Cinnamon Babka
When we were a kid, we enjoyed a lot of sleepovers at our grandma’s house. Our mom said it all started when our sister was born and would be awake from 1am until 5am, just in time for us to wake up. Our grandfather was retired and our grandparents lived right down the street, so when our dad left for work, our grandpap would come to pick us up so our mom could sleep while our sister slept. The result? We became extremely attached to our grandparents. Our mom said there were days we would cry because we didn’t want to go back home.
Our grandpap passed away when we were only five, but sleepovers continued at our grandma’s for years and years. Our sister, our cousin Kristy and we would stay over nearly every weekend and for days on end in the summer. Weekend nights at our grandma’s were extra-special, as she would make Boboli pizzas for us and we would eat in front of the television and watch TGIF on Friday nights (Full House, Family Matters, the works!), and on Saturdays we would watch The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Mama’s Family, and then stay up late and watch Star Search. Can you say EIGHTIES?!
In the morning, we distinctly remember three things our grandma would routinely have for breakfast: (1) Bagels and cream cheese. Except our grandma, the genius that she was, wouldn’t just cut the bagel in half, she would actually slice it into fourths. Hello, high cream cheese to bagel ratio! Such a smart lady. (2) Cinnamon swirl bread. This was no ordinary cinnamon bread, and we have not been able to find it in stores for the better part of a decade. Not only was it a cinnamon swirl, but the top of the bread had a crumb topping, like crumb cake. It was memorable! (3) Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts. Self-explanatory :)
(Would you be shocked to hear that we put peanut butter on both the cinnamon bread and the Pop-Tarts? Of course you’re not shocked.)
As soon as we took a bite of this cinnamon babka, we were flooded with memories of Sunday mornings at our grandma’s house. It tastes like a combination of that fabulous cinnamon bread we used to have, as well as the filling in the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts (except much tastier, obviously!).
We may have become addicted to babka-style breads without realizing it. Quite a few years ago we made this chocolate babka, and then just last month we made an apricot cream cheese babka. We love the intense swirls of babka, which ensures that every single bite will have a substantial amount of filling in it. That’s uber important in a seriously swirl bread, right?
While this babka does take some advance planning since there are three separate rise times, it is, without a doubt, 100% worth making. The dough is straightforward and forgiving, so even if you haven’t spent a lot of time working with yeast, it’s nearly foolproof. We urge you to give it a go, even if it means stepping a bit outside of your comfort zone.
We're so glad that we carved out the time to finally make this bread, which we've had our eye on for months. It brought back so many wonderful memories and made us realize what a lucky little girl we were to be able to spend such an abundance of time with our grandma. It’s time that you can never get back and we know, without a doubt, that ours was spent in a standby way possible.
One year ago: Moussaka
Two years ago: Banana Nut Bread
Six years ago: Beef Mushroom Barley Soup
Cinnamon Babka Bread
Yield: 8 servings A fabulous recipe for Cinnamon Babka... A twisted bread with a brown sugar-cinnamon filling.For the Filling:
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (31.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 egg white
For the Dough:
- ½ cup (122 ml) whole milk, heated to 110 degrees F
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened
For the Egg Wash:
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1. Make the Filling: Combine all of the filling ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the filling.
- 2. Make the Dough: Grease a large bowl and set aside. In a 1-cup measuring cup, whisk together the milk, egg yolks and vanilla extract.
- 3. Using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the milk mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-low and add the butter, one piece at a time, until they have all been incorporated, about 1 minute. Continue to mix until the dough is smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until risen slightly, about 1 hour.
- 4. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until the dough is firm and has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
- 5. Assemble the Babka: Line an 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, allowing the excess to hang over the edges.
- 6. Punch down the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough to a 20 by 14-inch rectangle. Spread all but the 1 tablespoon reserved filling over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Working from the short side, roll the dough into a cylinder and pinch along the seam to seal.
- 7. Position the cylinder seam side up and roll back and forth until stretched to 18 inches long. Spread the reserved filling over the top of the cylinder. Fold the cylinder on top of itself and pinch the ends to seal.
- 8. Gently twist the double cylinder twice to form a double figure eight. Place the shaped dough seam side down in the prepared pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
- 9. Bake the Babka: While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly beat the whole egg and brush the top of the loaf. Bake until the loaf is deep golden brown and the inside of the loaf registers 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45 minutes. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and cool completely, about 2 hours. The bread can be kept at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one serving
- Yield: 8 servings
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 45 minutes
- Total: 4 hours 15 minutes
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 1 cup ( 220 g ) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup ( 31.25 g ) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ( 0.13 teaspoon ) salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 egg white
For the Dough:
- ½ cup ( 122 ml ) whole milk, heated to 110 degrees F
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups ( 250 g ) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup ( 50 g ) granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ( 1.5 teaspoons ) instant or rapid-rise yeast
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened
For the Egg Wash:
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Method
- 1. Make the Filling: Combine all of the filling ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the filling.
- 2. Make the Dough: Grease a large bowl and set aside. In a 1-cup measuring cup, whisk together the milk, egg yolks and vanilla extract.
- 3. Using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the milk mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-low and add the butter, one piece at a time, until they have all been incorporated, about 1 minute. Continue to mix until the dough is smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until risen slightly, about 1 hour.
- 4. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until the dough is firm and has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
- 5. Assemble the Babka: Line an 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, allowing the excess to hang over the edges.
- 6. Punch down the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough to a 20 by 14-inch rectangle. Spread all but the 1 tablespoon reserved filling over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Working from the short side, roll the dough into a cylinder and pinch along the seam to seal.
- 7. Position the cylinder seam side up and roll back and forth until stretched to 18 inches long. Spread the reserved filling over the top of the cylinder. Fold the cylinder on top of itself and pinch the ends to seal.
- 8. Gently twist the double cylinder twice to form a double figure eight. Place the shaped dough seam side down in the prepared pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
- 9. Bake the Babka: While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly beat the whole egg and brush the top of the loaf. Bake until the loaf is deep golden brown and the inside of the loaf registers 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45 minutes. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and cool completely, about 2 hours. The bread can be kept at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
