Babka

Babka is a sweet braided bread that originated from Jewish communities in Poland in the early 19th century. Extra challah dough was rolled up with fruit jam or cinnamon and the Babka was baked as a loaf alongside the challah then.

Fast forward to 2020, the modern day Babka consists of either an enriched or laminated dough, rolled out and spread with a variety of sweet fillings such as nutella, chocolate, cinnamon sugar, apples, poppy seeds, matcha and even sake kasu! It is sometimes topped with a crumb topping.

This is a recipe for Nutella Babka, and a variation for Matcha Sesame Babka (scroll all the way to the bottom!)

What you’ll need

How to make it

1. Heat 1 cup of milk to about 95 deg F/ 35 degC.
2. Pour the warm milk into the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Manually whisk in the yeast and 2 teaspoons of the granulated sugar. The mixture should be frothy and foamy after 5 minutes.
3. On low speed, beat in the remaining sugar and the softened butter until butter is slightly broken up. Next beat in 1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk (reserve the egg white) and the salt. Gradually add the flour, then beat on medium speed for about 5-6 minutes until a soft dough forms.
4. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Place into a large bowl, greased and cover with a damp towel. Place in a warm area to rise, till doubled in size, for about an hour.
5. Once doubled in size, punch down the dough to release any air bubbles. Remove dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down again to release any more air bubbles if needed. Using a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut dough in half. Work with only half of the dough at a time. Cover the dough you aren’t working with.
6. Generously grease two round 7-inch pans with butter or nonstick spray.
7. On a slightly floured work surface, start shaping the babka. Roll one dough half out into an approx. 9×13 inch rectangle. Spread with 1 cup of Nutella, leaving a 1/2 inch border uncovered.
8. Tightly roll the dough into a 13-inch log. Place the log on its seam. Using a sharp knife, cut the log in half lengthwise. Criss-cross one half, cut side down, on top of the other half– forming an X. Twist the two together then give the plait a quick roll to form a round dough.
9. Place in prepared loaf pan and cover with damp towel. Repeat with 2nd half of dough. This step can get a little messy – its normal!
10. Allow both shaped (and covered) loaves to rest for 10-20 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 deg F/ 180 deg C.
12. To make the eggwash, whisk the remaining 2 Tablespoons of milk with the leftover egg white. Using a pastry brush, brush the babka loaves with egg wash. Do the best you can as some Nutella is exposed.
13. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until babka is golden brown on top. Remove from the oven, place each pan on a wire rack, and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
14. Cover and store leftover babka at room temperature for a couple days or in the refrigerator for 1 week. You can also freeze the baked babka for up to 3 months, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator. To serve, warm it up in the oven.

To make Matcha Sesame Babka, add 2 tbsps matcha powder to the flour in step 2. Instead of Nutella, make your black sesame filling with 1 cup ground black sesame, 1/2 cup sesame seeds and 2 tbsps brown sugar, then sprinkle on the dough before rolling it into a tight log (steps 7 and 8).