A delicious homemade babka with rich dough, ripples of Nutella throughout, and leavened just with sourdough starter!
Let's make BABKA!
Babka is one of my favorites for really fancy-feeling bread that is also EASY.
Really, what a winning combination.
Oh, and did I tell you this one is soft and airy and has ripples of Nutella throughout? It's good sliced warm, slathered with butter, toasted as leftovers, and also makes some of the best French toast known to man.
Babka is a classic loaf with a rich history! Originating from Polish Jewish communities in the early 1800's who baked leftover challah dough rolled with sweet fillings, and made popular in the United States by New York bakeries. You may remember it from Seinfeld (I can't think of babka without thinking of THAT episode!), and now you can make it at home, leavened just with your sourdough starter!
The dough
This dough is ultra-enriched with butter and eggs, which give it its signature rich flavor, silky pastry-like top, and slightly yellow tint.
(This is actually my brioche recipe, just with a few extra steps added to make it into a babka!)
It also is leavened using just sourdough starter!
You'll start by mixing the liquids together, then adding the flour and salt, then adding in the chopped butter. You can use it straight from the fridge since it will get a 30 minute rest after being dispersed in the dough to warm up before kneading.
While this isn't the stickiest dough, you will definitely want to use a mixer for it - this would be a beast to knead by hand!
The filling
You can't go wrong with Nutella as a babka filling, plus it's easy to use, but here are some (delicious!) alternatives:
- Cinnamon babka - use the filling from these cinnamon rolls to make cinnamon babka. Be sure to let it cool before pouring over the dough!
- Chocolate babka - combine 8 ounces of chopped dark chocolate, ⅓ cup chopped cold butter, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the rolled out dough.
Making babka
I thought babka was a really intimidating bread before making it, but it actually is so easy! Once you have your dough and filling figured out, you get to do the really fun part: shaping it!
Start by rolling the dough out into a rectangle - just like you would if you were making cinnamon rolls. Then spread it with Nutella (or whatever alternative filling you're using!), and roll it into a tight log starting at one of the longer ends. Pinch the edge to seal it.
Then, take a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen shears and starting at one end of the log, begin slicing it in half. Keep going until you're 1-2 inches away from the other end. Turn each tail of dough 90-degrees outward so the stripes of filling and dough are facing upward.
Begin twisting one end over the other until you reach the end of the dough. This will be messy! Pinch the ends to seal and tuck them under the loaf. Place the loaf in a buttered loaf pan, cover, and let rise for 1 ½-2 hours more.
Then, bake and enjoy the most delicious babka!
Sourdough Nutella Babka
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 170 grams water
- 50 grams bubbly, active starter
- 12 grams sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 500 grams all purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chopped
- 9 grams salt
For the Filling
- ½ cup Nutella
Directions
- Add the water, starter, sugar, and eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low speed until well combined. Add the flour and salt and knead on low speed until the dough comes together - about 3 minutes. Add the butter gradually until dispersed. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.Knead on LOW speed (not past speed 2) for 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size - about 10-12 hours. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured worksurface. Roll into a roughly 10 by 15-inch rectangle. Spread the Nutella over top, leaving a 1-inch border on all but one of the longer sides. (You may need to heat the Nutella slightly just to make it easier to spread.) Beginning with the long borderless side, roll into a tight log. Pinch the seam to seal.Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut the log in half longways to make two tails of dough, leaving 1-2 inches attached at the top. Turn the tails 90-degrees outward so the strips of dough and filling are facing upward. Twist the tails over each other until you reach the end. Pinch the ends to seal and tuck under the loaf. Transfer to a greased loaf pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until the dough rises 1-inch above the rim, about 2 hours. Bake at 375 degrees on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper for 45-50 minutes, until baked through and well browned. Cool in pan 10 minutes before inverting to release. Cool completely on a metal rack before slicing.
Poppy says
Thank you for this recipe ! I wanted to try a sourdough babka and other recipes I found had a long and tedious process, this one was simple enough and the texture of the babka turned out incredible ! It's both pretty and yummy 🙂