Use these Cheddar Brioche Buns for grilled cheese sandwiches or with cheeseburgers! They’re also amazing dunked in stews or soups.
Brioche is one of my favorite yeasted breads. I often buy it pre-made to use for french toast or bread pudding, but making it from scratch is something that I recommend every home baker try at least once. Yes, it’s a bit time consuming but it’s really not complicated. And if you love bread, I promise you there is nothing quite like hot brioche, fresh out of the oven.
These cheddar brioche buns have so much potential. Use them as the bread for a grilled cheese sandwich. Or as the bun for a cheeseburger. Dunk them in chili (which is what we did). Heck, eat them plain (I did that, too).
I recommend making 8 buns for burgers and sandwiches (the size seen in the photos) or 12 buns for dinner rolls. Keep in mind when you’re rolling out the dough that it will continue to rise in the oven. I was fairly conservative with the cheese but you can push the quantity a good amount without having the buns lose their structure. Just make sure the cheese is contained within the dough as much as possible.
Baking With Yeast
This recipe uses active dry yeast. Yeast is an ingredient many novice bakers fear, and I’d like to change that! So what is yeast, and how does it work? Can you substitute one variety for another? Check out my article What is Yeast to learn more!
Cheddar Brioche Buns
Ingredients
- 11 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (approximately 2 3/4 cups)
- 1 1/4 ounces nonfat dry milk (1/4 cup)
- 1 1/4 ounces granulated sugar (3 tablespoons)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 cup lukewarm water
- 5 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated (or more as needed)
For topping
- 1 large egg + 1 tablespoon water, whisked (for egg wash)
- coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Add the flour, dry milk, sugar, salt and instant yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer and briefly whisk together. Add the 3 eggs, yolk, water and butter. Use the dough attachment to kneed the ingredients together on low speed for 20 minutes. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for another 2-3 minutes.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl (if the dough is too sticky to handle, some vegetable oil on the hands works wonders). Cover with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour, then place the covered bowl into the refrigerator and chill overnight (or 3 hours minimum).
- Set the dough on the counter for 45 minutes to soften the butter slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into 8-12 even pieces (8 pieces will yield hamburger/sandwich sized buns, 12 will yield dinner rolls). Stretch out one piece and add a spoonful of cheese to the center (For 8 buns, I added 2-3 teaspoons of cheddar per bun). Fold the dough around the cheese for a cheese-filled center. Alternately, kneed the cheese into the dough so that it's more evenly distributed. After shaping the bun, poke any large bits of visible cheese back into the dough. It won't hurt the bun if cheese is visible but it might create dark spots in the final product.
- Place the buns on the prepared sheet, cover loosely and allow to rise for an additional 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the egg wash liberally on top of each bun and sprinkle coarse sea salt on top.
- Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes, or until they're a deep golden brown on top and register 190 degrees F in the center with an instant read thermometer.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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Nik@ABrownTable says
These look amazing plus the cheddar part takes it a whole new level of deliciousness!
Candace @ Cabot says
Your recipes – this one in particular – are amazing. And your images are gorgeous. You make me want to become a baker!
Julia @Vikalinka says
So beautifully rich! I buy brioche buns quite often as well but have never ventured out to make my own. Pinning the recipe for when I have more spare time. :-)
Samantha @FerraroKitchen says
Oh what beautiful buns you have! hahaha I’m surprised no one has said that yet? lol I am afraid of yeast and I have no idea why. It’s really just mixing and resting really.
Helen @ Scrummy Lane says
I love the idea of these because they’ve got the sweet and savoury thing going! The way you describe it, they actually don’t seem like they would be that difficult to make. Pinning for later!
Jenny @ BAKE says
These look delicious! I am going to have to make them for our first bbq of the year in a couple of weeks as you’re right, they would be perfect with cheeseburgers!
Allison T says
I love your recipe and it looks so simple! I have been making my family’s bread homemade since the beginning of the year and love it! I will have to make this bread very soon! I also posted a delicious roll recipe on my blog and would love for you to check it out.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Gorgeous, love the cheddar filling!
Diane (Mommabear) says
I love, love, love to make bread, will be making these for our hamburger buns and trying different cheeses. Thanks for the idea, and any brioche is yummy!!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
now all I can think about is a burger on this brioche!!!!!
and also I NEED to make some asap!
Sophia @ NY Foodgasm says
OMG these look soooo good, love brioche buns! Mmmmmm!
Kate @ Diethood says
These are gorgeous. These are beautiful. These need to happen, STAT!
Debra says
I frequently bake brioche. It is so satisfying and my only reason for not making it more frequently is that I can’t leave it alone once it’s on-hand. Now you’ve added cheddar! Now I’m really in trouble!
Marie @ Little Kitchie says
These sound absolutely delightful!!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
Love brioche! The addition of cheddar cheese sounds incredible!