Cinnamon Babka (Jewish Twisted Enriched Bread with Cinnamon Swirl)

Name: Cinnamon Babka (Jewish Twisted Enriched Bread with Cinnamon Swirl)
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Jewish
Ingredients: bread flour 300 g; milk 120 ml; instant yeast 5 g; sugar 70 g; egg 2 ea; butter 90 g; ground cinnamon 2 tsp; water (for egg wash) 1 tbsp

Quick answer

Total time: At least 2 hr 40 min
Level: Hard
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 8

About this dish

Rolled, split and twisted, the loaf shows a dark cinnamon swirl in every slice against a pale, buttery crumb.

Rich with butter and eggs, the dough eats closer to brioche than to sandwich bread and pulls apart in soft layers. Babka comes from Eastern European Jewish baking and sits as easily on a breakfast table as on a dessert plate.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

egg2 ea

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Warm 120ml milk until just lukewarm, and divide the butter into two 45g portions.

Mix 300g bread flour, 5g instant yeast, 70g sugar, the milk, and 1 egg until no dry flour remains.
2

When the dough comes together, add 45g butter in 2 or 3 additions.

Knead for at least 10 minutes, stopping when the surface looks smooth and the dough feels elastic and less sticky.
3

Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and leave it in a warm place for 1 hour.

It is ready when doubled and a fingertip mark slowly springs back.
4

Roll the fermented dough into a 30x40cm rectangle.

Soften the remaining 45g butter, mix it with 2 tsp ground cinnamon, and spread it almost to the edges so the swirl stays even.
5

Roll tightly from the long side to make a log, then split it lengthwise.

Keep the cut sides facing up, twist the two strands together, place in a buttered pan, cover, and proof for 1 hour.
6

Beat 1 egg with 1 tbsp water and brush it over the top.

Bake at 180°C for 30 to 35 minutes; if the top browns too fast, cover with foil, then cool before slicing.