You are going to fall in love with this chocolate chip sourdough brioche recipe! It's super versatile, so you can choose to make it into 12 soft buttery, chocolatey rolls or bake it in a loaf pan (I'll give you all the details, don't worry). The choice is entirely yours! However you choose to enjoy this recipe, I'm sure it will become a breakfast favorite at your house!

A close up image of two sourdough chocolate chip brioche rolls that are stacked on top of one another.

Why You'll Love This Recipe!

Versatile - With just one dough, you can choose to make this into 12 rolls or a delicious sandwich style loaf. No need to use a different recipe for each! Either way, they're perfect for breakfast or brunch!

Great Alternative To Hot Cross Buns - I love making these as a chocolatey alternative to sourdough Hot Cross Buns at Easter time.

Ingredients

Sourdough Starter - you'll need an active sourdough starter that has been fed and is at it's peak to make this recipe. You can read about the best time to use your sourdough starter here.
Bread Flour - I recommend using a good quality bread flour for the best results.
Eggs - the quality of eggs you use will have a bearing on the quality of the sourdough brioche loaf you produce. Use the freshest eggs possible will give you the richest flavor and best color for your sourdough chocolate chip brioche.
Butter - you'll need to use butter that is soft, but not melted. I've used salted, but you can of course use unsalted if you prefer.
Milk - whole milk works best for this recipe. I don't recommend substituting it with any low fat milk or dairy free alternatives.
Sugar - just a little sugar for added sweetness and for improved texture of this sourdough brioche dough.
Salt - a little salt for flavor, as well as to strengthen the gluten network of this dough.
Chocolate Chips - I've chosen to use semi sweet chocolate chips for this recipe but you can really use any chocolate chips that you like. I think that semi sweet and dark work really well in this recipe, but you can also use milk or even white if you prefer.

How To Make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Brioche Loaf or Rolls

This delicious recipe for sourdough chocolate chip brioche loaf or rolls is based on my sourdough brioche loaf recipe. It's a good resource to consult if you've never made sourdough brioche bread before as it can be a little tricky the first time you make it, especially if you aren't familiar with the window pane test.

I've created this recipe using my KitchenAid Mixer because it makes kneading the dough so much easier. You can of course knead the dough by hand if you prefer.

Making The Dough

Warm milk to around 37C (you don't want it to be cold, but not too warm either). Add the milk and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix until the sugar is dissolved. I use the whisk attachment for this step.

Now add the sourdough starter, flour and eggs to the bowl. Mix into a rough dough and let it sit for around 30 minutes. I use the dough hook attachment for this step and all subsequent kneading of the dough.

Once the dough has sat for a little while, add the butter and salt and use the stand mixer to knead it really well. You want the butter to mix all the way through and the dough to become very soft and elastic. Depending on the type of mixer you use, this could take 3 minutes, it could take 20 minutes.

Once the dough is silky and elastic (it can be slightly sticky) it should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl, it's time to add the chocolate chips and ensure they are mixed through the dough evenly.

Transfer the dough into a large bowl for bulk fermentation. Cover with plastic and set aside.

Shaping The Dough

Once the dough has risen a bit (it doesn't have to double, 50% rise is ok in this instance) you'll need to shape the brioche dough.

Turn the dough onto the counter and divide into equally weighted balls of dough.

You can choose to shape as a loaf or into individual rolls.

Brioche Rolls - If making rolls I generally make 12 rolls weighing 100g each and bake them in an 8" x 12" pan.

Loaf - If making a sandwich loaf I divide dough into reasonably equal pieces and form into 4 balls. Place the balls into a loaf pan (I use a 1.5 pound USA pan).

Once shaped, allow the dough to proof and get nice and puffy. This can take quite a while due to the butter, milk and eggs. You'll need to be patient with this dough!

Baking The Dough

Once the dough is puffy, it's time to bake! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

While the oven is preheating, mix an egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the dough generously with this egg wash.

Bake the sourdough brioche at 180C/350F for around 20-25 minutes for rolls and 30-35 minutes for a loaf.

Once the loaf or rolls are out of the oven, brush with lashings of butter while still in the pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Baking Timeline

This is a sample baking timeline for making sourdough chocolate chip brioche rolls. You will need to adjust the times to suit your own temperature and environment, but this timeline works well for my sourdough starter and kitchen temperature.

TIME	PROCESS
8 am	Mix and knead dough for sourdough chocolate chip brioche rolls.
9:30 am	Cover dough and allow to bulk ferment to around 50% rise.
5:30 pm	Shape dough into rolls (or loaf if you prefer)
6 pm	Allow rolls to sit for around an hour before covering in plastic wrap and placing into fridge for the night (so they'd go into fridge around 7pm)
6 am	Take rolls out of the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature and get nice and puffy - this will take some time).
10 am	Bake rolls for 25 to 30 mins.
10.30 am	Remove from oven and smother in butter.
	Enjoy warm for brunch!

Serving Suggestions

As A Loaf

Slice and toast for a delicious twist on breakfast toast. This is delicious served with some fresh berries like strawberries and raspberries for a fresh side.
Turn leftover slices of this sourdough chocolate chip brioche loaf into the ultimate sourdough French toast!
For something even more delicious, use up leftovers for a chocolate twist on this sourdough bread pudding.

As Rolls

Serve warm with a dish of your favorite butter! I highly recommend serving these with whipped maple butter, whipped brown butter or chocolate butter.
If you do want to use these as hot cross buns, you can always pipe a cross onto them before baking them.
For a decadent twist, dollop these sourdough chocolate chip brioche rolls with a generous serving of the vanilla cream cheese frosting used on these sourdough cinnamon rolls.

How To Store + Freeze

Like most sourdough and fresh bread products I recommend serving and eating this sourdough chocolate chip brioche as soon as possible after baking - especially if you're serving as rolls as these tend to dry out faster.

The good news is that this recipe freezes well and can be thawed and reheated to be served as freshly baked.