Go Back

MB's Bangin Babka

This babka could win awards, that is how delicious it is. The perfect dessert. Not too dense and just the right level of sweetness.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Servings 2 Loaves

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer with Dough Hook or Bread Maker (or you can do this by hand if needed)
  • 2 - 9"x4" Loaf Pans
  • Baking Sheet

Ingredients
  

Dough

  • 4¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
  • ½ cup Granulated Sugar
  • 2 tsp Instant Yeast (rapid rise is my favorite)
  • 3 large Eggs
  • ½ cup Water
  • ¾ tsp Fine Sea Salt or Table Salt
  • ⅔ cup Unsalted Butter
  • Oil for Greasing (non-stick spray or butter both work)

Filling

  • ¾ cup Quality Dark Chocolate
  • ½ cup Unsalted Butter
  • ½ cup Powdered Sugar sifted
  • ⅓ cup Cocoa Powder sifted

Simple Syrup

  • ⅓ cup Water
  • ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar

Instructions
 

Dough

  • Get your stand mixer and your trusty dough hook.
  • Add flour, sugar, and yeast to the bowl of your stand mixer (or bread maker) and start mixing (low).
  • Add eggs and water to the bowl, mixing until it comes together. Be patient, it may take a few minutes and once it does come together the dough might be on the dry side, this is totally fine, but if the dough is not coming together at all, I am talking straight up sand in the bowl, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough forms a mass.
  • Next, with the mixer on low, add salt, and butter - add butter one slice at a time and mix until the butter is totally incorporated.
  • At this point the dough might be really sticky, bump the speed up to medium for about 10 minutes or until the dough is completely smooth and pulls away from the bowl; make sure to scrape the bowl a few times throughout to ensure everything is getting incorporated. At this point, you might possibly get nervous that either the dough will never come together or that it is way too sticky. I promise if you just let the mixer do its job, after 10 minutes the dough will come together and begin to pull away. If after 10 minutes, for some crazy reason, it doesn’t pull away and is still super sticky, give it an extra minute or 2, then the last resort would be to add 1 tablespoon of flour to help move everything along, but be careful, adding too much extra flour makes a super dense babka. Or, if it is still super dry, add a tablespoon of water, 
  • Next, coat a large bowl with oil and place dough inside, cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight. The dough will rise a bit but it won't double in size, so don't fret!

Filling

  • Begin this step after the dough has chilled overnight and right before you are ready to take the dough out of the fridge.
  • Melt butter and chocolate together, stirring occasionally, until smooth; be careful not to let it come to a boil or burn.
  • Stir in powdered sugar and cocoa until smooth, and remove from heat. The mixture should be pretty thick, you want it to be a spreadable paste. If it is a little too liquidy just let it sit for a little before you start the next step, it will firm up on its own. 

Assembly

  • Coat two loaf pans with baking spray or butter (approx. 9" x 4" each), then line the bottom of each pan with a rectangle of parchment paper or aluminum foil.
  • Set up a large area for rolling out the dough and generously flour the surface - the dough can get sticky.
  • Remove half of the dough from the fridge but leave the other half in there.
  • Start rolling out the dough, halfway through rolling flip the dough over to make sure both sides get floured and the dough doesn't stick. You want to aim for a length of about 13"-15" (this is the side going away from you) and a width of about 10"-12", rolling it pretty thin. 
  • Once the dough is all rolled out, spread half of the chocolate mixture evenly over the dough, make sure to leave a small border all around, about 1/2" - this will keep the chocolate from oozing out when begin rolling.
  • Brush the border farthest away from you with a little water.
  • Now it's time to roll! Begin at the side closest to you, rolling the dough in the direction away from you in a tight cigar. Seal the dampened end onto the log.
  • Lightly flour a baking tray and transfer the log of dough to the tray and freezer for about 5 minutes, this will help make the next step in the assembly process MUCH easier.
  • Repeat each of the above steps with the second dough. 
  • When you place the second log in the freezer to chill, remove the first log.
  • Trim about 1/2" off each end of the log and then gently cut the log in half lengthwise, starting about 1/2" from the end, this keeps the log together at one end so you don't have to pinch the top ends together later. Once cut, adjust the two sides so that the cut sides are facing up. Lift one side over the other, forming a twist and trying to keep the cut sides facing up the entire time. This step can get messy, especially if you don't chill the dough long enough, but don't worry, just transfer the twist as best as you can into the prepared loaf pan. Take those pesky little ends that you cut off earlier and nestle them into openings in the pan, the dough will completely fill the pan once it is baked so don't worry about these little guys looking funky, you won't even notice them.
  • Cover the prepped babka with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for 1 - 2 hours at room temperature.
  • Repeat the process with the second loaf.

Baking

  • Heat oven to 375°F.
  • Remove towels from babkas*, place each loaf on the middle rack of your oven, make sure they aren't touching so the hot oven air can completely circulate around them.
  • Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, check doneness (at around 25 min) by inserting a skewer or toothpick, and underbaked babka will still feel stretchy inside and the inserted item may come out with dough on it. If it isn't fully baked just pop it back in for 5 minutes and check again. If you are noticing that it is browning too quickly just cover with some aluminum foil. When the babka is done, you’ll feel almost no resistance when you press down.

While They Are Baking

  • Time to make the simple syrup! Bring sugar and water to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once sugar dissolves, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
  • As soon as the babkas leave the oven, brush the syrup all over each of them. It might seem like too much, but I promise it is the exact right amount. Also, if you are planning on freezing the babkas definitely definitely use ALL of the syrup, this will help lock in the moisture so the babkas are still moist and delicious when defrosted.
  • Let them hang out for a bit in the pan and then, once cool enough to handle, transfer to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way before eating.

Notes

Makes 2 loaves, each babka serves 8-10 people (unless I am left alone with one, then it serves 1).
*If the babkas don't look like they have grown at all, I will sometimes turn the oven on and leave the covered babkas sitting in the warm kitchen for an extra 15-20 minutes. This usually does the trick. 
**These keep really well for a few days at room temperature. They also freeze really well!
*** If you want to freeze the babkas I suggest waiting until they cool, wrapping each one in aluminum foil, and then plastic wrap, and THEN place in a ziplock bag. To defrost, take them out of the freezer 24hrs before you plan to eat. 
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen's adaptation of Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook
Keyword Breakfast, Desserts