I’ve been wanting to make babka for a while. Like most bread recipes though, I look at how much time it takes and convince myself I’ll try it another day. I finally buckled down though and decided to do it and I’m so glad I did!

While this recipe does take a little time, it is passive. It’s still important to keep that in mind since you’ll have things you need to do every so often, but it’s not like you’re actively making dough for 4 hours. In this case, you mix together all of the dough ingredients and mix it together until it comes together. Once done, let this rise in the bowl for 20 minutes. Then you’ll knead it a little before putting it in a greased bowl and letting it rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

I always seem to make bread recipes that need to rise on days that are slightly chillier, and it’s usually cooler in our house, so I’ve started running the dryer for a few minutes and then letting the dough sit covered in the laundry room where it’s warmer. You could also turn the oven on briefly to just warm up, then turn it off and let it rise in there. It still doesn’t seem to rise as much as I feel like it should but I’ve stopped being as stressed about it as I had previously because it usually ends up working out okay.

When it’s done rising, gently deflate the dough and divide it in half. Make the filling and then roll the dough until it’s about a 9″ x 18″, 1/4″-thick rectangle. Mine wasn’t exact but it was close so I figured that would be fine. If you’ve read this blog often you won’t be surprised that somehow I misread something and put all of the filling (nuts and chocolate chips) into the bowl and then tried to spread it. It worked, but had I realized what it was saying that would have worked better. I also forgot that it said mini chocolate chips (which I did have in the pantry) were preferred.

After you’ve done that it’s time to roll it up and do all of the fancy work so it’s pretty. I’m just going to link to the bakealong King Arthur provides, which I looked at multiple times before I rolled/cut/twisted mine. It’s not hard, but it really does help to look at the pictures provided to make sure you’re doing it correctly. I think one of my loaves got twisted a little more than it called for, but I don’t think anyone would notice.

You’ll put these in the loaf pans and then drape plastic wrap over it and let it rise another 1 1/2-2 hours. Go ahead and start pre-heating your oven towards the end of that time then pop then into the oven and bake. Be sure to watch the directions as you bake uncovered for a portion of time and then you’ll cover it.

Jerry and Elaine from Seinfeld were right, the chocolate babka is best. This was incredibly delicious and absolutely worth the time. I do think the mini chocolate chips would have been a little better, but it was so good with the chocolate and pecans. Definitely put this on your to-bake list!

Baking Ease	10
Time Spent	8
Taste	10
Visual	10

Recipe Used: King Arthur