American Babka
American Babka Say it: BAHB-kah
Babka is a rich, buttery yeast bread from the Jewish bakeries of New York, twisted around a dark ribbon of chocolate and finished with a glossy sugar syrup. The dough is rolled, cut and braided so every slice shows swirls of filling. It is eaten for breakfast, with afternoon coffee, or sliced thin for dessert, and the texture sits between brioche and coffee cake: soft crumb, crisp edges, deep cocoa flavour.
American Babka
American Babka
Pronounced BAHB-kah
- Serves
- 10
- Prep
- 2 hr 30 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 3 hr 15 min
- Level
- Medium
Also nut-free.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk, egg. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
Dough
Chocolate filling
Syrup and finish
Method
Warm the milk to about 110°F (45°C) — comfortably warm to the fingertip, not hot. Whisk in the yeast and a pinch of the sugar and let stand 5-10 minutes until the surface turns foamy.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, the remaining sugar and the salt. Add the yeast mixture, eggs and vanilla and mix on low until a shaggy dough forms, about 2 minutes.
Knead on medium-low for 5 minutes, then add the soft butter a tablespoon at a time, letting each piece disappear before adding the next. Keep kneading 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and glossy and pulls away from the bowl but still feels slightly tacky; it should stretch thin enough to see light through it.
Scrape the dough into a buttered bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2-2 hours, until doubled and a finger pressed into it leaves a dent that springs back slowly.
For the filling, melt the chocolate and butter together over low heat or in short microwave bursts, then stir in the sugar, cocoa, cinnamon and salt. Cool until thick and spreadable, about 20 minutes.
Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Roll each piece on a floured surface into a 10x14-inch (25x35-cm) rectangle, spread half the filling over each, leaving a 1/2-inch (1-cm) border, then roll up from a long side into a tight log. Chill the logs 15 minutes to firm the chocolate.
Butter two 9x5-inch (23x13-cm) loaf pans and line them with parchment. Cut each log in half lengthwise, turn the halves cut-side up and twist them around each other, then lift into a pan; repeat with the second log. Cover loosely and rise 45-60 minutes, until puffy and the dough barely springs back when poked.
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Brush the loaves with egg wash and bake 40-45 minutes, tenting with foil after 25 minutes if the tops darken quickly, until deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer in the centre reads 190°F (88°C).
While the loaves bake, simmer the syrup sugar, water and vanilla for 1 minute and set aside to cool. Brush the hot babkas generously with syrup straight from the oven, then cool in the pans 15 minutes before lifting them onto a rack.
Regional variant: Cinnamon Babka
Leave out the chocolate filling and beat 6 tablespoons (85 g) soft butter with 3/4 cup (165 g) packed light brown sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, a pinch of salt and 3/4 cup (90 g) chopped walnuts. Spread this over the dough instead of the chocolate, twist and bake exactly as above, and finish the hot loaves with the same syrup. The crumb is lighter and the flavour more caramel-sweet.
Cook's notes
- Soft butter is the whole game: cold butter makes the dough slip and never come together, so leave it out for at least an hour.
- Chill the rolled logs until the chocolate is firm — warm filling smears and the twist collapses in the pan.
- Do not skip the syrup; it softens the crust and keeps the loaves moist for days.
Serve with
Strong coffee or tea, or a smear of butter or cream cheese on a warm slice.
Make ahead and storage
Cool completely, wrap in plastic and keep 3 days at room temperature or freeze up to 2 months; shaped unbaked loaves can be refrigerated overnight and baked straight from the fridge with 5-10 extra minutes.
