You can make the dough for these fluffy, buttery Brioche Slider Buns in just 10 minutes. Then it's your choice to let the no-knead dough rise to bake these miniature burger buns the same day, or have it slowly rise overnight for baking the next day.
Either way, you'll end up with one of the most cherished breads on the planet, a great ambassador for French baking traditions. Rich, tender, slightly sweet, brioche dough is incredibly versatile and made with just a few simple ingredients that you probably have on hand.
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Ingredients You Need to Make Brioche Slider Buns
- Flour: all-purpose white flour
- Yeast: instant yeast or see recipe note for using active dry yeast
- Sugar: granulated sugar
- Salt: kosher salt or half the amount of fine sea salt
- Butter: salted or unsalted butter (if using unsalted butter, increase kosher salt to 2 teaspoons)
- Milk: ideally whole milk
- Eggs: large eggs
Slow Rise is Best
What's the secret behind a no-knead brioche dough? Patience. But the beauty is that you skip the kneading entirely, nothing to do by hand and no stand mixer, dough hook or paddle attachment required. Instead of kneading, time does the work to form the gluten strands that give brioche bread its signature texture. That's why I like to make the dough a day in advance, for the best flavor and texture, letting hours do their magic with a slow rise in the refrigerator. But, in a pinch, I'm happy to make it the same day.
Accurate Measuring
As with all baking recipes, it's important to measure your ingredients carefully. I consider my kitchen scale an indispensable tool and highly recommend using one for consistent results every time.
From little brioche cheeseburgers to pork belly sliders, small buffalo chicken sandwiches to three-bite BLTs, there are countless ways of putting these mini brioche buns to work. (Try this Brioche Bun Recipe for full-size buns. Or this recipe for Homemade Hot Dog Buns for hot dogs and sausages.)
FAQ
Brioche bread is delicately sweet and richer than most breads, including butter, eggs, milk and sugar.
Slider buns made from brioche are smaller than typical Brioche Burger Buns. They're meant for making small sandwiches (often served as appetizers) that are just 2 or 3 bites.
Brioche slider buns are the best because of their soft, light texture. Instead of overpowering the slider sandwich with heavy bread flavor and texture, they allow all of the filling flavors to shine through.
How to Make Brioche Slider Buns
Step 1: Combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Step 2: Heat butter and milk in a small saucepan, just until butter has melted. Remove from heat.
Step 3: Whisk together warm water and one egg; add melted butter mixture and whisk to combine. Pour over flour mixture and stir until you have a shaggy, sticky dough. Cover bowl and let rise in a warm spot 2-4 hours until doubled in size or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Step 4: Gather risen dough into a ball and place on lightly floured surface; pat into a rectangle. Cut dough into 18 equal pieces with dough scraper or sharp knife. Shape each piece of dough into a ball by tucking edges under then pinching together to seal (see step by step photos below). Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot until buns are puffy and light to the touch, 1-2 hours.
Step 4: Brush risen buns with egg wash and bake in a 400˚F preheated oven 12-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown, rotating sheet halfway through baking time. Transfer buns to cooling rack until ready to serve.
Brioche Slider Buns
Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour 453g, or bread flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast see recipe note #1
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons butter see recipe note #2
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 large eggs divided (one for egg wash before baking)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
- In a small saucepan, heat butter and milk until butter has just melted. Remove from heat to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together warm water and one egg. Whisk in warm milk and butter mixture until combined. Pour over flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until no dry flour remains and you have a shaggy, sticky dough. Tightly cover bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place for 2 to 4 hours until dough is bubbly and has doubled in size (recipe note #3). Or tightly cover and chill for 12 to 24 hours to rise slowly in the refrigerator (My preferred way, for the best flavor and texture - recipe note #4).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Turn risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and with lightly floured hands, first gather dough into a ball, then gently pat into a rectangle. With a dough scraper, divide dough into 18 equal pieces (use a kitchen scale for perfectly even buns). Shape each piece into a ball by first tucking edges under then pinching together to seal. Place pinched edge side down on work surface and gently roll with your palm to form a ball. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until buns are puffy and light to the touch, about 1 hour or up to 2 hours if dough is straight from the refrigerator.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400˚F.
- Whisk together remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush over buns with a pastry brush. Bake 12-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown, rotating sheet halfway through baking time. Transfer buns to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- To substitute active dry yeast for instant yeast, increase the amount to 2 teaspoons. In step 3 of the recipe, whisk a teaspoon of sugar into the warm water and sprinkle yeast over the top. Let stand 5-10 minutes until yeast is foamy. Whisk in egg and slightly cooled butter and milk mixture. Add this yeast mixture to dry ingredients and proceed with recipe.
- If using unsalted butter, increase kosher salt to 2 teaspoons.
- If your room temperature isn't warm enough for the dough to rise, use this tip from Cooks Illustrated magazine to create a proofing oven: place the dough in the covered bowl on the middle shelf of your oven and a loaf or cake pan filled with 3 cups of boiling water on the bottom shelf. Close the oven door and you've created a great atmosphere for the dough to rise.
- If you refrigerate your dough overnight, check it in the morning to see if it has doubled in size. If not, remove from the refrigerator to finish rising in a warm place before proceeding with recipe.
- To freeze unused slider buns, allow them to cool completely and transfer to a freezer safe bag or container. Thaw in the bag at room temperature. Use within 2 months.
Another tip for second proofing:
Heat 250 ml (1 metric cup) of cold water in the microwave for 2 minutes on high. Remove and place your dough in the now-warmed microwave and leave 30–45 mins.
These are great Marissa!! I buy a lot of slider buns for the kiddos since they're so much easier for their little hands. I'm definitely going to try your homemade version!
I'd love that, Katherine! I think your kiddos will gobble them up!
I do love brioche (Best French toasts and also great croutons for savoury dishes), and these little clouds of happiness look gorgeous and so inviting! So many ways to use these buns, but truth be told, I'd most likely end up snacking and having them with my morning coffee!
Thank you, Ben! Same here - I have to keep any leftover buns in the freezer or I'd be snacking on them all the time!
I do really enjoy brioche buns, and this recipe looks super manageable, Marissa! I also happen to love burgers, and I'm thinking a grilled burger on one of these buns will definitely need to happen this summer. Yum!
I promise it's so easy, David! I'm excited for you to taste these.
I love rich, fluffy brioche and am totally with you with no-knead method. This is definitely something I need to try soon. These buns turned out bakery perfect, Marissa.
Thanks so much, Angie!