Today I’m sharing with you a traditional Jewish babka recipe, and with Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year – right around the corner, I couldn’t think of a better time to share! For those not familiar with babka, it is a sweet, braided bread filled with layer upon layer of chocolate, cinnamon sugar, or whatever you’d desire, and it is irresistible.
The inspiration for this recipe comes from an episode of Martha Bakes that I watched where Uri Scheft – part owner of Breads Bakery here in New York City – made his famous babka and I couldn’t resist giving it a try myself. Apparently Breads Bakery is also now selling a seasonal Honey Apple Raisin Babka, and if that doesn’t sound unbelievably delicious, I don’t know what does.
Anyhow, as I watched Uri skillfully, effortlessly, magically produce a smooth, lump-free dough, and make it seem as though making babka was a piece of cake, I thought, “How hard could this be?” Let’s just say,Β Uri Scheft, I take my hat off to you, because making this was an effort and a half.
Nevertheless, it was all worth it! While not as perfect as Bread’s Bakery babka, I loved how the glaze gave the outside a nice subtle crunch and the inside was dense, chewy, and just the perfect amount of sweet. When I’ve got the time, I’ll definitely give this another try, but in the meantime, I think I’ll just run off to Breads Bakery and give there Apple Babka a try. See you there!
Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Babka
Recipe credit: Walnut Babka
Ingredients
Dough
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 oz yeast
- 650 grams (approximately 5 cups) of bread flour, sifted
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 stick + 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon salt
Filling
- 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups of walnuts, chopped
- 1 cup of raisins
Syrup Glaze
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 2/3 cup of water
Instructions
For detailed instructions, please refer to the Walnut Babka recipe on Martha Stewart’s website.
13 Comments
NancyC
September 30, 2016 at 11:26 pmWhat beautiful loaves of bread, and they look so yummy, too! I really need to try this out! π
bornandbredinbrooklyn
October 1, 2016 at 2:54 amThank you! And you must π There is a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Babka that I’m dying to try as well π
Angie | Fiesta Friday
October 1, 2016 at 11:32 amHey, it’s raining leaves here π Those babka loaves are beautiful, Justine!
judigraber
October 1, 2016 at 2:22 pmI did not know what Babka was until I bought “Bake From Scratch: The Bread Collection” special issue recently. They have a recipe with 3 different versions. It is on my “to make” list and now I have a fourth version. I made Pane de Blanco (another twisted bread) for a bakealong and it was delicious. I love the shape of Babka π
tentimestea
October 1, 2016 at 7:02 pmOh these are gorgeous! Golden brown and with such a perfectly seasonal filling. Eep, I love the sound of a pumpkin spice babka too! π
Julie
October 1, 2016 at 7:21 pmWhat a beautiful loaf of bread! I love babka and you babka came out perfectly beautiful!
bornandbredinbrooklyn
October 6, 2016 at 1:57 pmThanks so much! π
Lily
October 3, 2016 at 1:21 amWow, judging by your pictures, you make it look effortless. It’s like you’ve been making babka all your life – just gorgeous!
bornandbredinbrooklyn
October 6, 2016 at 1:56 pmHa no way! If you could see behind the scenes you’d know just how scary it could be :p But thank you so much!
Sandhya Nadkarni
October 3, 2016 at 7:43 pmI love Babka bread and yours looks divine! thanks for sharing it with us at Fiesta Friday Justine!
bornandbredinbrooklyn
October 6, 2016 at 1:55 pmThank you so much! I’m happy to share π
Ai @Ai made it for you
October 8, 2016 at 3:14 pmI’m so late to the game, I’ve never tried a traditional Babka… but your cinnamon raisin walnut version looks ah-mazing!!
bornandbredinbrooklyn
October 13, 2016 at 4:51 pmNever too late for Babka! I’m also new to it as well, but it’s irresistible π Thank you!