A giant lemon raspberry brioche bun with a lemon sugar butter & raspberry filling and a lemon raspberry glaze.
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giant lemon raspberry brioche bun
Hello hello! ☺︎ Today I have for you this giant delish lemon raspberry brioche bun. It’s like if you took fluffy cinnamon roll dough and turned it into one giant cinnamon roll – except it’s with refreshing lemon and raspberry to make it perfect for the summer time.
why you’ll love this lemon raspberry bun:
- The dough is super soft and fluffy: The tangzhong (milk bread) method makes these super soft and fluffy.
- Lemon raspberry filling & glaze: so you’re sure to taste both in every bite.
- It’s easy to make: well, easier than you might think! Once you’ve got the dough together, the hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the dough to rise.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before you’ll need them.
the dough will take a while to knead
Kneading this dough will take a longer time than you are probably used to. This dough is enriched with eggs and butter which makes it take longer for the proper amount of gluten to develop. Kneading in the mixer can take me anywhere from 10-20 minutes. The dough is ready to be used when it passes the windowpane test and has pulled away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If you are weighing your ingredients, just trust the process! If you are using cup measurements and the dough just is not coming together after 15 minutes, try adding in 1 tbsp. of flour at a time.
how to tell your dough is done kneading: the windowpane test
The windowpane test is (in my opinion) the best way to tell that your dough has been properly kneaded. Once the dough starts to pull away from the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl, it is most likely ready. However, just to be sure that it’s good to go I check if it passes the windowpane test. To do that, take some of the dough in your hands and start to slowly stretch it out. If it can get thin enough to where light passes through it before tearing, then it’s good to go! If not, keep kneading until it does!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
giant lemon raspberry brioche bun ingredients –
Milk Bread dough:
- Bread flour: for structure and chewiness. You can sub in all purpose flour, just be sure that you are using a high-quality flour that has a high protein %, such as King Arthur (11.7%) so that your gluten will develop. If you’re using a low protein flour, the gluten will not develop enough and you will have to add a lot more flour to the brioche, which will alter the dough!
- Active dry yeast: for making the dough rise. You can easily substitute in instant yeast if that is what you have on hand (more notes on that later on.)
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the brioche. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the brioche and for helping the yeast with rising.
- Egg: for binding and adding moisture.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the dough and giving it a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth feel. I would not recommend substituting in salted butter since salt is important to controlling yeast growth and the amount of salt in salted butter is a little variable.
- Whole milk: for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest dough because the extra fat helps tenderize the dough. You can however swap in 1%, 2% or your favorite non dairy milk alternative! Just note that the dough may be a little less soft and fluffy due to the varying fat content.
lemon raspberry filling:
- Unsalted butter: you can use salted butter here or your favorite non-dairy butter stick.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetness, you could also use light or dark brown sugar here for a bit of a caramel-molasses flavor.
- Lemon: you’ll need two lemons to zest into the filling.
- Raspberries: fresh or frozen.
lemon raspberry glaze:
- Powdered sugar: the base of the glaze – for sweetness and structure.
- Lemon juice: for flavor – fresh is best!
- Raspberries: fresh or frozen, for flavor & color.
how to make a giant lemon raspberry brioche bun
Below are a few pictures of the steps for making this lemon raspberry bun. You can find the full recipe at the end of this post!
giant lemon raspberry brioche bun
recipe q&a
what is tangzhong?
Tangzhong is a cooking method that involves cooking a portion of the flour in a recipe with 4-5x the amount of liquid. Cooking the flour pre-gelatinizes the starch in the flour, allowing it to hold on to more liquid. This leads to a bread that can hold way more liquid than it normally would be able to, which makes the bread softer, and fluffier, and keeps it from staling as fast. It’s basically a secret ingredient for better bread, using ingredients you already need for the bread! If you ever see the word “milk bread”, that means that that bread uses tangzhong!
how to store this lemon raspberry bun
Brioche is definitely going to taste the best and most fresh on the day that it is baked, and I highly recommend serving it the same day you bake it. It will keep well in an airtight container for 2 days.
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double the ingredients and bake it in two cake pans. I even more strongly recommend using a kitchen scale if you are scaling up the recipe, for the best results.
can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Definitely – just pop all of the dough ingredients into your mixing bowl to start kneading. I recommend refrigerating the dough overnight to make it easier to work with and more flavorful. However, if you are making the recipe all in one day, and using instant yeast, just be mindful that the dough will double in size faster.
can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes, and I highly recommend it! Brioche dough is a very enriched dough that can be hard to work with when warm. Knead the dough together, cover it, and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready, take the dough out of the fridge and proceed with the recipe.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Giant Lemon Raspberry Brioche Bun
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 20 g bread flour (2 tbsp. + 2 tsp.)
- 80 g whole milk (2 ⅔ oz.)
Brioche Dough
- 200 g bread flour (1 ⅔ c.)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 tsp. salt
- 42 g unsalted butter room temperature (3 tbsp.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 70 g whole milk (2 ⅓ oz.)
Lemon Raspberry Filling
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- zest of 2 large lemons
- 42 g unsalted butter room temperature (3 tbsp.)
- 80 g raspberries fresh or frozen (⅔ c.)
Lemon Raspberry Glaze
- 40 g raspberries fresh or frozen (⅓ c.)
- 45 g lemon juice (3 tbsp.)
- 150 g powdered sugar (1 ¼ c.)
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 30 g whole milk (2 tbsp.)
Instructions
Tangzhong
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, continuously stir together the flour and milk until the mixture and thickens into a thick slurry. Take off the heat and set aside. Alternatively, whisk together the flour and milk in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the mixture becomes a thick slurry.
- Add the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, egg, milk, and tangzhong mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
- Knead the mixture on medium speed for ~15-20 minutes. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the sides or bottom of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.*
- Once the dough is done kneading, shape the dough into a ball and place it back into the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, and place it in a warm area to rise until doubled in size (~1 hr.)**
Filling
- Generously butter an 8" cake pan. Cover the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the sugar to a small mixing bowl. Zest two lemons into the sugar, then use your hands to rub the zest into the sugar until combined.
- Add in the softened butter, and use a fork or spatula to mix the butter with the sugar until the mixture is cohesive.
- Once the dough has finished rising, lightly punch it down to remove any excess air in it. Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly floured surface, then roll it out to a 12″ x 16″ (30 x 40 cm) rectangle.
- Place dollops of the lemon-sugar-butter filling over the dough, then gently spread it out into an even layer over the dough.
- Slice your raspberries in half and evenly scatter them over the dough.***
- From the longer side, roll the dough up into a tight cylinder. Use a knife to cut the dough in half vertically, leaving ~1" connected at the top.
- Twist the two pieces of dough over themselves, then roll it into a tight knot. Tuck the end of the dough in under the big roll.
- Place the roll into your prepared springform pan. Lightly cover the pan with a towel, and let the roll rise in a warm environment until doubled in size (~30 minutes).
Egg Wash
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- Make an egg wash by whisking together an egg with 30g of milk, then brush it over the roll right before baking. (You will not use all of the egg wash, store the rest in the fridge or freezer for other pastries!)
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top of the cake is golden brown and the internal temperature of the cake has reached 180°F / 82°C.
Lemon Raspberry Glaze
- In a small bowl, mash the raspberries, then mix in the lemon juice.***
- Add the powdered sugar to a small mixing bowl. Add in 1 tbsp. at a time of the lemon-raspberry mixture into the powdered sugar, mixing after each, until you reach your desired glaze consistency.
- Allow the lemon raspberry roll to cool to room temperature, then spread the glaze over the top of it. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.