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Black Sesame Swirl Brioche! Super fluffy, buttery, and so airy, this vegan brioche has swirls of sweet black sesame seeds!
If you love black sesame as much as I do, you are going to love this brioche. Not only it’s nutty and delicious, but let’s be honest, it also looks pretty cool!
The dough is easy and requires just 6 basic ingredients. Start by kneading bread flour with sugar, warm almond milk, vegan butter, dry yeast, and applesauce to give the dough extra moisture.
Next, you want to cover the dough to touch with plastic film or cover it with a damp towel, and let it rise for 1-2 hours at room temperature or until it has doubled in size. Deflate the dough and keep it in the refrigerator overnight to let flavors develop.
In the meantime, prepare the black sesame filling: toast black sesame seeds in a skillet for a few minutes and then blend with sugar until you get a fine powder. If you have black sesame paste on hand, simply combine 2 tbsp of the paste with 2 tbsp of sugar.
Alternatively, if you are not a fan of black sesame, what about cinnamon sugar?!
The next morning, roll out the dough into a rectangle. Fold it in half, turn a quarter turn, roll it out, and fold it again. This process will create a flakier and a more airy texture.
Once this is done, you want to roll it out into a thin rectangle and spread the sweet black sesame sugar over the dough. Roll it into a roll and letproof for another 2 and a half hours. Once again, it will almost double in size!
25 minutes in the oven, and we end up with a golden brown crust and a beautiful swirl of black sesame!
Serve a thick slice of this brioche with some latte or matcha for a delicious mid-morning or afternoon snack! It’s so buttery and perfectly sweet, with a delicate nutty flavor!
Look at how fluffy the texture is!
Looking for more delicious baked goods? Check out these Orange Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies, Pandan Coconut Bread, or this Chocolate Marble Cake!
Let me know in the comments if you try this Black Sesame Swirl Brioche recipe!
Black Sesame Swirl Brioche
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cup bread flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tsp dry yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup warm almond milk
- 2 tbsp applesauce
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract optional
- 5 tbsp vegan butter
Sesame Swirl
- 3 tbsp black sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp white sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Place the flour, sugar, dry yeast, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer (or mixing bowl if kneading by hand) fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix until combined.
- Add the warm almond milk, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Knead for about 2 minutes on slow/medium speed, or until the dough is smooth. Gradually add the butter and keep kneading until the butter is fully incorporated, about 3-5 minutes.
- Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic film to touch to prevent the dough from drying, and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
- Punch down to deflate the dough. Cover with plastic film again and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 8 hours to let flavors develop.
- In the meantime, prepare the black sesame filling: Add the black and white sesame seeds to a skillet. Heat over medium heat, stirring regularly until white sesame seeds turn golden brown. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool.
- Add the toasted sesame seeds and sugar to a blender. Blend until you get a fine powder. Set aside.
- The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Place it on a silpat or non-stick surface and roll it out into a rectangle of about 12×7-inch. Fold it in half width wise. Turn your rectangle of dough a quarter turn (90°) and roll it out again. Fold again. Repeat the same step once again and finally roll it out into a 12×7-inch rectangle. This will create a flakier and more airy texture.
- Spread the black sesame sugar over the dough and slightly press with your hands to make it stick to it. If using black sesame paste*, simply spread it over the dough.
- Tightly roll the dough out into a long log. Carefully transfer the log into a loaf pan (I used a 12×5-inch pan). Let it rise in a warm place for about 2 and 1/2 hours. The brioche will almost double in size.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Brush the top of the brioche with almond milk and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before removing from the pan and enjoying!
- This brioche will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature, wrapped in plastic film.
Notes
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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Hi, I haven’t finished making this yet. Are you sure the recipe is correct? I am no slouch in the kitchen and when I initially measured everything out for a double batch and got to the kneeling part it was waaaay too dry to kneed. I tried to add a bit more milk but I was adding so much in that I figured I had to have measured flour wrong or something. I never do this but I threw it out and started over but only did a single batch. Still very dry. I added the butter in but sill pretty stiff. I don’t have much hope. It is rising now and we shall see. You don’t need to put this in your blog. Just let me know if it is suppose to be that dry, really seems like it isn’t right. I bake a lot and am proficient at bread.
Hi Donna,
Sorry to hear that! It’s not supposed to be dry at all, but quite soft. Are you using bread flour? Also, do you put the flour inside the measuring cup using a spoon, or scoop out directly from the bag?
Hello Thomas, I would like to make this soon, just not sure if the yeast is active dry yeast or quick-rise instant yeast. If you could let me know that would be great. Thanks again!
Hi Deborah,
I use active dry yeast.
I made this today and it was a superb, a beautiful buttery brioche, but I also found the dough dry when I followed the amounts stated and had to add extra almond milk.
Did you use bread flour?
I just retested the brioche this morning, making sure to measure all the ingredients correctly again, and the dough was far from dry (it was quite soft and sticky), especially after butter has been added.
Thomas,
Full marks! Made this today, and it’s wonderful.
Jim
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback James!
I’ve made this recipe twice in the last week and it comes out excellent. Very simple to make and it is absolutely delicious!!!
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback Ken!
Amazingly good! The filling was particularly delicious. Regarding the extra liquid discussion, I am wondering if you sift the flour before you measure it, Thomas- that might explain some of the difference people are finding. For what it’s worth, I always try to weigh my ingredients, rather than use cups, as there is much less chance of variation. Also different bread flours will have different amounts of protein/gluten, which might also explain the need for more liquid. I used to 11.25 oz. bread flour, which is the weight equivalent of 2 1/2 cups unsifted, and I needed an additional 6 tablespoons of almond milk to make a soft smooth dough before adding the butter. Generally I like to err on the side of a soft moist dough for brioche. I also brushed the loaf pan with a little melted vegan butter and also used it to brush the dough to get the sesame sugar to stick. Thank you so much for the recipe- it’s definitely a keeper!
Thanks Melissa!
I do not sift the flour, however I do agree that depending on the brand and protein content of flour, it absorbs more or less liquid.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for your rating! 🙂
Wow, fantastic recipe! I made this for Easter brunch over the weekend, and it turned out perfectly soft and scrumptious. I used poppy seeds (instead of sesame), pea protein milk (Ripple), and instant yeast. All worked great, and everyone was amazed that it’s vegan.
So glad you liked this brioche Scott! Thanks for your rating 🙂