Recipes

Recipe: Easter Brioches

Name: Recipe: Easter Brioches
Yield: 4
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 2¾ cups (350 g) flour; ⅔ cup (150 g) butter; 1½ sachets or 3 ½ tsp dried baker’s yeast (or 1 tsp/ 15 g fresh yeast); 1 egg; Scant ½ cup (10 cl) milk; 3 tbsp granulated sugar; 2 tsp salt; 1 egg yolk for glazing; Pearl sugar; 4 hard-boiled eggs or 4 chocolate eggs (for display)

by olivia hoffman March 31, 2026

March 31, 2026

Baked brioche bread topped with sugar crystals and hard boiled eggs on green and brown table linens.

Photos by Franck Schmitt

Celebrate this Easter with authentic French flair! Whether you’re planning an intimate brunch or an elegant dinner, our March/April 2026 issue has a full menu of traditional dishes for you to try. Our friend Franck Schmitt brings the warmth of a French family table to your kitchen with recipes for Pâté in Baked Pastry, Easter Brioches, Haddock and Green Asparagus with Wild Garlic, and Lemon Verrines with Ladyfingers.

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One of our favorites from the menu makes for a delightful dessert or a perfect breakfast treat.

Every Easter morning in France, the smell of warm brioche drifts from kitchen windows and bakery doors — buttery, golden, and impossible to resist. These braided beauties, sprinkled with pearl sugar and cradling an egg at their center, are one of the most beloved traditions of the French spring table.

Easter Brioche Recipe

Soft and pillowy with a faintly sweet crumb, brioche sit somewhere between bread and pastry, humble enough for a weekday and special enough to anchor a celebration.

Making them at home is one of those pleasures that rewards both the baker and everyone lucky enough to gather around the table. The dough is rich with butter, taking on a deep golden gloss in the oven, and the braiding is simpler than it looks.

Tuck a chocolate or decorated egg into the heart of each warm braid and you have an Easter morning centerpiece that feels straight out of a French boulangerie.

SEE A PREVIEW OF THE MARCH/APRIL 2026 MAGAZINE

Recipe: Easter Brioches

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 20 min Cooking Time: 20 min 20 min

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

2¾ cups (350 g) flour
⅔ cup (150 g) butter
1½ sachets or 3 ½ tsp dried baker’s yeast (or 1 tsp/ 15 g fresh yeast)
1 egg
Scant ½ cup (10 cl) milk
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk for glazing
Pearl sugar
4 hard-boiled eggs or 4 chocolate eggs (for display)

Instructions

Remove all ingredients from the refrigerator 1 hour before starting. Heat the milk and butter together in a saucepan until the butter melts. Dissolve the dried (or fresh) yeast in ¼ cup (6 cl) of lukewarm water.

Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well and add the milk and butter mixture, then the yeast and finally the beaten egg. Mix with a spatula until smooth. Add a little flour if needed so the dough forms a ball.

Cover with a clean, damp cloth and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place.

After an hour, punch down the dough. Divide into 4 pieces and braid each one. Place on a baking tray and let rise for another 20 mins. Brush with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with pearl sugar. Preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C) and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool and place a hard-boiled egg or chocolate egg in the center of each brioche.

To see all of the Easter recipes featured in the March/April issue, get a copy of the magazine here.

French recipe recipe

Recipe: Easter Brioches

Photos by Franck Schmitt

Easter Brioche Recipe

Recipe: Easter Brioches

Ingredients

Instructions

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