Egg Bread Recipe: 3 Types of Egg Bread

Egg bread refers to any yeasted bread dough that has been enriched with eggs. To make egg bread, bakers mix eggs directly into the flour mixture before kneading and proofing—usually along with fats like butter, oil, or milk—resulting in a soft, pillowy crumb and glossy, thin crust. Additionally, lightly spraying the surface of the loaf with water before the start of the baking process will help it achieve a crispy crust.

Popular types of egg bread include brioche, a buttery French bread, challah, a Kosher yeast bread, and Italian Easter bread, a brioche-style loaf adorned with candies or sprinkles. You can use leftover egg bread to make French toast, bread crumbs, or bread pudding.

Here are the main types of egg bread:

1. 1. Brioche: Brioche is a buttery yeasted bread from France. Eggs help the dough rise and create a large crumb that's great for soaking up liquids, like a bowl of chocolat chaud (hot chocolate). The egg yolks give the bread a golden interior, and butter adds an extra boost of moisture. The result is a rich, buttery flavor, and deep golden-brown crust.
2. 2. Challah: Challah is a Kosher braided yeast bread that has long been a symbolic centerpiece for Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), Shabbat, and Purim. The simple dough is made with eggs, water, flour, yeast, and salt. The pale yellow color and rich flavor come from the high amount of eggs used in the dough.
3. 3. Italian Easter bread: Traditionally known as pane di Pasqua (Italian for “bread of Easter”), this festive, springtime brioche-style bread is braided and shaped into a wreath, then glazed in sugared almonds, candy sprinkles, and sometimes glaze.

Adding eggs to bread dough dramatically affects the finished loaf—here’s how:

• Color: The more eggs the recipe includes, the deeper the yellow-gold hue of the bread.
• Flavor: Egg breads are typically on the sweeter side, supported by the rich creaminess imparted by egg yolks, which can also add tenderness to the crumb.
• Texture: Egg breads have a delicate, tender crumb that tears easily and melts in the mouth. As with other baked goods that rely on egg whites for volume, like sponge cake, eggs act as a leavening agent in bread, enhancing rise while inhibiting gluten formation.