• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • New Magazine!
  • Bread
  • Cookies
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans

Lavender Brioche French Toast

July 27, 2017 by Joy the Baker 31 Comments

Jump to Recipe

We’re going to take the scenic route to breakfast.  

Don’t worry, I do this often in life… usually it’s because I’m stubborn and I don’t like to use the navigation app on my phone.  

By way of breakfast, we’re taking the scenic route by first… making a casual loaf of really lovely lavender brioche bread. 

Ok yea. It’s a scenic detour that requires heart and soul, time and self-patience.  But trust! I wouldn’t get you into something you can’t handle.  I’m not asking you to wake up first thing on Sunday morning, slap on the mascara and get cooking.  I have a better plan.  If you’re anything like me… and listen, I know you are… you spend at least a portion of your Saturday night bra-less and pitzing around in the kitchen.  Maybe Law & Order SVU reruns are on.  Maybe you’re just living your truest truth.  Point is… in that sacred time, you could be making a beautiful loaf of this lavender brioche for the next morning’s breakfast.  

I’m not trying to intrude.   I just believe in you and bread and bra-less cooking.  

This recipe is a combination of recipes two recipes from Over Easy.  The Buttered Pecan French Toast + Lavender Brioche Bread – the buttered pecans + a few slices of bacon and a bra.  That’s the math if you really want to get into specifics.  

We’ll start by making the bread which… well, I know it might feel like a deeply laborious thing to do just to end up with french toast on your plate, but we’re in this together.

And if you happen to feel like it’s not worth it and want to take the fast track to french toast, I certainly wouldn’t be mad at you for buying brioche.  I just want you to breakfast well.  It’s friendship care.  

If you’re making bread… it starts with flour in a bowl.  You’ve done that before.  It’s not so bad. 

Brioche is a beautifully forgiving dough thanks to a good amount of fat.  

Fat is notorious for making yeasted doughs pliable, happy, and easy to work with. 

In a small saucepan we’ll melt butter and add milk.  

To the milky butter we’ll also add honey for sweetness… 

and dried culinary lavender to create a deeply fragrant and flavorful dough. 

The mixture is heated to warm, just enough to dissolve the honey and bloom the lavender. 

Yeast!  I used active dry yeast and added it to the warm butter / milk / honey mish-mash. 

Remember a moment ago when I said that fat makes a brioche batter easy to work with!  Add eggs to the list.  Two eggs in the dough will make it velvet soft!  It’s really one of my favorite doughs. 

In this mixer I have our milky yeasty butter mixture + two eggs and now that flour we so tenderly placed in a bowl earlier. 

Salt too!  Don’t forget the balance! 

Worked into a shaggy dough. 

The dough was feeling a bit sticky to me so I added the remaining flour and worked the dough into a mostly smooth and soft dough. 

The best part is working the dough with your hands into a smooth round.  

If you want to kiss it, that makes sense to me too. 

Into a greased bowl to rest, covered, until doubled in size… nice and fluffy.  

Once the dough is risen.

Are you still with me?

Flop it onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a mostly deflated round.  

Feel free to use less flour that I show here.  When kneading the dough into ropes, the less flour the better… you’ll appreciate a little stick and counter resistance. 

Divide the dough ball into three mostly-equal pieces.  

Roll each into ropes.  

This is where you’ll want less flour and more stick to your counter space.  

I braid my brioche from the middle, out- on each end. 

Fold and tuck.

I would encourage you to braid this bread in what ever way feels comfortable and correct to you.

And then I wonder if one of you could come over and teach me how to french braid hair… that’s a life skill that passed me by.  

The braided loaf if left to rest and rise for half an hour while the oven preheats.  The loaf is brushed with egg wash and baked up to golden brown.  

I left the baked loaf to rest, uncovered, overnight to dry out juuust a bit.  I find that a dry bread makes for a good french toast, soaking up all of the custard.  

For the French Toast we’ll need: eggs, whole milk, cream, butter and cinnamon+ sugar.  

Eggs are whisked well with whole milk and heavy cream.  

Cinnamon and granulated sugar is mixed together before adding it to our eggy custard. 

And the whole mixture is whisked together with vanilla extract. 

I like thick slices of brioche with a good soak in custard.  About 15 seconds per side, maybe a few seconds longer. 

Cooked to golden brown and topped with pure maple syrup.  

Well earned, well deserved.  Ask someone else to pour the mimosas. You’re a damn goddess. 

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Lavender Brioche French Toast

  • Author: Joy the Baker
  • Prep Time: 180
  • Total Time: 3 hours
Pin Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

For the Bread

  • 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing the bowl
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender
  • 1 tablespoon (1 package plus 1/2 teaspoon) active dry yeast
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature (2 for the bread, 1 to brush the top)
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • canola oil for the work surface

For the French Toast

  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons lightly packed light brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • canola oil for cooking the french toast

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the milk, honey, and lavender and stir until the honey is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool to just above room temperature, about 110 degrees F.
  2. Transfer the milk mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and sprinkle the yeast over the mixture. Add 2 of the eggs, 3 1/2 cups of flour and the salt. Beat on medium speed until it forms a soft and smooth dough, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the remaining flour if you find the dough is too sticky.
  3. Lightly grease a large bowl.  Place the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
  4. Transfer dough to a lightly greased work surface and divide dough into three equal pieces.  Gently roll and stretch each piece into a 15-inch rope.  Cover lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Continue rolling each rope until it is about 18-inches long.
  5. Lay the three ropes parallel to one another and pinch the three ropes together at the top.  Lightly and gently life each rope to braid the loaf.  Repeat until the braid is complete and pinch the ends of the rope together.
  6. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease.  Carefully lift the braid and place on the prepared pan.
  7. Cover the loaf with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow to rise again for 1 hour.
  8. Towards the end of the rising time, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  9. Lightly brush loaf with beaten egg.
  10. Place the loaf and baking sheet on another baking sheet to insulate the bottom of the loaf and keep it from browning too quickly.
  11. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and lightly cover with foil.  Return to the oven and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes until a deep golden brown and the loaf sounds a bit hallow when it tapped.
  12. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, overnight is best- before slicing for french toast.
  13. To make the french toast, In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
  14. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, warm the heavy cream for about 3 minutes, until just steaming and remove from the heat.
  15. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the sugar mixture to the cream and stir just until sugar is dissolved. Add the cream mixture to the egg and milk mixture. Stir in the vanilla.
  16. Working with one thick slice of bread at a time, put a slice into the egg mixture and let it soak for about 15 seconds on each side. Place on a rimmed baking sheet to rest while all the bread is dipped and the pan is heated.
  17. In a medium nonstick skillet or griddle pan set over medium heat, brush with oil. Place 2 or 3 bread slices into the pan and cook for about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown on each side. Add a bit more oil to the pan after you flip the bread, if needed. Transfer to a heatproof plate or baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel and keep warm in the oven while you cook the rest of the toast. Repeat the cooking process with the remaining bread.
  18. Serve warm with pure maple syrup and enjoy!


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 6

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast, Recipes

Previous Post: « 10 Things I Do To Survive Airplane Travel
Next Post: Let It Be Sunday, 130! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Adrienne Cho

    October 24, 2018 at 7:06 am

    Hi! Could I make this brioche in a loaf pan?

    Reply
  2. Martha

    September 24, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    Made this for breakfast today: delish!!! Next time, I will try soaking the brioche in the french toast mixture overnight. The brioche’s density caused the as-written soak to leave the insides on the dry side, despite poking with a fork during the soak. I may also try baking the french toast vs cooking it in a pan.

    Reply
  3. Chloe (Musings on Dinner)

    August 9, 2017 at 3:01 pm

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen a recipe for a flavoured brioche before (although I know they are sometimes flavoured with orange blossom in some places). As I have some dried lavender buds in the pantry, I’m earmarking this to try in the future…even if I don’t follow up with making French toast

    Reply
  4. Rachael @ Rachael's Foodie Life

    August 9, 2017 at 5:16 am

    this french toast is calling me! I’ve been really digging cooking with lavender lately and i definitely need to try this!

    Reply
  5. Nancy

    August 4, 2017 at 10:31 am

    This looks SO good!

    Reply
  6. Kay Nguyen

    August 2, 2017 at 6:24 pm

    This looks amazing! I love it <3

    https://www.myblackcloset.com/

    Reply
  7. The daintydish

    August 2, 2017 at 11:32 am

    Joy, I don’t have any lavender, is it possible to leave it out or will it change the bread too much? I live in the country, a good ways from town. Probably won’t be headed in for a while.

    Reply
  8. Tracy

    August 1, 2017 at 11:24 am

    I’ve been wanting to make the lavender egg bread from your cookbook! This looks amazing!!

    Reply
  9. The Queen Of Dreaming

    August 1, 2017 at 9:01 am

    Dreamy breakfast, really!

    https://justsem.wordpress.com/

    Reply
  10. Kirti Yadav

    July 31, 2017 at 5:10 am

    This dish is so yummy. My children just loved it and I loved it so much because of the easiness in making it.

    Reply
  11. Rachael @ Rachael's Foodie Life

    July 30, 2017 at 2:53 pm

    Wow! This is going on my Christmas brunch list! It’s gorgeous and so perfect to share with loved ones

    Reply
  12. Christine

    July 29, 2017 at 3:19 am

    I never thought that lavener can be used for cooking. Silly me, I guess. I would definitely try this as it seems pretty interesting.

    Reply
  13. Katie

    July 28, 2017 at 1:01 am

    This sounds great! Breakfast should never be cooked in a bra, it’s against the law where I’m from!

    Katie xoxo

    Reply
« Older Comments
Comments Page 2 of 2
« Previous 1 2

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Bread

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate
How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Micro batch baking – the invitation is to get all the way into it with me!  This is all very Kristin Wiig  making herself a single, sad cupcake in the movie Bridesmaids, save for the fact that there is absolutely zero sadness in me eating a single cinnamon roll over the kitchen sink in my…

Read More

Pile of baked croissants on rack just like starbucks ham and cheese croissant recipe.
Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants

I’ve got 30 solid minutes of your weekend planned out for you.  You’re going to be standing in the kitchen, but I promise it won’t be long. Pour a cup of coffee – that’ll help with everything.  Within your 30 minutes you’re going to pull bakery-quality ham and cheese croissants out of the oven.  I’m…

Read More

Hot cross buns frosted.
Easter Hot Cross Biscuits

Where do you land when it comes to Easter brunch?  Are you a ham, roasted lamb, and scalloped potato family?  Are you more of a quiche salad and biscuit clan?  Do you skip directly to the jelly beans and Cadbury mini eggs?  I’m nodding my head yes – there’s no wrong way to do it. …

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe

Joy the baker with dyed bandana around neck

HOW TO MAKE DYED BANDANAS

as seen in JtB Magazine!

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

FAVORITE FRUIT RECIPES

Gluten-Free Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Berry crostata topped with whipped cream with coffee.

A Single Serve Berry Crostata Recipe

POPULAR CAKES

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Slice of coconut cake on small white plate with coffee.

My favorite Coconut Cake is actually made with cake mix

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
I grew these 🌱sprouts🌱 from seeds in just a I grew these 🌱sprouts🌱 from seeds  in just a few days and now I eat them on everything. It’s my little bit of kitchen zen - listen, we’ll take it where we can get it. xo
I must write hundreds of To Do lists over the cour I must write hundreds of To Do lists over the course of the year but the Summer Bucket List is my favorite. Seven years running - this year I’m getting my butt in the seat of my motorcycle and somehow, on a boat at sunset. ⁣Also, blueberries. Chasing these big and little loves all summer long. 
⁣
What’s on your Summer Bucket List? Inspiration linked in the bio. xo 🌻💋
My EASIEST Strawberry Sheet Cake is also my absolu My EASIEST Strawberry Sheet Cake is also my absolute favorite. Get into a box of white cake mix and fresh 🍓🍓 purée! Topped with a thick layer of strawberry cream cheese frosting - this cake is a little pink dream! ⁣
⁣
The Easiest Strawberry Sheet Cake recipe linked in the bio for you! 💋
Our resident reader, @tobyfels shares my favorite Our resident reader, @tobyfels shares my favorite list of the summer on Joy the Baker this year: The Best Books for Summer 2022!  As a person who reads Beach Reads all year long, this is IT! With titles by @ashleymcoleman_ @anarasong @annleary @bonnie_garmus_author @heyashposton @annabelmonaghan @greerhendricks @sarahpekkanen @shelbyvanpeltwrites @marilynsimonrothstein @@misterosman and @kirstin.chen. The guide to your bookworm summer linked in the bio!
Over here testing the limits of “you are what yo Over here testing the limits of “you are what you eat” and will soon be taking my final form as a summer tomato. ⁣🫠🍅
⁣
This Mediterranean Feta and Fresh Tomato Tart is an absolute show stopper with a buttery crisp, press-in crust, whipped feta, and layers of fresh tomato, cucumber, onions, and olives. I’ll leave the recipe linked in the bio - it’s really very special. Join me. We are 🍅🍅.
Adding fight for our liberty and find tampons to t Adding fight for our liberty and find tampons to the Summer Bucket this year. #summerbucketlist
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up