Right now, I’m front-row seat at the best kind of concert: ogling at the twisted cacophony of an enriched naturally leavened dough with sharp cinnamon and warm brown sugar (or chocolate, read on), all topped with a luxurious, simple syrup. This sourdough babka is sitting there cooling on a wire rack, but I swear I hear it singing. If there ever was such a thing as too much anticipation, right now surely qualifies; it’s as palpable as any musical instrument in an empty music hall. And I’d pay a hefty sum to cut in, take a bite, and end the concert a little early.
But let’s be completely clear: this is a sticky, gooey, and sinfully delicious treat.
I’ve stepped up my baking research and development for this babka to get this recipe out after the enthusiasm displayed on my recent Instagram post. This dough is straightforward, playing at not quite the enrichment level of brioche (or my cinnamon rolls), but not precisely lean, either. I feel it’s just right: not cloying, not overly rich, and certainly not dry or under-flavored. And while it unquestionably looks drenched, the interior is not—the interplay between the crust and crumb is wonderfully balanced.
But let’s be completely clear: this is a sticky, gooey, and sinfully delicious treat.
And the timing for making something like this is perfect; right now, we can all use a little joy, a dab of sunshine through the clouds, the sweet, tangible canto of a sourdough babka (with all of its buttery deliciousness) humming to itself on a cooling rack.
Sourdough Babka Recipe
Equipment
Pullman Pan
This recipe will work with many different pans, but I eventually turned to my trusty 9 x 4 x 4-inch Pullman Pan in testing. The reason is twofold: I love the resulting straight-sided and presentable sourdough babka. Second, the USA Pan has a natural silicone lining, which, combined with parchment paper, makes cleanup a snap.
If you don’t have a Pullman pan, a typical 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75-inch loaf pan will also work well.
Rolling Pin
You’ll need a standard rolling pin/dowel to roll out this dough, and this rolling dowel is my favorite (and made in the USA).
Vitals
| Total Dough Weight | 800 grams |
| Pre-fermented Flour | 13.0% |
| Yield | One babka |
Total Formula
Desired dough temperature: 76°F (24°C) (see my post on the importance of dough temperature).
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 357g | All-purpose flour (11-12% protein; King Arthur All-Purpose Flour) | 100.0% |
| 107g | Whole milk (cold from the fridge) | 30.0% |
| 107g | Large eggs (about 2, cold from the fridge, plus one more egg in reserve for the egg wash) | 30.0% |
| 100g | Unsalted butter (Kerrygold; room temperature) | 28.0% |
| 46g | Water | 13.0% |
| 29g | Caster sugar (superfine white sugar) (if you don’t have caster sugar, use the finest sugar you have) | 8.0% |
| 8g | Fine sea salt | 2.3% |
| 46g | Sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 13.0% |
Instead of All-purpose flour, feel free to use high-protein white flour (“bread flour”) in its place if that’s all you have in your pantry.
Sourdough Babka Method
1. Levain – 10:00 a.m. (or when your starter is ripe)
In the morning, mix the following in a small jar:
| All-purpose flour | 46g |
| Water (warm) | 46g |
| Ripe sourdough starter, 100% hydration | 46g |
Loosely cover the jar; it should be ready after about 3 hours at a warm temperature, 78-80°F (26-27°C). If it’s cold in your kitchen, warm the mixing water for this levain to get close to 80°F (27°C) (see my post on baking in the winter for more tips).
If you’re new to making a levain, see my post on the differences between a levain and sourdough starter.
2. Mix – 1:00 p.m.
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 310g | All-purpose flour (11-12% protein; King Arthur All-Purpose Flour) |
| 107g | Whole milk (cold from the fridge) |
| 107g | Large eggs (about 2; cold from the fridge) |
| 100g | Unsalted butter (Kerrygold; room temperature) |
| 29g | Caster sugar (superfine white sugar) |
| 8g | Salt |
| 138g | Ripe levain |
First, cut the butter into 1/2″ pats. Set them on a plate to warm to room temperature.
I used my KitchenAid stand mixer to mix this dough. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, milk, egg, half of the sugar, salt, and levain. Set the mixer to low and mix until everything is incorporated. Let the dough rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
After the 10 minute rest, turn the mixer up to medium and mix for 5 minutes until the dough starts to pull from the sides of the mixing bowl. At this point, slowly stream in the remaining sugar while the mixer is running. Mix for another 1-2 minutes until the dough comes back together.
With the mixer still set to medium, add the butter, one pat at a time, waiting to add the next until the previous is absorbed into the dough. It might take around 5 minutes to mix all the butter into the dough. After all of the butter is added, continue mixing for another few minutes until the dough smooths out and once again begins to cling to the dough hook. The dough should be almost fully developed at this point (it won’t completely pass the windowpane test, but almost).
Transfer the dough to a container for bulk fermentation and cover.
3. Warm Bulk Fermentation – 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (or longer, as needed)
At warm room temperature, 74-76°F (23-24°C), this portion of bulk fermentation should take 2 hours. During this time, give the dough two sets of stretches and folds where the first set is 30 minutes after the beginning of bulk fermentation and the second set is 30 minutes after the first. After the second set, let the dough rest, covered, until the next step.
4. Cold Bulk Fermentation – 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. (next day)
Assess the dough: has it risen a little in the bowl during the warm bulk fermentation? It should be a little puffy and smoothed out. If it looks like there’s no activity at all, give the dough another 30 minutes to 1 hour and check again.
Once you see some rise in the dough, place the covered bulk fermentation bowl into the refrigerator overnight.
Same day option: Let the dough finish bulk fermentation for 2 to 3 hours on the counter. When the dough has risen around 50% and feels puffy, proceed with the rest of the steps below. However, I recommend placing the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour after this warm bulk fermentation to chill to make rolling and filling easier.
5. Roll, freeze, cut, and shape – 8:00 a.m.
Before taking the dough out of the refrigerator, make one of the fillings below and keep covered.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling
| Dark brown sugar | 200g |
| Unsalted butter, melted | 42g |
| All-purpose flour | 15g |
| Ground cinnamon | 8g |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp (small pinch) |
Mix all of the ingredients above in a bowl and cover until ready to use.
Chocolate Filling
| Granulated sugar | 110g |
| Unsalted butter | 75g |
| Bittersweet chocolate, chopped | 70g |
| Unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-processed) | 25g |
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and add the sugar and chocolate; stir everything together while the chocolate melts until everything comes together and smooths. Add the cocoa powder and stir to incorporate. Set aside to cool until ready to use.
In the morning, take the dough out of the refrigerator and scrape the dough out to a floured work surface. Flour the top of the dough, and using a rolling pin (or dowel), roll the dough out to a rectangle approximately 10″ x 24″ in size (if you want fewer layers and more filling pooled between them, roll to 10″ x 12″, instead) in size with a short edge closest to your body.
If you want a less-sweet, less-sticky babka, spread less filling over the rolled out dough.
Using your hand or an offset spatula, spread the filling over the dough, leaving about 1″ clean on the short side farthest from you. Then, starting at the side closest to you, roll up the dough into a tight cylinder. The dough needs to be rolled up rather tight, so pull the dough at each revolution of the cylinder.
Important: Place the rolled-up log on a baking sheet and place it into the freezer for 15 minutes (this makes it much easier to cut and braid).
Prepare your baking pan by inserting a piece of parchment so two “handles” stick up at the long sides of the pan (see photo above). The parchment will drape down one long side, over the bottom, and up the other. Once it fits, take it out and place it on the counter next to your pan.
After the 15-minute freezer rest, take the baking sheet out of the freezer and return the dough log to the counter. Using a sharp knife, cut the log to split open the log from one side to the other. Next, pinch the two top halves together and braid the dough one strand over the other. At the bottom, pinch the two halves together again. Don’t worry if filling spills out or things get messy.
After the dough is braided, pick up the braid and place it on the parchment right in the middle, then pick up the sides of the parchment and lift the dough and drop it into the pan.
Cover the pan and place it somewhere warm, ideally, 78-80°F (26-27°C), to proof.
6. Proof – 8:30 a.m. 12:00 p.m. (or until ready)
This dough can be slow to rise so give it the time it needs to rise within 1/2″ below the rim of the Pullman pan. For me, at 78°F (26°C), it took about 3.5 hours. See the image below for how high my dough filled my pan.
7. Bake – 12:00 p.m.
Preheat your oven with the rack in the middle to 350°F (176°C), non-convection.
When the oven is preheated and the babka dough is fully proofed, place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (to catch any sugar spilling over). In a small bowl, whisk together one whole egg and 1 Tbsp water and brush a thin layer of the egg wash on the top of the dough. Then, slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes until the center of the babka reaches 200°F (93°C). Keep an eye on the babka in the last 10 minutes of the bake; if it’s coloring too quickly, drop the temperature to compensate.
While the babka is baking, make the simple syrup. Heat over low 52g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar with 59g (1/4 cup) water in a small saucepan. Heat until the mixture bubbles a bit and occasionally stir until the sugar fully dissolves in the water. Transfer this simple syrup to a container to cool. If covered, it will keep indefinitely in the fridge.
Remove the pan to a cooling rack. Using a plastic spatula, free the short sides of the babka (the sides without parchment) from the sides and bottom of the pan by pressing the spatula down from top to bottom.
Using a pastry brush, brush on a thin layer of the simple syrup (the more you brush on, the sweeter the crust). Let rest for 10 minutes in the pan. Do not let the babka rest for longer than 10 minutes, or it’ll be hard to remove from the pan.
After the rest, lift the sourdough babka out of the pan using the parchment paper sticking up as a set of handles.
The flavor of this babka is just wicked. The exterior looks intense, gooey, perhaps even glutinous—but once the babka cools, it turns into a thin and crunchy layer of pure enjoyment. Because of the way I braid the dough, pushing the cut-side to mostly face up out of the pan, the interior is a little shy, with fewer pockets of the filling. I enjoy this balance, making each bite sweet but not too sweet.
And your babka will undoubtedly look different (isn’t that the beautiful thing about baking by hand, anyway?), as the filling ebbs and flows its way through each slice. Looking at a slice is like pretending you’re a palm reader: you subconsciously trace the dark lines as they wind here and there, trying to see the future, to plan each bite to land you right in the next delicious zone of brown sugar and cinnamon.
Print
Sourdough Babka
- Prep Time: 26 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 26 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 babka
- Category: Sweet
Description
Sticky and decadent, this cinnamon (or chocolate, choose which filling you’d like more) babka is sure to please.
Ingredients
Levain
- 46g all-purpose flour
- 46g water
- 46g ripe sourdough starter, 100% hydration
Main dough
- 310g all-purpose flour
- 107g whole milk
- 107g egg (about 2 large)
- 100g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 29g superfine sugar (caster)
- 8g fine sea salt
- All of the levain
Brown sugar-cinnamon filling
- 200g dark brown sugar
- 42g unsalted butter, melted
- 15g all-purpose flour
- 8g ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Chocolate filling (Optional, instead of the brown sugar-cinnamon filling)
- 110g granulated sugar
- 75g unsalted butter, melted
- 70g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 25g unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-processed)
Egg wash
- One egg
- 1 tablespoon whole milk or heavy cream
Simple syrup glaze
- 52g granulated sugar
- 59g water
Instructions
- Levain (10:00 a.m.)
In a medium jar mix together the Levain ingredients. Cover the jar and keep it at a warm temperature for 3-hours. - Mix (1:00 p.m.)
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, milk, egg, half of the sugar, salt, and levain. Mix on low speed until incorporated and let rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix for 5 minutes until the dough pulls from the sides of the mixing bowl. Stream in the remaining sugar while the mixer is running and mix for another 1 to 2 minutes until the dough comes back together. While continuing to mix, add the butter, one pat at a time. Mix for another few minutes until the dough smooths out and clings to the dough hook. Transfer the dough to a container for bulk fermentation and cover. - Warm bulk fermentation (1:30 p.m. to 3:30 pm)
At warm room temperature, 74-76°F (23-24°C), the warm bulk fermentation should take 2 hours. Give the dough two sets of stretch and folds where the first set is 30 minutes after the beginning of bulk fermentation and the second set is 30 minutes after the first. After the second set, let the dough rest, covered. -
Cold bulk fermentation (3:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. the next day)
Place the covered bulk fermentation bowl into the refrigerator overnight. - Roll, freeze, cut, and shape (8:00 a.m.)
Choose a filling and make it: stir the ingredients in a medium bowl and cover. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll to a 10 x 12-inch rectangle with the short edge closest to your body. Spread the filling over the dough, leaving about 1″ clean on the short side farthest from you. Roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Place the rolled-up log on a baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes. Fold and place a piece of parchment inside your baking pan to make two “handles.” After 15-minutes, take the sheet pan out of the freezer and using a sharp knife, cut the log in half lengthwise. Pinch the top of the two halves together and braid the dough one strand over the other. At the bottom, pinch the two bottoms together again. Pick up the braid and place it on the parchment right in the middle, then pick up the sides of the parchment and lift the dough and drop it into the pan. Place the pan in a bag and seal. - Proof (8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., or until ready)
Let the dough rise at a warm temperate, 78°F (26°C), for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, or more. The dough should rise to within 1/2-inch below the rim of the pan. - Bake (12:00 p.m.)
Preheat the oven with the rack in the middle to 350°F (176°C), non-convection. Line a half baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg wash ingredients. Brush a thin layer of the egg wash on the top of the dough. Then, slide the babka on the baking sheet into the oven, bake for 40-45 minutes until the center of the babka reaches 200°F (93°C). While the babka is baking, make the simple syrup by combining the ingredients in a small saucepan, heat until the mixture bubbles a bit, and occasionally stir until the sugar fully dissolves in the water. Cool the mixture. When baked, remove the babka to a cooling rack. Using a plastic spatula, free the short sides of the babka (the sides without parchment) from the sides and bottom of the pan by pressing the spatula down from top to bottom. Brush on a thin layer of the simple syrup and let rest for 10 minutes in the pan. After resting, remove the babka from the pan using the parchment paper “handles” and let cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- The simple syrup can be saved in the refrigerator indefinitely (and is great for more babka or cocktails).
What’s Next?
If you love chocolate, check out my dark chocolate-cherry sourdough bread for even more. Or, for something lighter (but no less delicious) and still in pan form, my sourdough shokupan (Japanese milk bread) is just the thing.
If you use this recipe, tag @maurizio on Instagram so I can take a look!
558 Comments
Hi Maurizio, big fan of all your SD recipes! My first time baking SD babka yesterday, the inside didn’t fully develop, especially areas next to the filling, they are more doughy than soft and fluffy. Is this due to under proof after final shaping?
Hey there! It might be under baking. Be sure to fully bake out the babka, since it’s a rather compact thing, it needs to reach that 200F/93C interior. If you did take the temp, it might be under proofing, especially if you saw erratic rise in the oven, or very little…
Thanks for the recipe! Can I make the bakba without a standing mixer? And how much wholewheat flour should I substitute if I want a healthier version?
You can, but it’ll be quite a bit of work to mix by hand—it is possible, though!
Can confirm hand mixing is quite a bit of work, but it came out amazing in the end all the same. It took 20-25 mins of slap and fold (https://www.theperfectloaf.com/guides/slap-and-fold/) with constantly having to scrape the bench until the gluten developed enough for it to stop sticking. Leaving it to rest for 5 mins also seemed to help towards the end to allow it to come together!
Amazing, Matt! Glad to hear this worked out, I have to say, I haven’t done it personally with this dough but have with others. Enjoy and thanks for reporting back!
Hi! Love your recipes, tried quite a few, including the sweet ones. Question: can I use ground walnuts instead of chocolate as filling?
Thanks, Laura! Yea, ground pecans or walnuts would be wonderful!
Hey dude. You say not to bake with fan oven. I only have a fan function on my oven. What will the difference be and will I need to adjust the temperature? I’ve made a egg and milk free version today that I will be baking tomorrow!
For a babka, using convection (fan) will be just fine since it has the egg wash! I prefer not using it for bread that has the chamber steamed as it blows the steam around and seems to form a crust on the dough prematurely. In my experience!
Just wanted to say how much I love this recipe – for the chocolate babka but also the enriched dough! I’ve now made it four or five times – the first as the chocolate babka but since then have used it to make babka buns in a muffin tin with different fruit jam fillings. Instead of coiling the dough, I fold it about 4 times, then cut into 24 sections and circle two pieces around each other before putting into a muffin tin. The dough is so great to work with and just really delicious. I’ve been splitting in two to make two different kinds of babka buns, we keep them in the freezer and pop in the 350 degree oven five minutes when we want one and they are just so soft and gooey and perfect. I make it with my 100% whole wheat started, which has worked just fine. I also do a long bulk ferment, it’s been closer to 4-5 hours but our house is pretty cold (around 65 degrees). Thanks for a great recipe!
Really happy to hear you enjoy it! Wow, love the idea of rolling these up into a muffin tin. I’ve been thinking about doing this with my cinnamon roll dough, but yes, would work equally well with this recipe! Definitely going to have to give that a try. Thanks so much for the feedback and happy baking!
I’d love to make this but my house runs cold now in NY. I dont Have a proofer or anywhere to keep it warm. What do i do If my house is about 73 degrees. Do i let It proof for longer or what’s the solution here?
Make sure to use warmer water to mix the dough to get the dough started warm (try to get the dough around 78F). Then yes, let proof longer as necessary!
Hi Maurizio,
Excellent recipe, thank you for sharing. I have a question about using a sweet liquid starter. Do you have any advice on how to prepare one, and does it have a pronounced difference on fermentation over a straight-up, non-sugared levain?
Cheers
Hey, Matt. Check out my pumpkin cinnamon sourdough bread where I discuss using a sweet starter!
Baked the chocolate babka yesterday after cold proofing overnight. It didn’t rise quite as high up the Pullman pan as I expected but about halfway through the baking it came quite alive and rose up well above the pan. I used a crumb topping (brown sugar, flour, butter) instead of the simple syrup glaze, making it not as sticky to eat. Needless to say I’ll NEVER buy another babka again.
So awesome to hear that, Susan! Sounds perfect 🙂
Hi! Love your recipes and guides Maurizio. I tried the pumpkin loaf earlier this month and now I’m dying to try this babka with the chocolate filling!
I’ve read through this recipe a few times to get a feel for it but I have one question: It says after the warm bulk fermentation step to “Assess the dough: has it risen a little in the bowl during the warm bulk fermentation? It should be a little puffy and smoothed out.”
What does risen “a little” mean? Like 25% or 50% bigger? Thank you!
Hey, Jes! I’d say between 25-50%.
i have been baking different flavored babka using this recipes and it has been amazing 🙂 its my top fav!
And today – i just did a dairy free version of it and it turned out perfectly!
TQ~
That’s wonderful to hear, Jenny! I’ve been playing with different fillings over the past few months as well, it’s a super adaptable dough with lots of possibilities. Have fun and happy baking!
I love everything about this loaf! Making one today for Xmas evening and I have a technique question for anyone…
At the point after mixing when “the dough should be almost fully developed at this point” my dough has each time been quite wet still. This is my third loaf attempt and while it turns out well, I find it really hard to handle and to roll out (the next day).
I don’t want to adjust the liquid proportions from the recipe but feel like I’m missing something. Any ideas?
Hey Chris! I’d say reduce the liquid in the mix—as you thought—just a little bit. You could also add a little flour during mixing if it just doesn’t seem to want to come together though mixing (generally I don’t like doing this because it changes the formula, but it’s ok if necessary, of course). Sometimes a little adjustment for the flour we’re using is necessary (and expected)! Hope that helps and happy holidays 😊
Wow this just came out of the oven and I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait until tomorrow morning to test it out. I made two loaves so we could try both fillings, smells AMAZING!
So glad, Kellen! You’re right, the waiting game is a real struggle. Enjoy 🙂
This reminds me of your delicious cinnamon rolls but in a loaf. Can’t wait to try it.
Yes, very similar but not quite to the same level of butter/egg/sugar. I also just posted a new recipe for sourdough cardamom rolls—they’re next level!
Moste delicious thing i have ever baked!
Ah, so glad to hear that, Nathalie!
Hello Maurizio, I’m writing from Italy. I have really been taking this website as a bible and it has worked perfectly so far, so thank you very much for all this shared knowledge.
I made the babka from this recipe and came out very good, the only problem is the side baking: while the top looks exactly like yours, the sides are pale and very soft. I used the same pan you used. Did you maybe egg washed them sides before putting the babka into the pan? Or, perhaps, did you give it a few more minutes in the oven after taking it out?
Thanks again! Besides the look, it’s amazing.
Ciao, Amedeo! Happy to hear my site has helped. It sounds like you might have needed more bake time, but at a lower temperature. This way, we can ensure the sides are fully baked without the top getting too dark. I’d try dropping the oven temp a little and baking it for longer. Additionally, you can remove the babka and finish baking outside of the pan, but it will be difficult given how sticky these typically are—but it could work to help give it a little more color! Enjoy and happy baking 🙂
If you wanted to maximum prep this recipe in days prior to be ready to bake on a busy day, could you cold ferment the bulk ferment (as you suggest) and then also cold ferment the final rise? Overnight fridge while it’s in the Pullman pan? Maybe finish the proof on the counter top after taking out?
Yes, I’ve been doing this exact thing lately and it works very well. If possible, I’d skip the cold bulk ferment for the dough (but still chill it to make shaping easier), and then once it’s shaped and in the Pullman, pop it into the fridge to retard overnight. The next day, take it out and let it finish proofing on the counter before baking.
Oh interesting, thanks! When you skip the cold bulk ferment do you room temp bulk ferment instead, and then chill it to shape it?
Yes, that’s right. I’d probably shoot for 3-3.5 hours at room temp for bulk, depending on how the dough is progressing!
Ok thanks Maurizio!
Maurizio Leo I hope you don’t mind my dropping into this conversation. I would like to execute your recipe by doing the prep in one day and cold retarding. Just want to make sure I’m clear on proofing. Is the 3-3.5 hrs roughly the proofing time once it is taken out of the fridge after being shaped from the previous evening? Thank you!
Not a problem, Susan. Yes, that’s right. When you take it out the next day, it’ll take a bit to warm up and finish proofing. But, it all depend on how your dough is progressing. Bake the babka when the dough is very puffy and light to the touch, that may take 2 hours, or 3, depending on temperatures and your dough.
Excellent! I have a proofing box and will be able to warm it up more quickly. Thank you for the fast response and for generously sharing your knowledge!
Ive made this before and it turnt out amazing! This time I want to make it eggless.. can I use flax-egg? Or any other alternative?
So glad to hear that! I’ve had others report success using flax eggs.
Anushka, I did that with a product called JustEgg from Hampton Creek and it came out flawless. 🙂
Made this and it was devoured! Pretty sweet sugar filling so I’ll probably decrease the amount of sugar filling by 25%next time. Wish I could share my photo cause it was gorgeous!
Super happy to hear that, Jocelyn!
I am wondering how you have an active started at 8am? If i were to feed mine before bed, it would rise and fall before then. Can i feed it, and put it in the fridge at night when it is active?
Thanks!!
Hi Natalie,
yes the starter will take longer to be active the colder the surrounding is. So put it in your fridge overnight or any cool place in the house and it should work. Or you feed it straight when you wake up and start making the babka a bit later in the day instead!
Hope that helps!
Refresh your starter at night so it’s ready to go in the morning. I typically refresh mine around 8-9pm at night, and after 12 hours it’s ready to be refreshed again and/or used to bake something new. I wouldn’t recommend placing your starter in the fridge overnight and then using it in the morning, you want it strong and vigorous.
You can feed your starter more than usual to have it peak in the morning. For example, if you usually free it 1:2:2 ratio of starter:flour: water and it peaks around 6 hours, you could feed your starter 1:4:4 for it to peak around 12 hours.
Hi! I’m currently making the cinnamon babka, with about 45 min left of proofing. And I’m not getting the rise I’m looking for! Should I go longer? Thanks!
Definitely push it out longer as necessary!
So I made this Thursday/Friday…none left!! First, the dough was VERY cold when I good out of fridge as I ended up leaving it in longer than you call for…but as I rolled to the rectangle it got warm/soft and therefore difficult to PULL as you say when folling. Any thoughts? Also, One of the things I like about a more traditional Babka is the crumble top…what would you recommend, if any, to add to this. It was SOOOO good/friends were saying it was better than the local bakery!!
Right on, Leslie! Glad to hear that. You did exactly what I would have done: leave it out to warm slightly until pliable. If it starts to warm on you during handling, pause and place the dough back into the fridge for a few minutes to chill back down, then proceed. With enriched doughs like this, it’s best to work quickly! A crumble top would be fantastic, but I’ve not tested it! I’d probably add something near the end of the bake to avoid burning.
Hi Mario, first I want to say thank you. I am new to sourdough and I love your blog. Your recipes are so easy to follow and your pictures are beautiful. Now, a question: Could I make this a savory Babka by omitting the sugar or will this not rise/bake correctly? I want to make a savory Babka with garlic and butter and herbs.
Thanks for the kind words, Dana! Sorry for the delay. I would probably keep the sugar in that case, it would still be great with the savory additions! If you’re set on it, you could omit the sugar but expect the dough to move much faster through bulk and final proof—that’s just fine, keep an eye on the dough and adjust as necessary!
Hi Maurizio. I love your blog, I made several of your recipes, thank you so much!!! I have made this Bakba 4 times now, and it tastes great, my family loves it. However, every time it does sink a little after I take out of the oven and it is a little dense. The one I made yesterday, I made sure to strengthen the dough, and it did almost come to full windowpane after mixing. I am not sure if I am over proofing, I saw some of your comments below. I live in Miami, and it is hot, the ambient temperature is around 78F and I proof on the counter with a towel. I proof for the full 3 1/2 hrs. Can you help me figure this out?
So happy to hear that—thanks Suzi! It’s possible you’re over proofing, especially if you’re not seeing a lot of rise in the dough. It could also be over hydration given your environment (very humid compared to my dry climate). But if the dough doesn’t feel overly wet and weak, that might be just fine. I’d say try pulling back that final proof time by 30 minutes to see if that helps eke out a bit more rise. Usually with this dough a little (the key is just a little!) on the under side, you’ll get more rise out of it.
Thank you so much for your reply Maurizio. I will cut the final proof time on my next try. One more thing I wanted to ask you. I also never get your recommended temperature of 200F after baking. I don’t have an instant read thermometer, I use a taylor made digital thermometer and it marks around 170 in the middle of the bread. I do bake for the full 45 min but it does look like it is undercooked/ dense in the middle. Do you think it is also an effect of overproofing? Thank you so much.
Hi Maurizio – I’d like to try baking the babka with a streusel topping instead of the plain simple syrup. Any suggestions on how to accomplish that? Thanks!
I think that would be great. I’ve not tried this nor baked with a streusel often, but my feeling is, you could just sprinkle that on the top right before baking. If you’re worried the streusel will bake too long and at too high of a temp, you could add it midway through baking the babka. I like the idea of that topping!
I’ve made mine with the streusel topping from Smitten Kitchen and baked it on top from the start with the babka. At the end, I still use the simple syrup and it really seals things together. Hope this helps!
I’ve made mine with the streusel topping from Smitten Kitchen and baked it on top from the start with the babka. At the end, I still use the simple syrup and it really seals things together. Hope this helps!
Made the cinnamon version for our break-the-fast meal this past weekend. It was amazing and not a crumb was left for morning coffee the next day! I was more than a little nervous about the dough since I didn’t see much of a rise even after the cold-proof. It went into the oven with me thinking I was going to make bread pudding out of the resulting flat loaf. After 10 minutes of baking I turned the oven light on and peeked: the babka had magically come alive. Next try will be the chocolate version or adding apples (thanks, David). I had some large pockets of filling that leaked out and I think rolling it tighter and using less filling would resolve that. Maurizio, do you have any hints about rolling tightly with such sticky dough?
So glad to hear that, Susan! I’ve found the key to avoid spillage is to spread the filling on thin and even. If you have any areas that are thicker, it’ll eventually pool there during baking. The cold fridge time for this dough really helps with handling. If it’s cold when you’re shaping it should be much easier to roll up. Another idea would be to actually roll the dough out much longer (but still the same width). This way, you can spread the filling over a larger area, so when you roll it up you’ll end up with many layers of cinnamon/dough/cinnamon.
Hi! I’m not getting much rise from my babka, I read you had the same problem. I don’t know if I should proof longer or just try and put it in the oven after the 3.5 hours of proofing. Wondering what your thoughts were. Thanks!
Thanks for this amazing recipe! I doubled the recipe, split the dough into 8 mini loaves, added sliced apples to the cinnamon filling and gave them to friends as Rosh Hashanah gifts. Absolutely delicious and everyone loved them!
Ooh that’s such a great idea. I love the use of apples, too!
David, do you mind sharing how you added in the apples? Did you add them on top of the cinnamon filling, and then slice and braid? Thanks!
Hi,Grettings from Costa Rica! I love your page ,recipes and your advice really helped me ..can´t thank you enough🙏🏻 . I’m going to bake this babka tomorrow along with my artisan sour bread , I’ve always bake 6 boules and freeze them, so I don’t have to bake so often ,can I freeze this babka after is cooked? thank you
Yes, you could freeze it! I have not done this, but I think it should freeze well, just be sure to wrap it several times in plastic wrap then I’d also place it into a freezer safe bag. Enjoy!
Hi Maurizio! Thanks for this recipe, I’ve tried both the cinnamon and chocolate fillings and they’re both so good!! My question is if it’d be possible to store the proofed & shaped dough (e.g. in the freezer) to be baked at a future point in time? I normally bake these on the weekend, since that’s really the only time when I have two days in a row to make the dough, proof overnight, and shape & do a second proof the next morning. But they’re normally all gone in a few days and it’d be nice to have babka for breakfast all week! I’ve thought about just making two loaves on the weekend, but am worried that the second will go stale before we get to it. I would love to be able to prepare two loaves over the weekend and have one that is ready to be popped in the oven. Any thoughts on how I might go about this? Or is it not possible?
So happy to hear that, Gina! I’d say you could do that, but I’d expect the dough to develop more sourness the longer it’s left in the fridge. You could try freezing one after you bake it (see my comments to @disqus_W48lQArRfE:disqus, above) for longer term storage. But if you double the recipe to make two, just give it a try. I’d try staggering the bake: bake one on schedule, then keep the other in the fridge for another 24 hours and see how it effects the flavor.
This babka was AMAZING!!! Thank you so so much. I had to let it bulk ride for ages even in a proofer, but so worth it. One of the best things I’ve baked.
So glad to hear it worked out well for you, Joyce! Regarding the bulk, be sure to use that starter/levain when very ripe! Also, you can try bumping up that percentage if you find consistent issues during bulk, just to help get it going. Enjoy 🙂
Hi Maurizio! I am attempting to make this babka for a second time, but I am not seeing much rise during the bulk fermentation process and this happened to me the first time. Any idea why?
Almost always this is due to using your starter/levain too early before it’s fully ripe or temperatures in your kitchen, and subsequently your dough, are lower!
Hi Maurizio, wondering if you have any suggestions on how one might go about incorporating pumpkin or other winter squash into the dough? Not sure how to best adjust the ingredients for the proper hydration and would like to try for this recipe or your cinnamon roll recipe. Thanks for any advice!
You could add the pumpkin to the filling as a paste, or into the dough as a mix-in (I’d go with pureed pumpkin for both cases). If you add it as a mix in, put it in the mixer and let it incorporate into the dough as you’re mixing. Coincidentally, I’ll be experimenting with this soon, stay tuned 🙂
How long can I store it in the fridge after shaping but before the final proof? Could it go in the freezer if I’m heading out of town for a week and want to bake it fresh the day I come home?
I generally don’t recommend using the freezer, but for the fridge, I’d say overnight. Any further and it might get unwieldy or become overly sour.
Hi Maurizio! I’ve been making my way through your recipes since the first lockdown – you’re a godsend in hard times. If you ever run a post with FAQss, I had one I thought might be useful for readers without mixers. I’ve made a number of your enriched doughs (including babka) by hand with great success and about the same difficulty as a high-hydration dough. How? Melting the butter, letting it cool, and mixing it in a bit at a time. I know it’s sacrilege and it’s a little greasy at first, but it incorporates quickly and the rest of the recipe holds. So basically: if anyone is wondering about incorporating butter into brioche/rolls/&c., go ahead and try melting it and working it in by hand!
I second that this can be made without a mixer! I’ve done it seven times without one (I’m addicted to this babka) – and I just work small pats of softened butter in by hand. It never feels too greasy and always turns out great. Takes a little extra work, but so worth the final result. I’m glad melted works too!! Thanks for sharing, Hank.
Right on, Hank! I’ve talked to bakers who take this approach as well and melt the butter, adding it in almost as a liquid during mixing. Glad to hear it worked out well for you! Thanks for reporting back to help others as well. Enjoy!
Perhaps it was under or over proofed? My guess is under, it’s common with enriched doughs such as this. Be sure to use your starter/levain when they’re very strong and active, and give the dough sufficient time in bulk fermentation—it might take longer than written in the recipe!
Hello! Maurizio, do you think I’d be able to double the recipe and bake it in a bunt pan? Or would 2 loaf pans be best? Thanks!
I think that would work really well—love that idea!