Traditional Jewish Babka Recipe

Babka is a braided yeast bread or cake that originated in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. It is prepared with an enriched bread dough, like challah or brioche, that is rolled out and spread with a sweet or savory filling, before being rolled up, twisted, and baked. The name “babka” comes from the Polish

Which translates to “grandmother, ” which is fitting because the bread is said to have been created by resourceful Jewish grandmothers who used leftover challah dough to make an early version of babka. Over time, the recipe for babka evolved and the bread became sweeter and richer, with chocolate being a popular filling.

Perhaps the most famous babka, after the one mentioned on an episode of Seinfeld in 1994, is sold at Breads Bakery in NYC. It is outrageously good, and since it’s filled with Nutella rather than a homemade chocolate spread, it’s easy to make at home. I used the recipe on their website as a starting point, but modified it to use my favorite brioche dough and also made it smaller in size. While this is a very simple recipe, the dough requires two separate rises as well as at least 3 hours in the fridge. If you plan to bake and serve babka on the same day, it’s best to start the process the day before.

Double Chocolate Babka

Stir with a wooden spoon until uniform and all of the flour is absorbed. The dough will be wet, lumpy and somewhat elastic (it will firm up in the fridge and smooth out when you knead it later).

Cover loosely with plastic wrap (be sure the bowl is completely covered but don’t make it airtight) and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to three days.

On the day of baking, grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan generously with butter. Dust a clean work surface with flour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, transfer it to the work surface, and dust it lightly with flour. Knead with your hands, sprinkling more flour as necessary so the dough doesn’t stick, for 30 seconds.

Babka Like Never Before

Roll out the dough into a 14-inch square, dusting more flour underneath and over the dough as necessary; it should be about ⅛ inch thick.

Starting with the side closest to you, roll the dough tightly into a log; turn it vertically, so one end of the log is facing you, and place seam side down.

Transfer the twisted dough to the prepared loaf pan. (This is a messy process; just do your best – it will look pretty no matter how messy it is).

Caramel Chocolate Babka

Cover the babka loosely with plastic wrap (not airtight) and let sit at room temperature for 90 minutes. It will rise just a bit. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the babka is a rich golden brown color. A toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf should come out without any wet dough sticking to it (melted chocolate is okay). If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should read between 190°F to 200°F in the center of the loaf.

Meanwhile, make the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Best Chocolate Babka Bread Recipe

Place the pan with the baked babka on a rack. Immediately brush or drizzle the syrup over top. The syrup helps to add a nice sheen to the loaf while also keeping the babka moist.

Once the babka is completely cooled, wrap it in a few layers of plastic wrap, then in foil. Store it in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw the wrapped babka at room temperature. Before serving, warm the babka in a 325°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until warmed through.

I'd love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a review below. Or snap a photo and share it on Instagram; be sure to tag me @.

Pumpkin Chocolate Babka (with Candy Corn Too!)

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.Babka, also called Babka Cake and Babka Bread in some places. It's a love child of bread, croissant and cake, if three could produce a child that is.

It's probably best described as a sweet yeasted bread with a dark and decadent filling. It's quite a popular bread in jewish and Eastern European households.

Dark Chocolate inside soft buttery folds of a rich Brioche bread with a just brewed cup of my favorite coffee can banish staunchest of demons.

Ari's Pick: Chocolate Raisin Babka

If you ever wondered about that one food that could make you happier than you have ever been..it is this homemade Chocolate Babka!

This sweet braided bread recipe could rival your favorite cinnamon roll recipe or even your most perfect croissant that you spend so much on!

This kind of bread comes under the category of Enriched Bread. It's richer and softer than your average bread because it has eggs, butter and milk. Like a brioche!

Vegan Chocolate Babka

That said, there are other equally intriguing non chocolate fillings like- cinnamon, peanut butter, custard which are also quite enticing(if you take chocolate out of picture).

Also! if you love milk chocolate, give my Nutella Babka a try! It's so good! Better yet! Make one loaf with chopped up dark chocolate and one with Nutella!

If you love chocolate as much as i do, give these amazing chocolate cake a try.I have been making it for past 12 years!

Recipe: Sticky Caramel Pecan Babka Loaves

Every flour has different liquid absorption capability. So you need to add half at first and then add little by little as you bring the dough together.

Get Good Quality Chocolate for the filling. You could go all the way dark dark dark bittersweet chocolate. but I find that a mid way works better.

Definitely do not use compound chocolate. I also prefer a chocolate bar over chocolate chips because it is easier to cut. Plus finely chopped chocolate is easier to roll and shape, which you will see below.

Amazon.com: Babka Atx Handmade Babka Cinnamon Bread Loaf

Either clean up some space on the counter to knead the dough or get your stand mixer ready to go or use a huge bowl like I do.

Add the Flour, Yeast, Salt & Sugar to the bowl of the stand mixer. Using the hook attachment, Give it a whizz to mix it up.To this add cold butter and mix it for another 30 seconds. Add Eggs, one at a time.Add the milk.

Let the hook attachment do its work for 5-6 minutes.You need to do this to develop gluten.This will make yur bread soft.

Dark Chocolate Babka Ring

Add cold butter cubes and pinch and rub the flour and butter to get a course clumpy consistency. This should take 1-2 minutes.

Add the eggs and half of the milk and mix it up together to get the dough. Add more milk little by little if the dough is dry.

Cover the dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and place the dough on a warm place on the counter for 1-2 hours. Let the yeast do it's business, till it rises and doubles in size.

Babka Or Brioche Bread. Stuffed With Hazelnut Cream Stock Photo

On a warm day this could take 1 hour or less. On a cold day, it could take up to 4 hours. To speed up the dough rising process, you can stick the covered dough in the instant pot in the yogurt setting.

If you aren't confident of kneading or just don't like it, then get the dough together and stick it in the refrigerator overnight. This will automatically develop gluten without a lot of kneading.

You can also melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiled and spread on the dough. Though I like the look of chopped chocolate more.

Birthday Cake Babka

You can use all the dough to make a large wreath. You don't need the baking loaf pans but a big cookie sheet to make this.

After shaping, let the babka rise for the second time. This time it will fill up the loaf pan you have used.

Again, the amount of time it takes depends on how hot your kitchen is.I would say about 1-3 hours at 25 degrees Celsius.

Incredible Chocolate Babka Recipe

Place it in the middle rack