Light Brioche Buns - Lite Cravings (2024)

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These Light Brioche Buns are much heartier and flavorful than the reduced-calorie bread you can buy in the store. Save money and calories by making your own light bread!

Prior to the stay-at-home orders, if you told me that there would come a day when I’d be baking my own bread every week, I would have laughed in your face. I’ve always been best at just throwing a bunch of stuff together in a pan, but here I am now making donuts (Cinnamon Roll Baked Donuts, Red Velvet Donuts) and brioche rolls like nobody’s business. Who am I??

So it looks like stress baking truly is a thing! Now that I’m teaching from home, I’m able to let dough rise and rest for hours. I never had the time for that when I was running around all week, but now it’s nice to take a break from grading to go check on my bread, roll out the buns, let them rise again while I work some more. It’s pretty cathartic.

I started with this NY Times Recipe, which was fantastic. The only problem is that the rolls came out to 8 SP a piece, and they were HUGE. It’s a great recipe if you want to splurge, but I was hoping for one that I could make more frequently. I altered just a few things here and there to get these down to 4 SP each!

This is REAL, fluffy, flavorful bread. Not the reduced-calorie bread you buy in stores that can often times feel like you’re just eating air. And these are a pretty good size!

I love how versatile they are, too. Use them as hamburger buns or as rolls for sandwiches. Like this killer breakfast sandwich.

I’ve also shaped them into logs to make hot dog buns! I haven’t tried this as a whole loaf, but I bet it would be great. Not sure what the baking time would be on that, though. The key is to not over bake the bread. I did that once, and while still good, it didn’t have quite the same tenderness as my other batches.

HOw to Make Light Brioche Buns

This is honestly a pretty easy recipe for making your own bread. It takes a while, but most of that time is just the dough rising. The actual hands-on time is around 40 minutes total.

As with any baking, it’s important to follow the directions as closely as possible and to have the right kitchen tools. A stand mixer is ideal. If you have your dough hook, even better. I lost my dough hook years ago, so I used the paddle attachment to knead my dough. It’s a bit loud and chaotic but still gets the job done.

The next best tool is a food processor. The heat from your processor will make for a stickier dough, but you can use a spatula to move the dough to a bowl for the rise. Once it rises completely, the dough becomes much easier to handle.

How do i store them?

I let them cool completely, then I store them in freezer bags, making sure I’ve let out most of the air. They keep in the refrigerator for a full week, or at least that’s as long as they’ve lasted between the two of us.

To reheat, toast them or throw them in the microwave. According to Jeff, 18 seconds is the perfect reheat time in the microwave. Lol I’m a toaster gal myself, so let me know if Jeff is right.

Well, I think we’re ready to start baking! The recipe itself is going to be pretty long, so bear with me. I hope all of my explanations will help if you’re a novice baker like myself.

I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there.

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4.75 from 4 votes

Light Brioche Buns are much heartier and flavorful than the reduced-calorie bread you can buy in the store. Save money by making your own light bread!

Ingredients

3 1/3 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) instant/rapid rise yeast or active dry yeast
2 tbsp light butter (I love Balade brand; it's the closest to real butter that I've found.)
1 cup water
2 tbsp almond milk (or whatever milk you have)
2 large eggs
2 tbsp extra all-purpose flour, for kneading the dough (DO NOT add this into the first step)

Instructions

IF USING A STAND OR HAND MIXER*

If you are using rapid rise/instant yeast, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in your large bowl. In a microwave-safe measuring cup, add water and milk. Microwave for 45 seconds, until very warm. Whisk 1 egg in separate bowl. Then follow directions as listed below.
If you are using active dry yeast, whisk together flour and salt in your large bowl. In a microwave-safe measuring cup, add water and milk. Microwave for 45 seconds, until very warm. Whisk in sugar and yeast, then let stand for 5 minutes, or until yeast is foamy. Whisk 1 egg in separate bowl. Then follow directions as listed below.
Set your mixer on low, then add in light butter. Mix for about a minute, or until butter is distributed through flour mixture.
Turn the speed up to medium and slowly add in your wet ingredients, including the whisked egg. "Knead" the dough with your mixer for about 5 minutes, or until dough is slightly elastic.
Use a spatula to form the dough into a ball. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes-1 hour if using instant yeast or 2 hours if using active dry yeast. You want your dough to double in size.
Dust a cutting board with 1 tbsp flour. Use the extra tbsp to flour your hands. Scrape the dough onto your cutting board and knead just until the dough is not as sticky.
Grease two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicon linings. Divide dough in half. Make each half into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion around on the cutting board until you make a circle shape (or log shape for hot dog buns). Place six rolls on each baking sheet, with a good amount of room between them.
Cover both baking sheets with kitchen towels and let buns rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
Set a large shallow pan or large skillet filled with 2 cups of water on floor of your oven. This will help keep your bread moist. Preheat oven to 400F. Once buns have doubled in size, whisk remaining egg with 1 tbsp of water. Brush tops of buns with egg wash. You could add sesame seeds at this point.
Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
*If using a food processor, follow instructions as listed (according to your type of yeast) but pulse butter in, then add in wet ingredients through the feed tube. Blend on low for about 2-3 minutes, or until dough starts to come together a bit.

Notes

Click here to determine your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe (if you are logged in to your WW app, it should calculate for you automatically)

WW Green, Blue, and Purple SmartPoints: 4 per bun

Recipe slightly adapted from this NY Times recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 145kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Sugar: 1g