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Parve
Medium
4 Hours
Diets 
Forget any babka recipe you have in your repertoire until now. This is the real thing — high as the sky, fluffy, lots of rich chocolate/cinnamon filling, and a creamy melt-in-your-mouth streusel. The best part is that each loaf has just two tablespoons of oil in the dough. Whoever sampled it wanted “just one more sliver,” and the loaf was gone in minutes. It freezes well, so I quickly stored away what was left! Yields 3 large babkas, approximately 10 slices each
1/4 cup sugar + 1/3 cup sugar
1 and 1/2 cups very warm water
2 ounces (50 grams) fresh yeast or 2 tablespoons + 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Gefen Dry Yeast
1 and 1/2 cups soy milk (low sugar, regular, or vanilla), warmed
3 teaspoons Gefen Vanilla Extract
3 egg yolks (save the whites for brushing)
9 cups Glicks Flour, or more if necessary, divided
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Haddar Kosher Salt
1 rounded tablespoon dough enhancer (optional, see note)
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon oil
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
2 full tablespoons cinnamon
scant 1/2 cup Gefen Cocoa Powder
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Glicks Flour
In a mixing bowl, dissolve a quarter cup sugar in water. Add yeast and let proof for 15 minutes in the covered bowl. (*If using dry yeast, let proof for just five minutes.)
Add soy milk, vanilla, yolks, remaining sugar, and half the flour. Beat on medium speed for two minutes.
Add the salt, dough enhancer, if using, oil, and remaining flour. Continue kneading for 10 minutes until a soft, smooth, and elastic dough is formed.
Coat the dough with a little oil. Cover it and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about one hour.
Mix the filling ingredients together in a small bowl. In another small bowl, mix the streusel ingredients until you have a sand-like consistency.
Punch dough down. Divide into three even parts. Divide each part in half. Roll each into a medium-sized rectangle. Brush surface lightly with oil. Sprinkle generously with filling. Roll up jelly-roll style.
Twist two rolls together to form a babka, pinching ends closed, and place in a standard-size loaf pan lined with Gefen Parchment Paper.
Brush tops with reserved egg white and sprinkle with streusel topping. Repeat for remaining rolls. Let rise for 45 minutes.
Toward the end, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Slide babkas into the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until done.
Cool in pan for about five minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
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this babka is incredibly delicious!! Just a few tips: 1. don’t leave out the fresh yeast! it is not the same with dry yeast. The fresh yeast is what makes the dough so amazingly soft and perfect. 2. I always double the filling and the topping, it’s better that way. 3. I add a pinch of salt and some vanilla to the streusel
This recipe looks delicious! Do you have a good filling recipe for this babka without cinnamon?
this recipe has a great chocolate filling https://www.kosher.com/recipe/babka-bites-7711
This is a delicious and no fail recipe. Everyone loves it.
Looks yum! Hi – I had a few questions before baking and hope someone can help asap so I can bake today:)
Do I need to do hafrashas challah on the dough?
Did anyone make it without the dough enhancer and find that it was still better then other babkas?
What should I adjust if I would like to make them as mini babkas?
Can anyone give me a cinnaman filling _ was thinking of doing some cinnaman and should I use the same streusel topping?
Thanks for all of the delicious recipes!!
can I use almond milk instead of soy milk?
yes
Fresh Firstly, the dough was easy to make and super easy to work with! ( I halfed the recipe and mixed it up by hand.)
I’m wondering how to keep the babka fresh once it’s baked. It was scrumptious on the first day but after that I had to reheat it in the microwave so it tastes fresh. I also froze one of the loaves right away but it wasn’t so fresh tasting when I defrosted it. Any suggestions?
Is that what the dough enhancer is for? (I did not put it in)
Though I never baked babka or its cousins before I do bake & freeze Challah, cakes, Kugels, etc. The way I freeze Challah is simply putting into a Ziplock FREEZER bag & storing it in the freezer with some space around it to keep its shape. I’m assuming you can do the same with babka.
Hi- I would recommend trying this trying to keep your babka at room temperature in an airtight container, however, it will probably only last moist for up to 3 days. For longer storage, wrap in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 1 month. To defrost, place on the countertop for several hours, and reheat in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes before serving.
fyi Garbage bags may not be food -friendly. There is usually a warning not to put food directly in them. Please check this out.
Garbage bags usually are NOT food friendly. Though I never baked babka, kokosh cakes, or any of its cousins before, I do bake Challah & this is what I do when I put the dough to rise: I transfer the dough to a larger size bowl (sprinkled with flour to prevent it from sticking), squirt or pour oil on top of the dough, then cover it in a nice amount of Saran or Cling wrap that goes way over the sides of the bowl so that even when it is fully risen it’s still completely covered in the Saran/Cling wrap. Then I cover it with a towel & let it rise on the counter for an hour (Devorah Heller’s, AKA “the Challah lady recommendation). If I know that it will be way more than an hour that I will get back to my dough to braid, etc, only then do I put it in a garbage bag & let it rise in the fridge (I think also Devorah Heller’s recommendation). But you have to remember that the garbage bag is not touching the dough directly because the dough is completely covered in Saran or Cling wrap. I’m assuming the same thing can be done with this or any other yeast dough.
I think they mean the small clear plastic ones like they have in Israel, where Brynie is from.
great recipe. for a typical Israeli style babka you take your roll cut it in half and then twist the two halves round each other. like this part of the filling is on the outside and gets nice and crispy.
Yummy!!
Which brand dough enhancer do you use? Is it the same as vital wheat gluten?
You can either buy a dough enhancer or vital wheat gluten should work as well. It sounds like you could even just use bread flour or high gluten flour.
I have yet to make a babka that I was impressed with and felt was worth making again so I’m excited to try this one, I had a few questions and hope someone can help me…
Am I supposed to do hafrashas challah on the dough?
Is it still as delicious as everyone commented without the dough enhancer? Has anyone tried it that way?
I’m assuming they would work as mini babkas? Are there any changes I should make ? How would you recommend I bake it?
Thanks for all your delicious recipes!!!!
I literally threw out my other recipes. The dough, filling, streusel.. All perfect! It was delicious! Incredible! I needed to increase the baking time though
Worth the investment! Babkas came out amazing! I added tiny chocolate chips and mini marshmallows to the filling and everyone loved how they came out. Thank you for a great recipe!
Soo good!! I always thought i had the best babka recipe till I tried this! out of this world! Thing is- I doubled the streusel and did 1.5 times the filling..maybe cuz we like lots of crumbs and chocolate!
BEST EVA!!!!!!! Totally worth the time and mess!!!
Awesome Love this recipe!!! Brynie is awesome!!!!
I agree!
Delicious! This came out great. They were very big, so next time I’d make them into 6 smaller babkas.
Good to know!
Delicious, melt in your mouth Babka! This babka came out amazing!! Melts in your mouth and is so addictive!
I made 6 small loaves instead of 3 big and they came out perfect.
Delish!