These strawberry rhubarb brioche buns are the quintessential summer treat. The brioche is pillowy and soft, and the buns are filled with creamy almond frangipane, sweet and sour strawberry rhubarb jam, and sprinkled with crunchy sugar. They make a lovely dessert, or breakfast alongside some coffee or tea. If you’re new to baking bread, don’t be scared! Brioche takes a little patience, but is so worth the effort.
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The true taste of summer
When I think of summer, I immediately think of strawberries and rhubarb. It’s a classic combination for a reason, and the sweet-tart flavor is the star of these brioche buns. If you’re not familiar with rhubarb, it’s actually a vegetable, that has beautiful pink and green stalks and a very sour flavor. While it can be used in savory applications, it’s most commonly used in desserts. It works beautifully on its own, or with a sweet fruit like strawberries.
Making the strawberry rhubarb jam for these brioche buns is simple. Just combine the halved strawberries, diced rhubarb, sugar, and lemon juice to a pot over medium heat. Cook until the fruit starts to break down, and then use an immersion blender or blender to blend the jam so it isn’t too chunky. That said, if you prefer to have larger fruit pieces, you do not need to blend until smooth. Use the sweetest summer strawberries you can find, though the compote does include sugar. Feel free to adjust the sugar level to make it sweeter, or less sweet, to your taste.
With these strawberry rhubarb brioche buns, we add some jam before baking, but I also like to top them off with some more jam once they come out of the oven. This adds another layer of flavor, and hit of summer sweetness. You can use any leftover jam as you would jarred jam (stored in the fridge), or freeze for up to 3 months.
What is frangipane?
Frangipane is an almond custard used as filling for pastries and tarts. That said, don’t let the word custard worry you. Unlike egg finicky custards, it’s very easy to make, and is perfect for making an impressive dessert with little effort. Frangipane also works with many kinds of nuts. These strawberry rhubarb brioche buns layer frangipane with the strawberry rhubarb jam to give a complexity of flavor to the buns. They go traditional route of using almond flour, but feel free to experiment with other types of nuts and flavor profiles. It puffs up beautifully in the oven and has a wonderfully light and moist texture that’s perfect for a brioche bun.
Frangipane uses nut meal, sugar, butter, and egg as its main components. This recipe includes vanilla to complement the strawberry rhubarb compote. Simply beat all the ingredients together until creamy and smooth, and you’re good to go. Frangipane can also be prepared up to 1 day in advance, if stored in the fridge. If you have leftovers, you can also freeze frangipane for up to 3 months.
A note on scales
Before we get started on these strawberry rhubarb brioche buns, let’s talk measuring ingredients. In an effort to make my recipes accessible to everyone in every kitchen, I do my best to provide both weight and volume measurements for all of my ingredients. There are times when weight measurement is not as consequential, like with many of my cooking recipes. However, when it comes to baking, weight will always be the most accurate way to measure the ingredients. Using a scale may seem more complicated, but it is actually extremely easy, and provides accurate, consistent results. And a big bonus: fewer dishes to wash!
Measuring by weight in grams is always the most accurate unit of measurement for baking recipes. This is the method of measurement I personally use. I will also provide the volumetric conversion, but please note that I do not bake using volumetric measurements, so these will always be an approximate estimate. For best results, I highly recommend that you use a digital scale to measure. I love this one from Ooni, because it has the dual platforms which makes it super easy to get accurate readings. There are other several excellent and relatively inexpensive options out there as well. I recommend getting a scale with a minimum 10lb weight capacity, especially if you bake a lot, or in large quantities.
Tips for making these brioche buns
Given that we are working with a bread dough, let’s go over how to troubleshoot some common bread issues.
My dough isn’t rising: This can be from yeast that is inactive, or from a temperature issue. Make sure your yeast is not expired, and you leave your dough to rise in a warm place.
My dough is too dry: This typically means your dough is under hydrated. Make sure you are following the weight measurements in the recipe for maximum accuracy. This dough should not be dry or crumbly, and if it is, that means there is a larger mistake in measuring that needs to be addressed.
My dough is too sticky: Most of the time, a sticky dough is the result of under mixing, NOT from too much liquid (as long as you followed the weight measurements listed). The gluten bonds that create dough structure form as you mix the dough, so this will decrease stickiness as you mix. Make sure to give the dough plenty of time, around 10 minutes (or longer, depending on your mixer) to get nice and strong. It should start pulling away from the edges of the bowl as it continues to develop during mixing.
This brioche dough is an enriched dough, meaning it contains fats which give it its soft texture. It is important that all fats are at room temperature when added to the dough.
The dough is ready to use when you can stretch a small amount over your fingers and see light through it without it tearing. This is called the windowpane test, and means the gluten is well developed. This dough is soft, but should not be so sticky you can’t handle it. If it is still extremely sticky after mixing, you may add some flour, 1tbsp at a time, JUST until the dough stops sticking.
Ingredients for the perfect strawberry rhubarb brioche buns
These brioche buns and their filling use fairly standard ingredients:
Bread Flour: These brioche buns use bread flour to help with proper dough strength. You can also use AP flour, but the dough may need a lot of extra development. My favorite bread flour to use is the Costco AP Flour, which confusingly is actually bread flour (central milling ABC flour).
Eggs, whole milk, and butter: For enriching the dough and giving a buttery flavor and texture. You can use an alternative milk, if you prefer.
Swedish sugar: This is my favorite sugar for sprinkling because it stays crunchy. If you can’t find it, you can also use a coarse sugar like demerara sugar.
Strawberries: Use the sweetest summer strawberries you can find!
Rhubarb: Try to use rhubarb that is pink, and choose medium-large stalks.
Fine ground almond flour: For a frangipane that has a little bit of texture but isn’t gritty.
Vanilla and almond extracts: To enhance the flavor of the frangipane.
Shaping: a how-to
Shaping the perfect brioche bun is quite easy once you get the hang of it. After allowing the dough to complete its first rise, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. I like to shape it back into a loose ball, so that it’s easier to divide evenly. Using a bench scraper or a sharp knife, divide the dough into 8 pieces.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, gather all the corners together and pinch closed to form a dumpling shape. Place seam side down on an un-floured work surface. Cup your hand over dough, and move your hand in a rapid circular motion to form dough into a tight ball. The dough should lightly stick to the work surface to create surface tension and help it form into a perfect ball. Put the shaped rolls onto a lined baking sheet, and allow to rise again for about 45 mins until puffy.
To make the final bun shape, use a flat bottomed glass or 1/3-1/2 measuring cup. Press into the center of the bun to create a well. Use a piping bag to pipe in about a tablespoon of frangipane, and top with a tablespoon or two strawberry rhubarb jam. Then, egg wash the rolls, bake them, and finally sprinkle with Swedish sprinkling sugar or demerara sugar.
Special tools for these brioche buns
I recommend using a mixer with a dough hook attachment for making these buns. I’ve made them in a Kitchen Aid with plenty of success, but recently have been using my Ooni Halo Pro, which I find to be far superior for mixing bread. It’s definitely an investment, but if you make a lot of bread/dough based bakes, it’s an invaluable piece of equipment that I highly recommend.
You can also mix these strawberry rhubarb brioche buns by hand, but just know that this takes a lot longer, and if you are new to making bread, I suggest sticking with the mixer until you are more familiar with working with dough.
You will also need an immersion blender, food processor, or blender for making the jam. A piping bag for the frangipane is helpful, but not required. You can also use a ziploc bag and snip the corner off.
How to serve and store these buns
This strawberry brioche buns keep best in the fridge, wrapped well, for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before eating, or warm for 30 seconds in the microwave. Besides being a delightful dessert, they make a wonderful breakfast alongside some coffee or tea.
More easy summer desserts you’ll love
Strawberry Financiers with Rhubarb and Rose Buttercream
Lemon Passionfruit Cake with Raspberry Mascarpone Buttercream
Peach Semolina Upside Down Cake
I hope you enjoy these Strawberry Rhubarb Brioche Buns! Be sure to tag me on instagram so I can see your creations, and leave me a comment below! Your feedback helps other home cooks and bakers who are giving this recipe a try, and I love hearing about what you made!
