babka Archives - Wood & Spoon

Blueberry Babka

Happy Monday from our sleepy, milky corner of Alabama. I promise I am planning on giving the real-deal scoop on our new little Charlie guy ASAP, but because I’m not sure if anything I’m typing is even coherent (Is it? Am I still sane? Do you guys still love me?), I’ll skip the mumbo jumbo and go head-first into today’s baked good of choice: blueberry babka.

Blueberry Babka

There’s a number of reasons I love this blueberry babka. First, have you ever made bread? Like, a real yeast-risen bread loaded with butter and swirled with fruit filling? It’s a good choice. This blueberry babka is tender, mildly flavored, and makes some of the best dang buttered toasts your breakfasts will have ever experienced. My kids are huge on the toast bandwagon these days and I love being able to offer something new and homemade that feels special. This blueberry babka is just the ticket.

Making the Babka

No lie, making a homemade babka can be super intimidating. I get a little nervy about it every time I saddle up to the counter, but if you follow instructions the bread can be very forgiving and is worth taking a stab at. Here’s the lowdown on how to make it. First, we dissolve yeast in a bowl of warm milk and allow it to bubble and froth. An egg and egg yolk comes next and is combined with the milk before we add the dry ingredients. As the flour, sugar, and salt get stirred in, the dough becomes a lot more tough, and you’ll be glad to have a stand mixer on hand to do the grunt work for you. Finally, highly quality butter (and loads of it) are added to the mix to create a stringy, soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl easily.

Undoubtedly, you already know that I rely on Kerrygold butter for this job. Anytime butter plays a leading role in a recipe, it’s important to call upon a quality product that is well-flavored and loaded with the best kind of fat. Kerrygold is always my choice for babka, and their large blocks are the perfect amount for this recipe.

A Few Pointers

The only semi-annoying thing about making this blueberry babka is that the dough has to rest overnight. This allows the dough to chill and the flavors to amp up. After a few hours in the fridge, we’re ready to roll out our dough. Use a floured rolling pin and a floured workspace to roll the dough into a large rectangle. Work quickly to keep your dough chilly! Next, we spread a blueberry jam/lemon zest mixture all over the dough. I prefer to use quality store bought jam here to save time, but if you’d prefer something different, go for it! The added lemon zest gives dimension to the filling flavor and prevents it from being way too sweet. Roll the dough tightly, slice it down the middle and roll the two strands of dough together to keep the exposed innards facing upwards. Simple!

After a final rise, each loaf of blueberry babka bakes in a preheated oven for 40 minutes. If you’d like an extra-sweet, extra-moist loaf, you can opt to douse the baked loaves with a syrup after baking. I skip this set sometimes to keep the bread a little more guilt-free, but if you want to go all in, GO FOR IT. I’m here for you.

Many thanks to my friends at Kerrygold for sponsoring this and a million other butter-laden posts. I love working with a brand I love and trust so much, and I hope you’ll come to adore them as well. Give their products a try, especially if you decide to make this blueberry babka! Happy baking, happy Monday, and have a great week!

If you like this blueberry babka you should try:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Babka

Baklava Brioche

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Orange Swirl Bread

Peppermint Bark Bread

Blueberry Babka

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews

This blueberry babka is a braided loaf filled with blueberry lemon preserves!

Author: Kate Wood
Prep Time: 60
Cook Time: 40
Total Time: 360
Yield: 2 Loaves
Category: Bread

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 cup (240 gm) milk, lukewarm
2–1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 large egg plus one large egg yolk
4 cups (560 gm) all-purpose flour
½ cup (100 gm) sugar
2 teaspoons salt
10 tablespoons (140 gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the syrup (optional)

½ cup (100 gm) sugar
½ cup water

For the filling:

1 cup high quality blueberry preserves
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

To prepare the dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large dough, sprinkle the yeast over the milk and allow to dissolve, about five minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the flour, sugar, and salt and beat on low to combine. Once combined, continue beating for an additional 5 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until combined and then beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. If your dough is extremely sticky and doesn’t stretch some away from the wall of the bowl, sprinkle in another 2 tablespoons or so of all-purpose flour. The dough will be loose and wet but should hold its shape decently. Once combined well put the dough into a large, lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to rest for an hour. After an hour, dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal-sized pieces. Gently work each piece into a flat square. Place a sheet of parchment or Silpat on a baking sheet and grease it with baking spray. Place both squares of dough on the parchment, cover the sheet with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rest in the fridge overnight.

To shape the loaves:

When you’re ready to prepare your loaves, spray two (8”x4”) loaf pans with cooking spray and line the long sides and bottom with a piece of parchment paper. Combine the jam, zest, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll one piece of dough out onto a floured surface into a 13”x16” rectangle. Spread half of the filling in a thin layer over the top of the dough leaving a 1/2 “ border around the perimeter of the dough rectangle. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the dough up tightly and then pinch the end to the roll to seal. Use a sharp knife to cut down the length of the center of the dough log into two pieces. Twist the two pieces around each other into a spiral and then place the wrapped loaf in one of the prepared pans. Repeat the process with the second piece of dough. Cover the pans with a tea towel and allow the loaves to rise in a warm spot in your kitchen, about 1-1/2- 2 hours.

To prepare the syrup (optional):

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a gently boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside while you bake your loaves. This can be made and refrigerated in advance as well.

When ready to bake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the covers from the pans and place in the preheated oven to bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden and the inside registers at 180 degrees F. Remove the loaves from the oven and use a thin skewer or cake tester to poke tiny holes all over the loaves. Pour or brush the syrup over top (optional) or each loaf. Allow to cool slightly in the pan and then continue cooling completely on a cooling rack.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Babka

22 Comments / Breakfast

Peanut Butter Chocolate Babka by Wood and Spoon. This is a fluffy and sweetened braided bread filled with dark chocolate and peanut butter. This can serve as dessert or morning pastry! Making babka can be hard to learn how to do but with these steps you'll be baking in no time! Read more at thewoodandspoon.com by Kate Wood

We’re nearly halfway through #monthofchocolate, and just the thought it all being over soon is kind of devastating to my spirit. I get more excited about serving up chocolatey stuff throughout February, and to think that we’ve completed as much as we have to look forward to makes me want to extend this whole shebang an additional month. Any of y’all in support of that?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Babka

Today’s recipe for chocolate peanut butter babka is really special. Sometimes I get in a baking slump and find myself lacking inspiration or motivation to get in the kitchen and create. I reach for the same recipes and lean on bland, unimaginative methods and ingredients in order to not fail. That’s totally lame, right?

Full transparency- I am guilty of being that person who hesitates to try something new because it’s scary for things to not work out and feel like a flop. I recognize that I’ve hidden that tendency over the years with an, “I have it all together” facade, so I’ve really been making a conscious effort to make choices based on my desires instead of resorting to operating out of fear. I’m definitely a work in progress (but thank God we’re not finished products, right?), and I hope that you readers will keep sending me emails and messages asking about new recipes and techniques. You guys kinda force me to throw caution to the wind and go for it, which I love and appreciate more than you know.

Thank God we’re not finished products, right?

This chocolate peanut butter babka is one of those things. I don’t claim to be a terrific bread baker or have an extensive knowledge of Jewish baked goods. Putting in the time (and it takes some time, y’all!) to make the dough, let it rise, braid the loaves, and bake the bread just seems like a lot in my brain when it’d be a whole lot easier to buy fancy pastries from the store or make the same old batch of cookies. But we’re going for it, right? We are going to be those people who jump in and achieve something new! So while this chocolate peanut butter babka is definitely a stretch for my baking know-how and efforts, I’ve found the yield is rewardingly worth it and I think you’ll think so too.

Making the Babka

To make this chocolate peanut butter babka, you need to throw all of your old bread making know-how out the window and prepare to learn something new. While the dough is rather similar to the brioches and other braided loaves we’ve made in the past, the filling and the braiding technique is super unique. The dough, made with eggs and loads of butter, is rich and sweetened, yet still strong enough to hold a hefty filling. The rising process is similar to other breads, and once our dough is made we can let it rest in a covered bowl for some time before it gets an overnight chill in the fridge.

I can already hear some of you protesting- you probably wanted to make this in a flash or on a whim. Unfortunately, this is not that bread. The babka dough develops in flavor throughout it’s duration in the fridge and the soft, moist dough also firms up substantially so that it can be rolled out thin, filled with heavy chocolate, and then manipulated into the pretty braid we’re on the hunt for. You can put together the dough after supper, let it rest in the fridge, and then bake it first thing in the morning. Totally worth the wait.

The Filling

The filling here is a mixture made up of butter, chocolate, cocoa powder, and peanut butter. We melt it all down to allow it to come together and wait for it to cool down enough to spread on the dough. If you put hot filling on your dough you’ll wind up with a melty, slumpy mess; after waiting all night for the dough to chill out it’d be a major bummer to blow it here. Just wait until the filling is room temp before you start filling your dough, okay?

Spread half of your filling on each half of rolled out dough and then roll the dough with quick fingers into a tight spiral. If the dough is super cold your filling will start to firm up quickly and become more difficult to manipulate. Work quickly! Pinch the end edges together to seal in the filling and then use a sharp knife to cut the dough in half down the length of the roll. Quickly twist the two pieces around each other until you’ve braided the length of the dough. Next, barely tuck the ends under to fit the loaf into your prepared pan. Repeat this whole process with the second loaf and allow them both to rise in a warm spot in your kitchen.

How to Serve Babka

After baking, these loaves are golden with little spirals of chocolate twisting over the tops and insides of each slice. Allow the bread to cool some before you dive in and reheat any room temperature pieces before consuming. Even though this bread is loaded with butter and sweets,it tastes best lightly toasted with a schmear of fresh butter.

This brings me to my most exciting news. Today’s post (and a few more over the next couple of months!) is sponsored by Kerrygold! Kerrygold has long been my go-to butter of choice for making treats that require excellent, high-quality ingredients. Things like my danishes, cinnamon bread, and pie crusts taste substantially better when a high-quality fat is used. Obviously, getting the chance to work with Kerrygold is an actual dream come true. This chocolate peanut butter babka benefits from the real ingredients and high-fat percentage in Kerrygold Unsalted Butter; that extra schmear of melty goodness on lightly toasted slices has no comparison. It’s just plain delicious.

Keep your eyes peeled for more over-the-top baked goods made with Kerrygold products over the next few months! I’m really excited about how beautiful these chocolate peanut butter babka loaves turned out. I think that extra bit of go-get-em was totally worth it. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think! Happy baking and happy weekend, friends!

If you like this chocolate peanut butter babka you should try:

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Peppermint Bark Bread

Orange Swirl Bread

Raisin Swirl Bread

Chocolate Sweet Rolls

Chocolate Peanut Butter Babka

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

This chocolate peanut butter babka is a dessert-like bread with a rich swirled filling and loads of flavor! Learn how to make it today!

Author: Kate Wood
Prep Time: 60
Cook Time: 30
Total Time: 480
Yield: 2 Loaves
Category: Bread

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 cup (240 gm) milk, lukewarm
2–1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 large egg plus one large egg yolk
4 cups (560 gm) all-purpose flour
½ cup (100 gm) sugar
2 teaspoons salt
10 tablespoons (140 gm) unsalted butter (I use Kerrygold), at room temperature

For the peanut butter filling:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
10 tablespoons (140 gm) unsalted butter
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 egg, beaten for egg wash

For the syrup (optional):

½ cup (100 gm) sugar
½ cup (120 gm) water

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Instructions

To prepare the dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large dough, sprinkle the yeast over the milk and allow to dissolve, about five minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the flour, sugar, and salt and beat on low to combine. Once combined, continue beating for an additional 5 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until combined and then beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. If your dough is extremely sticky and doesn’t stretch some away from the wall of the bowl, sprinkle in another 2 tablespoons or so of all-purpose flour. The dough will be loose and wet but should hold its shape decently. Once combined well put the dough into a large, lighty greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to rest for an hour. After an hour, dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal-sized pieces. Gently work each piece into a flat square. Place a sheet of parchment or Silpat on a baking sheet and grease it with baking spray. Place both squares of dough on the parchment, cover the sheet with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rest in the fridge overnight.

To prepare the filling:

When ready to shape your loaves, combine the chocolate chips and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir regularly until melted and smooth. Add the peanut butter and stir to combine. Add the confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder, and salt and stir to combine. Allow to cool to just above room temperature.

To shape the loaves:

When the filling is nearly cooled, spray two loaf pans with cooking spray and line the long sides and bottom with a piece of parchment paper. Roll one piece of dough out onto a floured surface into a 13”x16” rectangle. Spread half of the cooled filling in a thin layer over the top of the dough. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the dough up tightly and then pinch the end to the roll to seal. Use a sharp knife to cut down the length of the center of the dough log into two pieces. Twist the two pieces around each other into a spiral and then place the wrapped loaf in one of the prepared pans. Repeat the process with the second piece of dough. Cover the pans week and allow the loaves to rise in a warm spot in your kitchen, about 1-1/2- 2 hours.

To prepare the syrup (optional):

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a gently boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside while you bake your loaves. This can be made and refrigerated in advance as well.

When ready to bake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush each loaf with a thin layer of lightly beaten egg. Place in the preheated oven to bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden and the inside registers at 180 degrees F. Remove the loaves from the oven and use a thin skewer or cake tester to poke tiny holes all over the loaves. Pour or brush the syrup over top (optional) or each loaf. Allow to cool slightly in the pan and then continue cooling completely on a cooling rack.

This post has been sponsored by Kerrygold. Thank you for supporting brands that make Wood and Spoon possible.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

30 Comments / Breakfast

As a mom, one of the concepts I teach on repeat to my eldest is sharing. At two years old, my daughter already knows when she’s done wrong by refusing to share her toys, snacks, or even love and affection with others. I don’t expect her to master such a skill for quite some time, but I keep pushing her to do so, recognizing that learning to share from an early age will only benefit her.

Sharing is Caring

We adults, though…. man, we really suck at sharing sometimes. We love to make things all about ourselves, and often withhold love, time, energy, and tangible items from those around us who want to share in it. I know that degree of selfishness is all over my life, so I’m thinking I can’t possibly be the only one, right?

This blog is intended to be a platform for sharing. Of course I want to give you recipes and ideas, tips and techniques, how-to’s and pretty photos to look at. But I also want to share thoughts. I want to give you encouragement and laughter and joy via words on these pages, and although I’m sure I’m not always successful in that, I wouldn’t dare quit trying. What use are your passions if you don’t share them with someone? What use are your gifts if you don’t give them away?

So, a challenge to you: share with someone today. Spend yourself on someone else. Volunteer, give a compliment, go the extra mile. Share a coffee, a lunch table, or ANYTHING. Whatever it looks like, just share. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

And speaking of sharing, let’s talk about this cinnamon swirl bread. I have to tell you that my message on sharing comes with the most selfish of motives. A long time favorite of mine is the cinnamon swirl bread from Edgar’s Bakery here in Alabama. It’s perfect, and if you’ve had it, you know why I’m raving about it. A girlfriend of mine asked them for the recipe, and I have questioned them for tidbits on the bread on countless occasions, but CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY DIDN’T SHARE IT WITH ME?? Ok, that’s sarcasm. If I had that recipe and was willing to bake and sell to the masses, I would retire early and spend the rest of my days baking those sweet baby angel loaves for anyone who would buy them from me.

A Bread Months in the Making

I spent months trying to get the filling on this bread right. MONTHS. I’m talking at least 15-20 test bakes. The end result is worth it. This cinnamon swirl bread, made with butter, sugar, and eggs, is straight up magical. Similar to a babka, the dough for this bread is moist, buttery, and a bit stringy while being mixed up. After an initial rise, we roll it out super thin and spread it with a cinnamon sugar schmear that, if it weren’t entirely weird, I would consider scrubbing all over my bod. A few rolls, twists, and a rise later, the bread is popped in the oven until it’s dark, golden and fragrant enough to scent your entire home.

This cinnamon swirl bread is the most delicious thing that I know how to make. It’s not the easiest thing I know how to make, but you can bet every bag of sugar at the grocery store that it’s the tastiest. If you have free time this week, I really think you should make this bread. Read through the instructions carefully, set out enough time for the rising of the bread, and plan on being patient with the process. The end result is life changing delicious, and you’ll be glad you have an extra loaf to stick in the freezer. You can do the extra kind thing and share your second loaf with a friend… but even I might be selfish enough to save it for myself. No judgement.

Happy Tuesday, Happy Baking, and Happy Sharing! Cheers to you!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

This cinnamon swirl bread recipe makes two loaves of fluffy, buttery bread that is spiced with cinnamon and swirled with brown sugar.

Author: Kate Wood
Prep Time: 90
Cook Time: 60
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 2
Category: Bread

Ingredients

For the dough

3/4 cup warm milk (not hot or cold)
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 1/4 cups (about 1 lb) all-purpose flour, with more for flouring surfaces
2 eggs
1 egg yolk, white reserved
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the filling

8 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled
1 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
pinch of salt
1 egg white

For the loaves

1 egg, lightly beaten with two teaspoons of water
parchment paper

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Instructions

To prepare the dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the warm milk and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Evenly sprinkle the yeast over top of the milk and allow the yeast to activate, about 5 minutes. The mixture should froth and foam slightly. You can stir it gently to make sure all the yeast has been moistened, but if the yeast does not foam, dump it out and start over. Once yeast has been activated, beat 1/2 cup of the flour in to the milk mixture using the paddle attachment. Once combined, add the remaining sugar, eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, and salt, and beat the mixture on medium speed until combined. On low speed, add the remainder of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Once evenly combined, increase the speed to medium (I use speed number 4 on my Kitchen Aid stand mixer) and add the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then continue to beat on medium speed for an additional 4 minutes. The dough will be quite moist and sticky, and will hold together in long strands when you attempt to scoop it from the bowl.
Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough inside, covering it tightly with a piece of plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest until it has approximately doubled in size, about 1-1/2-2 hours. Once the dough has nearly doubled in size, prepare the filling.

To prepare the filling

Combine the cooled, melted butter, sugars, cinnamon, flour, and salt, stirring until combined. Add the egg white, stirring just until combined. You will use approximately ½ cup of filling for each loaf.

To prepare the loaves

Once the dough has doubled in size, line 2 loaf pans (8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ x 2 3/4″) with parchment paper. Cut two sheets of parchment paper- one to fit the pan lengthwise and one to fit widthwise- with some extra paper to hang over the sides.
Generously flour your work surface and rolling pin. Prepare your egg wash by whisking together the egg and water. Set aside.
Gently punch the dough down into the bowl once and divide the dough in half. Take one half of the dough and lay it on your floured surface. Generously dust the top of the dough with flour as well. Using your rolling pin, roll your first piece of dough as evenly as possible into a 22″x10″ rectangle. (I even use a ruler!) You may need to re-flour your work surface if the dough begins to stick. Using a pastry brush, lightly paint the outside 1/2″ edges of your dough with your egg wash. Spread half of the filling (about ½ cup) evenly inside the egg wash border.
Standing with one of the long edges closest to you, begin to tightly roll your dough away from you, forming a 22″ long roll of dough. Gently pinch the dough together at the seam to seal the filling inside the roll.
Spread about 1-2 tablespoons of filling on the top of the roll of dough and then fold it on top of itself, forming an 11” long folded roll of dough. Shape the loaf, by pulling the ends of the dough roll together to form a “U” shape. Twist the two ends over each other twice to form a figure 8 shape and tuck the end pieces under the dough. Place your rolled loaf in one of the prepared pans and repeat the entire process with the remaining half of dough. Once both loaves have been formed, cover again with plastic wrap and allow to rise again for about 1-1/2-2 hours. The dough should rise about 1/2-1″ over the top of the pans. Do not let them over-rise.
When the dough is nearly risen, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and brush the remaining egg wash over the tops of the loaves. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until the tops are a dark golden brown and no longer squishy or underbaked looking. Look especially for underbaked parts in the creases of the twists on top of the loaves. Allow to cool in the pans on a cooling rack for about 20 minutes and then remove from the pan to cool completely.

Recipe Adapted From: NYT

babka

Blueberry Babka

Making the Babka

A Few Pointers

If you like this blueberry babka you should try:

Blueberry Babka

Ingredients

For the dough:

For the syrup (optional)

For the filling:

Instructions

To prepare the dough:

To shape the loaves:

To prepare the syrup (optional):

When ready to bake:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Babka

Thank God we’re not finished products, right?

Making the Babka

The Filling

How to Serve Babka

If you like this chocolate peanut butter babka you should try:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Babka

Ingredients

For the dough:

For the peanut butter filling:

For the syrup (optional):

Instructions

To prepare the dough:

To prepare the filling:

To shape the loaves:

To prepare the syrup (optional):

When ready to bake:

Sharing is Caring

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

A Bread Months in the Making

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Ingredients

For the dough

For the filling

For the loaves

Instructions

To prepare the dough

To prepare the filling

To prepare the loaves

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