Raspberry brioche buns that are super soft and fluffy, filled with raspberry curd and topped with pistachios.
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raspberry brioche buns
I *loooooovvveeee* working with yeast bread. I spent years perfecting my brioche recipe, along with my milk bread brioche recipe and they are, dare I say, perfect. These raspberry milk bread brioche buns are seriously so light, fluffy, flavorful, and delicious. They’re topped with a tangy, sweet raspberry curd and pistachios for a complimentary flavor and crunch. Below you’ll find a *TON* of tips and tricks that (I hope) are helpful for successfully getting you through this recipe, and yeast bread in general. I know yeast can seem intimidating, but once you have it down, it’s *so* easy, and so delicious!
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.
ingredients for raspberry brioche buns –
Brioche dough:
- Bread flour: for structure and chewiness. I recommend bread flour because it yields a fluffier, taller bun but you can* use all purpose flour. Please 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 probably need to add in some more flour – which will dry out 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 dough. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.
- Granulated sugar: sweetens the brioche and helps the yeast with rising.
- Eggs: for binding and adding moisture.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the brioche 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 quite variable.
- Whole milk: for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest rolls 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.
raspberry curd:
- Frozen raspberries: I recommend frozen because they’re easier (& often cheaper!) to get your hands on.
- Egg yolks: thickens up the curd.
- Granulated sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the curd. I would recommend against trying to cut the sugar here as it would affect the flavor/texture too much.
- Lemon: brightens up the curd – we’ll be using both the zest and the juice for maximum flavor.
- Salt: like with the dough, a bit of salt helps with the flavor and sweetness of the curd.
- Unsalted butter: helps thicken the curd and make it creamy. You can substitute in salted butter here, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the curd! You can also use your favorite dairy-free butter stick as a substitute.
pistachio topping:
- Egg white & milk: for an egg wash to help with browning the buns, and with the pistachios sticking.
- Pistachios: for flavor and texture! You can replace this with your favorite nut, or omit it all together.
how to make raspberry brioche buns
Here are some pictures showing the process of putting together the raspberry buns. The full recipe is at the end of the blog post!
raspberry brioche buns recipe q&a
how to store raspberry curd buns
Like any fresh bread recipe, these will definitely taste the best and the most fresh on the day that they are baked. However, they can be stored out at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double the ingredients and split the dough into 12 balls. 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 note that your 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
Raspberry Brioche Buns
Ingredients
Brioche Dough
- 80 g whole milk (2 ⅔ oz.)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 egg room temperature
- 180 g bread flour* (1 ½ c.)
- ½ tsp. salt
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature (4 tbsp.)
Raspberry Curd
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 1 small lemon
- 140 g frozen raspberries (1 c.)
- 3 egg yolks
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 56 g unsalted butter cubed (4 tbsp.)
Egg Wash
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbsp. whole milk
- 56 g pistachios crushed (½ c.)
Instructions
Brioche Dough
- In a microwave safe measuring cup, heat the milk to 100°F / 38°C. Whisk in the yeast and the sugar. Set aside until the mixture begins to foam. (~5 minutes)
- While waiting, add the flour, salt, egg, and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. When the yeast mixture begins to foam, add it in to the rest of the ingredients.
- Knead the dough on low speed for 1 minute to allow the ingredients to come together. Increase the speed to medium-high and knead for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until the dough passes the windowpane test.**
- Once the dough is done kneading, butter the inside of the bowl, form the dough into a ball and place it back in the bowl. Then cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap. At this point, you could set the dough in the fridge to rise overnight, or continue with completing the recipe in one day. If doing in one day, set the dough in a warm area and wait for it to double in size (~1 hour.)***
- In the meantime, make the raspberry curd.
Raspberry Curd
- Add the sugar into a small saucepan. Zest the lemon into the sugar, then use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
- Add in the frozen raspberries, egg yolks, and salt. Juice the lemon and add 2 tbsp. of lemon juice into the saucepan.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat and mix it constantly until it thickens and reaches a temperature of at least 170°F / 76°C. (This took me about 3-5 minutes)
- Remove the curd from the heat and pass it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the zest and raspberry seeds.
- Immediately whisk in the cubed butter until it melts and the mixture is completely smooth.
- Transfer the raspberry curd to the fridge to chill until you're ready to assemble the buns.
- Once the dough has finished rising, lightly punch it down to remove any excess air in it.
- Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a ball.
- Use a rolling pin to roll each piece out into a ~4" circle. If the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 minutes, then try rolling again.
- Transfer the buns to a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing them apart to allow room for spreading. Leave the buns in a warm environment until they puff up a little, ~30 minutes. In the meantime, make the cheesecake filling.
- Make the egg wash by beating together the egg white and milk in a small bowl.
- Once the pastries have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- Lightly flour the bottom of a cup or bowl that is about 3" in diameter. Press the cup down onto each of the pastries to form a divot for the filling.
- Brush the "edges" of each of the pastries with the egg wash, avoiding the center. Sprinkle the crushed pistachios over the egg wash. Try your best to avoid getting pistachios in the center divot, but, it's not a huge deal if there's a few in there!
- If the divots have significantly shrunk, press the cup down into each of the pastries one more time.
- Place ~1.5 tbsp. of raspberry curd filling in each pastry divot.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the edges of the pastries turn golden brown. To get more defined browning on the edges, place the buns on the top rack for the last 5 minutes of baking.
- Allow the buns to come to room temperature, then 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.
I am so happy to have found your page! All the recipes are amazing. We ate the whole batch straight out of the oven! I want to try to make the dough with sourdough instead of yeast, have you tried it or do you know how it could be done? I want to use this brioche dough for so many things! 🙂