Proof the dough overnight: I recommend allowing your brioche dough to rise slowly overnight in the fridge. Cold dough is so much nicer to work with! But you can also let it proof at room temperature for one hour and make the brioche bread immediately.




Bake the dough within 24 hours: To find that sweet spot between properly proofed with a developed flavor and over-fermented, I recommend giving the dough at least 5 hours to rise in the fridge, but no more than 24 hours.




Brush the dough with an egg wash: To give the brioche loaf a deep golden, shiny crust, brush the dough with an egg wash made from one egg mixed with two tablespoons of heavy cream or milk.




Bake the loaf in a pullman pan: For a very tall loaf with sharp corners, bake the brioche in a pullman pan! This pan is similar to a 9x5 loaf pan but slightly longer, and has straight sides, rather than sloped sides. It creates that classic store-bought sliced bread look, which is of course necessary for an epic sandwich or stuffed french toast.