the ones that work best for the buns. If you can’t find your hand on it, go for regular chocolate chips. You could also replace with candied fruits and pearl sugar, or enjoy the buns plain. You can them slice them in two parts, lengthwise, and spread with butter and jam.
Tips to keep them fresh
Keep in mind that brioche buns always taste best freshly baked from the oven or the same day. My trick to keep them longer consists of wrapping them in a hermetic ziploc bag until the following day.
If you end up with too many buns, you can also freeze them. Place them in a ziploc bag while still fresh and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Make sure you remove them from the freezer ahead of time, ideally the night before, and leave them on the countertop. When thawed, just warm them up in the oven at 350°F (180°C) for a couple of minutes to recreate the crispy crust.
More baking goods with chocolate chips:
- Chocolate Chip Brioche Suisses
- Chocolate Chip Viennoises
- Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies, New-York Style
- Double Chocolate Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
- Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Scones
Easy Chocolate Brioche Buns
- Prep Time: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 12 hours 15 mins
- Yield: 16 brioches 1x
- Category: Breads and brioches
- Cuisine: French
Easy chocolate brioche buns are a perfect addition to your breakfast basket. They are soft, pillowy, and loaded with chocolate chips.
Ingredients
- 20g fresh yeast (or 10g active dry yeast)
- 4 1/4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons orange flower water
- 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon (25 cl) milk, lukewarm
- 1/4 cup (60g) butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 cup (approx. 200g) chocolate chips
- 1 yolk + 1 Tablespoon milk, for brushing
Instructions
- Sprinkle fresh yeast in a small bowl and stir with one or two tablespoons lukewarm milk and a little bit of sugar too. Set aside for about 10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl or in a food processor, combine the flour with sugar and salt. Make a well in the center and add the egg, orange flower water, yeast and milk.
- Stir well, then knead the dough for about 20 minutes by hand, or 10-15 minutes in a food processor until smooth. Add the softened butter, diced, then continue kneading until well incorporated. The dough must be smooth and slightly sticky.
- If the dough is a little bit warm, let cool for a few minutes at room temperature, then add the chocolate chips and spread evenly in the dough.
- Cover the dough with a cloth and let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- When the dough is ready, punch it a little bit to remove any air bubbles. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with cling film, and place in the refrigerator for about 3 hours or ideally overnight.
- Divide the dough into segments of 2.3 oz (65g) each and shape into small balls, rolling them smoothly with your hand on a lightly flour surface. Do not overwork or the chocolate will melt.
- Brush with the yolk-milk mixture, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and brush one more time with the yolk-milk mixture. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the brioche are golden-brown. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
Did you make this recipe?
Lastly, if you make this Easy Chocolate Brioche Buns, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!
Shop the recipe
Here are a few items I used for this recipe:
KitchenAid Artisan | Stainless Steel Measuring Cups | Measuring Spoons | Platinum Professional Bakeware | Cookie Sheet Baking Mat | Nonstick Cooling Rack
Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Del’s cooking twist.
Sally
I made these in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and they are super easy and fabulous! What do you think about freezing the dough in balls prior to baking similar to what I do with Gougeres? Not sure this will work with yeast dough!
Delphine Fortin
Hi Sally! Freezing yeast dough before baking is usually possible, but methods differ from one recipe to another to get great results. However, it’s important to know that yeast dough will never rise as well post-freeze, as some of the yeast will inevitably die in the cold of the freezer. I haven’t tried myself for these chocolate chip brioche buns, and since the recipe may need some adjustments beforehand to get perfectly risen buns, I would not advice to do it unless you’re up for some baking experiments. I hope this helps! Del
Jeresa Delic
Can I use rapid rise yeast instead ?
Rebecca Faulkner
How much milk is a cup of milk?
Thank you.
Delphine Fortin
Hi! For all measurement equivalents, please refer to my conversion chart: https://www.delscookingtwist.com/resources/conversion-chart/
Deborah Cano
This was the first bread product I have made (yesterday) with my kitchen aide mixer! I made this into a nearly vegan brioche (the chocolate chips probably have some milk solids). I didn’t have orange flower essence so I grated one orange and mixed that zest with 2 TBS water. I used extra creamy oat milk and a tasty margarine for the milk and butter. The finished product was good! I will make this again but use less chocolate chips.
Sarah Motala
Hi, can I omit the orange flower water. Thanks Sarah
Louise
Excellente recette ! La fleur d’oranger et le chocolat se marient merveilleusement bien, un vrai délice ! Merci pour cette recette et très bonne journée.
Lauren
Hey- can I check what kind of sugar to use?
Also, when you’re adding the wet ingredients into the well at the beginning of the recipe, do you add the yeast/milk mixture AND 1 cup of milk?
Mihaela
I made this and they do taste nice but they are not as fluffy as I wanted … Any thoughts as to how to make them lighter?
Ann
These taste great. I am not an experienced baker and my dough seemed too dry, but I forged ahead anyway, trying to follow the recipe closely. The result was buns that are definitely not soft and pillowy; the texture was stodgy. However, the taste was so good that I will try again. I’m pretty sure the only problem was a too-dry dough so I will add more water or milk at the beginning. I live in California and I think the relative humidity was around 20% when I made the dough.
Delphine Fortin
Hello! I’m glad you liked these brioche buns! Tips for next time: make sure you activate the yeast with lukewarm milk (not hot!) for best results. Usually, this results in a very soft, airy dough. I hope this helps! Del
Janeth
Hi, what kind of sugar – granulated or caster?
Thanks!
Michaela
Do you have any recommendations on how to reheat? Thanks!
Delphine Fortin
Hi Michaela! Simply warm them up slightly at 200F in the oven, making sure it doesn’t brown on top. A few minutes should be enough or your brioche buns will become dry in texture. I hope this helps! Del
Salma
I already made the recipe 3 times (so basically whenever one batch is gone ). They always turn out perfect!
I didn’t use any orange flower water or lemon juice, as I usually don’t like the taste, and they were still delicious and fluffy. Just like the ones I get at French bakeries!
They also freeze well (though they’re so yummy that the stock in the freezer never lasts as long as I expect it to!)
Thank you for the recipe Delphine!
Brittany
Good Morning! This is a lovely recipe. I used orange zest as a replacement for the orange water. I did note the bottom of the buns baked faster than the top. Have you noted this with your oven and if so, do you have recommendations for how to get a more consistent bake? Thanks!
Delphine Fortin
Hi Brittany! I’m so happy you liked the recipe 🙂 I never noticed the bottom baking faster in my oven. Maybe just make sure you bake the buns in the middle rack. I hope this helps! Del
t
what if i can’t find orange flower water?
Delphine Fortin
Just skip it and replace with 1 teaspoon lemon juice (+ zest if you wish). I hope this helps 🙂 Del
reema jerath
for how many days can i keep the dough in the refrigerator?
Delphine Fortin
I wouldn’t keep it longer than overnight.
Reema Jerath
I just made these and they turned out perfect. Had tried other Brioche recipes and they were a total failure. Your recipe was simple and perfect. Would love to try all the other recipes too.
Delphine Fortin
I’m so glad you like them, Reema. Thnak you for your feedback! 🙂
Cathrine
Can i use bread flour instead of all purpose flour?
Delphine Fortin
Asolutely! It will work just fine.
Y
What if fresh yeast is not available?Can active dry yeast be used instead?
Delphine Fortin
Hi! Yes, you can always use active dry yeast instead, it’s already written in the recipe. Del
Maman Nouille
Depuis quelques temps, j’ai aussi envie d’un robot pâtissier, je me dis que je pourrais faire des brioches, de la pâte à pizza…parce que le pétrissage à la main, c’est vraiment fastidieux!
Bref, tes brioches ont l’air très appétissantes, elles m’ont tapé dans l’oeil et je garde la recette sous le coude pour faire des manalas pour la saint nicolas
Delphine Fortin
Hmmm… excellente idée que de faire des manalas, j’ai déjà faim!
LadyMilonguera
Quelle merveille ces petites brioches, je ne résiste pas !
Delphine Fortin
Merci beaucoup ma belle 🙂
Charlotte
Ça a l’air délicieux ! On adore ce genre de petites viennoiseries chez nous, merci pour la recette !
Delphine Fortin
Je suis entièrement avec toi. Ces petites brioches sont tellement douces, moelleuses… rien de tel pour mettre de bonne humeur dès le réveil ou au goûter !