This delicious babka is made with a soft yeasted dough and topped with homemade dark chocolate filling. It's the perfect thing to eat for a sweet breakfast or even an afternoon pick me up with a nice cup of coffee or tea. It's super delicious and an all-time favorite in my home!
What is a Babka?
Well, it's a yeasted dough that is filled, rolled and then braided. It's most commonly filled with chocolate or cinnamon! You've probably seen this beautiful bread on your Instagram feed! This is a traditional Jewish bread, but it is also popular in Poland. They each have their own take of this sweet bread. There are many ways to make it, some topped with streusel and some have dried fruit. Whichever way you make it will probably turn out absolutely delicious!
Babka was just another one of those recipes that just looked so good, I knew that I needed to try it for myself. Like most bread, babka is a labor of love. What do I mean? Well, it just takes a lot of patience to make. So, if you have patience, it'll be worth every single bite.
How to assemble:
- After the dough has risen, roll it out into a rectangle and spread the chocolate over it. Leaving a 0.5 inch (1.27cm) border all-around.
- On the longer side, tightly roll up the dough into a log. With a sharp knife, cut off about 1.5 inch (3.81cm) on both ends. Then carefully cut it in half revealing the layers.
- Face the cut side up and starting from the bottom, tightly twist until you reach the top. Pinch both ends together.
- If your dough is too long to fit your pan, like mine, coil it in. You can also cut it in half and put it in two bread pans. Cover the pan with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and allow the bread to rise again for 45 minutes or until double in size.
If you tried this recipe, please leave me a comment below! Let me know how this turned out for you. You can also share your creations with me on Instagram @flouredframe. Happy baking!
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Babka
Equipment
- Food scale highly recommended
- Measuring spoons
- Heatproof bowl
- Heatproof spatula
- Small saucepan
- Whisk
- Offset spatula
- Rolling Pin
- Sharp knife
- Bread pan
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 ¼ teaspoons Instant yeast
- 320 grams Bread flour (spooned, leveled, and sifted)
- 50 grams Granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 42 grams Vegan butter (softened)
- 177 grams Warm water
Chocolate Filling
- 1 bar Baker's Chocolate, Semi Sweet (chopped)
- 14 grams Vegan butter (melted)
- 15 grams Powdered sugar
Sugar Syrup
- 50 grams Granulated sugar
- 60 grams Water
Instructions
Dough
- Combine all of the dough ingredients into a bowl of a stand mixer, including the yeast and softened vegan butter. Knead with the dough hook attachment on medium-low speed for 10 minutes until it forms one cohesive dough. You’ll know when your dough is fully kneaded when it springs back when you lightly press down on it.
- Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let the dough rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Chocolate filling
- While you wait for your dough to rise, make the chocolate spread. Combine the chopped chocolate and melted butter in a heatproof bowl and heat it in the microwave until the chocolate is all melted, stirring in-between. Mix in the powdered sugar until you have a spreadable smooth paste. Set aside.
Assembly
- When your dough has doubled in size, punch it down to release the gas. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a 12-inch x 16-inch (30x40cm) rectangle. Spread the chocolate filling and leave a 1-inch border all around.
- Roll up the dough tightly on the long side. With a sharp knife, trim both ends and gently cut the dough in half length-wise.
- Face the cut side up, starting from the bottom, tightly twist until you reach the top. Pinch both ends together.
Sugar Syrup
- Transfer the bread to a lightly greased bread pan. If your dough is too long to fit your pan, like mine, coil it in. You can also cut it in half and put it in two bread pans. Cover the pan with a damp cloth and allow the bread to rise again for 45 minutes or until double in size. At the last 15 minutes of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and bake the dough for 40-45 minutes.
Bake
- While you wait for your babka to finish baking, make the sugar syrup. In a small saucepan, mix together sugar and syrup until the sugar is fully dissolved. Heat the pan over medium heat and let it come to a boil. Turn off the heat and set it aside.
- When the babka is done baking, quickly brush the sugar syrup over the top of the bread. Let the sugar syrup seep into the bread, and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the babka from the pan and let it finish cooling on a rack. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Measure your flour properly. I test my recipes, 100% in grams. A common reason baked goods fail is incorrectly measured flour. I always recommend using a scale for accuracy when baking. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessens room for error.
- If you’re measuring by cups, avoid scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour. This tends to pack the flour into the cup, resulting in too much flour and a very dense or gummy finished product. Instead, aerate your flour (fluff it with a fork or spoon) and then spoon it into your measuring cups, leveling it with your finger or the back of a butter knife. Keep in mind though, that this method is not guaranteed to be accurate.
- This will last for a week, keep leftovers in an airtight container. Reheat in the microwave, oven, or toaster oven.
- You can also buy Nutiva Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (I didn’t have time to buy, so I just made my own!)
- During winter, I like to have my dough rise in a cold oven, with just the oven light on. Let your friends or family know that your dough is in there, they might accidentally turn on the oven!
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