Chocolate Babka
Easy chocolate babka recipe! Moist & pillowy bread swirled with rich dark chocolate in every bite. Follow this simple step-by-step tutorial!
Original publish date: March 3, 2020.
This chocolate babka recipe has been completely reworked! It’s totally new and different. I’ve made it way easier and I think it’s also tastier and prettier than it was before.
Don’t you just love how the soft, pillowy bread swirls and loops around all that luscious chocolate?
Fresh-baked bread is one of life’s greatest pleasures. And I really love the process of making it! It’s slow and methodical but somehow so soothing. You just follow the steps and give it the time it needs, and you end up with the most incredible reward at the end.
I’m slowly making my way through, trying to create bread recipes of every make and model. And I’ve got quite a few here! Last week I made rye bread, and before that there were cheese Danish, and beer bread…
But there’s nothing else quite like chocolate babka. Where else can you get moist, fluffy white bread swirled with rich dark chocolate?
Table of Contents
- What is chocolate babka?
- Why this is the best chocolate babka recipe
- What does chocolate babka taste like?
- Ingredients
- Special equipment
- How to make chocolate babka
- How to serve
- Expert tips
- FAQ’s
What is chocolate babka?
Babka is a classic bread that derives from Eastern Europe.
It consists of a rich, soft, and moist bread that’s swirled with a sweet filling, such as cinnamon sugar, fruit, or, as you see here, chocolate!
You’ll often find babka at a Jewish deli (remember that Seinfeld episode?), but this version is way better because it’s homemade!
Why this is the best chocolate babka recipe
- Tastes amazing: The bread is slightly sweet, moist, and so pillowy, and it’s complimented by a thick ribbon of dark chocolate ganache.
- Great texture: This bakes up so airy and light, and it’s not the least bit dry.
- Few ingredients: I’ve stripped it down to the bare essentials. You’ll only need a handful of pantry staples to make this recipe!
- Easy to make: Follow my streamlined recipe instructions and expert tips, and there’s nothing to it!
What does chocolate babka taste like?
Imagine that soft, slightly sweet white bread from your childhood, but with the addition of chocolate! It’s a truly special treat.
Ingredients
Flour: Bread flour is best here, but all-purpose flour will work in a pinch (it just may not have quite the same satisfying, elastic texture).
Salt: Salt carries the flavors and intensifies them. The end result won’t taste salty, but it will make everything so much more flavorful! Kosher salt is best because it doesn’t have any additives (table salt usually contains iodine which can leave a bitter taste), so the flavor is pure. It’s also inexpensive and easy to find in a regular grocery store.
Sugar: Granulated white sugar adds a subtle sweetness to the bread, as well as feeding the yeast. Swap in another type of sweetener if you like. As long as it subs 1:1 it should work fine.
Butter: Adds a richer flavor to the bread and carries the flavors. Use unsalted butter because it lets you control the amount of salt in the babka. Different brands of butter can contain different amounts of salt, so this way you get a more consistent result.
Milk & cream: Works in tandem with the butter to enrich the bread. Use whatever kind you keep on hand. You could also just use all half & half, if that’s easier.
Eggs: Provide structure and added richness. Use large chicken eggs or a plant-based product that subs 1:1. It’s best if they’re at room temperature, but I don’t find this to be critical.
Yeast: Active dry yeast gets my recommendation here. It allows for a slower rise that yields a deeper flavor thanks to the fermentation that occurs during that time. Sourdough starter and instant yeast can also be used (see below), but I like active dry yeast best.
Chocolate: Chop baking bars for the best result, or use premium chips. I like semi-sweet chocolate here, but you could use a bittersweet product, milk chocolate, or white chocolate if you prefer.
Special equipment
- Measuring cups & spoons: Follow my guide on how to measure ingredients.
- Bowls: You’ll need a large bowl for making the bread dough and a smaller one for the filling.
- Plastic wrap: To cover and keep the dough from drying out as it rests.
- Rolling pin: For rolling out the dough into a big, wide rectangle before filling.
- Silicone spatula: For stirring up the filling and for spreading it on.
- Knife: To cut the roll lengthwise and create that gorgeous swirl pattern.
- Pan: A standard-sized loaf pan. Mine was stoneware. If you use metal you may have to adjust the bake time.
How to make chocolate babka
This stunner of a loaf comes together in just 4 simple steps.
Step 1: Make the dough
Start by mixing about half the flour together with the salt in a big bowl. Then, make a well in the center, and pour in the milk, cream, melted butter, and sugar.
Sprinkle the yeast on top of the liquids and allow it to dissolve.
Stir everything together until you have a really thin, loose batter, then add the eggs.
Mix those in, and then add the remaining flour, about a quarter cup at a time, while continuing to mix.
Keep adding flour until you have a stiff dough that’s no longer sticky. It should gather itself into a ball and pull cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. Once you see it doing that, stop adding flour. You may not end up using all of it, and that’s totally fine! Or you may need a bit more! It’s all about the consistency, kwim?
This is what it should look like. When you see this, you know it’s time to knead. And that’s an important step!
It creates that satisfying elastic texture that we love about good bread. If you skimp here, your bread could come out crumbly. Knead it for a full 10 minutes. Set a timer! I let my stand mixer do this job for me.
See how different it looks after a good knead? It’s smoother and stretchier.
Cover the bowl lightly with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place (like a sunny windowsill) to rest.
Step 2: Make the filling
While your bread dough has its nap, you can mix up the filling.
Chop the chocolate.
And heat some cream. You can do this in the microwave or on the stove. Just get it to where it’s steamy. It doesn’t need to be boiling.
Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and allow it to sit for around 5 minutes.
Then stir it all together and set it aside.
Step 3: Fill & shape the loaf
Once the dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down and roll it out into a wide rectangle. The dimensions aren’t critical, but I will say that the thinner you can roll it, the more surface area you’ll have for chocolate. So I roll it as thin as I can, and I aim to have the shorter side of the rectangle be somewhat close to the length of the loaf pan.
Spread the chocolate filling all over, leaving a little bit of a bare edge so you can pinch and seal it in.
Then, starting at one of the shorter sides of the rectangle, roll it up into a tight log. It’s just like making cinnamon rolls!
Cut the log in half lengthwise, leaving it connected at the tippy-top.
Then just twist each of the long halves around each other.
Place the twist in your loaf pan, cover it lightly, and give it a second rest.
Step 4: Bake!
Once the unbaked bread has doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and preheat the oven.
This will bake until it registers an internal temperature of around 195 degrees F. It will puff up a ton, opening up all the chocolate-filled layers like the petals of a flower, and go really golden brown on top.
How to serve
Chocolate babka is perfect any time of day.
I love it for breakfast or brunch, or for a nice afternoon pick-me-up, along with a cup of coffee or tea.
And it’s great for dessert as well!
You can enjoy this bread warm, cold, or at room temperature. It doesn’t really need anything added to it, but a smear of soft butter or jam wouldn’t be unwelcome!
Expert tips
Check the expiration date: If your yeast is past the date, it could be dead and your bread won’t rise.
Keep it comfy: Yeast likes to be warm but not hot. Hot water will kill it. But a nice warm environment, such as a sunny windowsill or if your oven has a “Proof” setting, will help it to flourish. It’s amazing how much more the dough will rise and puff up if it’s kept a little warm.
Let the ganache cool: After you spread on the chocolate, allow it to set for a few minutes. If it’s really warm and liquid, it will slide around inside the roll and make the cutting and twisting really difficult.
Cover it: Keep an eye on your chocolate babka as it bakes. If it’s starting to get too brown on top but it’s still not cooked all the way through, you may want to tent it with foil.
Cool it in the pan: This will keep it from drying out.
FAQ’s
This can happen if the yeast is dead. Be careful not to kill the yeast with water that is too hot. Aim for the temperature of a baby’s bath or around 105 degrees F.
It’s also a good idea to allow your dough to rise in a warm place. This will encourage the yeast to burp out lots of air and make the dough grow in bulk.
Yes! Use 100g of active sourdough starter in place of the yeast, and keep in mind that you may need to extend the rise times a little longer.
You can, but you’ll probably want to reduce the rise times by 10 or 15 minutes.
This can happen if your bread hasn’t been given enough time to rise, or if it’s had too much time to rise (because it eventually collapses back down again).
But I think the number one cause is not kneading enough! Be sure to give your dough a full 10-minute, vigorous knead.
You will want to allow yourself plenty of time to make this chocolate babka! It needs several hours to chill and rise, and it takes a while to cool down after it’s been baked too.
I think it’s best to start the recipe at least a day before you plan to serve it. Maybe even two days! The unbaked dough will keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours, or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Once baked, it will last at room temperature for 5 to 7 days. Just keep it tightly wrapped so that it doesn’t become stale or dried out.
If you still have leftovers hanging around after a week or so, pop them into the fridge and they’ll keep for several more days there.
Yeast breads like this one freeze beautifully. Just wrap this babka up tightly in plastic wrap and slip it into a freezer bag. It will last in the freezer for around 2 months.
Thaw it at room temperature and it will taste fresh as the day it was made!
This recipe makes one loaf.
The nutritional info in the recipe card below is for the whole loaf. Divide it out by how many slices you choose to cut it into.
A few more of my best yeast bread recipes
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Chocolate Babka
Ingredients
For the Bread
- 3 1/3 cups (416.67 g) bread flour, divided (you may need slightly more or less)
- 3/4 teaspoon (4.5 g) kosher salt
- 2/3 cup (162.67 g) milk, warm, not hot (aim for 105 degrees F)
- 1/3 cup (79.33 g) heavy whipping cream, warm, not hot (aim for 105 degrees F)
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 3 tablespoons (36 g) granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) dry active yeast, (1 packet or 1/4 ounce)
- 2 (88 g) eggs, large
For the Filling
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup (59.5 g) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
To Make the Bread
- Stir about half the flour together with the salt in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the center, and pour in the milk, cream, melted butter, and sugar.
- Sprinkle the yeast on top of the liquids and allow it to dissolve (approx. 5 minutes).
- Stir together until combined, then add the eggs.
- Stir until fully incorporated, then add the remaining flour, a little at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky. (It should gather itself into a ball and pully cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. You may need slightly more or less flour.)
- Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (approx. 1 hour).
- Punch the dough down and roll it out to a thin, wide rectangle.
- Spread the filling on top, leaving a bare margin around the edges for sealing.
- Starting at one of the short sides of the rectangle, roll into a short, tight log.
- Starting near the top of the log, slice the log in half lengthwise.
- Twist the two long halves around one another and place in a loaf pan.
- Cover lightly and set in a warm place to rise a second time until doubled (approx. 1 hour).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the bread until it registers an internal temperature of around 195 degrees F (approx. 1 hour).*
To Make the Filling
- Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-safe bowl.
- Heat the cream (either in the microwave or in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat) until steamy.
- Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and allow it to stand for 5 minutes.
- Stir the cream and chocolate together until smooth and combined.
If using the dough setting in bread machine should I still proof overnight in refrigerator? Are there any other changes to recipe?
Yes it wants a slow proof in the fridge for sure! Good luck!
I’m trying this out soon it looks really good. Can I use bread flour or is the dough best prepared with AP?
You could definitely try bread flour! I usually use AP but maybe you might like bread flour better. Let me know!
Made this today and it over proofed… so it sunk once out of the oven but tasted good😀. Should the rise just come to the top of the pan? Thanks
Please provide the recipe for making this in a bread machine.
Hi, wanting make this soon but have a question. You mention cream in the recipe which I assumed would be for the ganache but then say add with the milk to the flour. Which is correct please?
There is cream in the filling but also in the bread dough. It’s listed out in the recipe card. 1/3 cup under the heading “For the Bread,” and 1/4 cup under the heading “For the Filling.”
OMG! This was so incredibly delicious! Not much work if you use a mixer w/a dough hook. I did as recipe stated and kneaded the dough for a full 25 minutes and then proofed in refrigerator overnight. I rolled the dough tight and chocolate did not seep out. This came out perfectly. My husband was in his glory eating babka w/a good cup of coffee!
Have you ever doubled this recipe to make two loaves?
Hello! Very excited to try this out. My dough looks great day 1! I was wondering the approximate length/width you roll out the dough? Thank you!
Hey Tanya! I think for this recipe, it’s more important that you get it to the right thickness. The thinner you can roll it, the more surface area you have to spread the filling on. The dimensions of the rectangle don’t really matter because of the way the roll gets twisted… it goes in the loaf pan all loopy and swirly anyway. I hope that makes sense!
After refrigerating my dough overnite and rolling dough, might be too much chocolate because it oozes out. Dough wasnt firm enough to make tight roll. It is now in the pan but not very neat looking. Trusting it will taste good anyway.
I’m sure it will taste good! But next time be sure to take note of the kneading time- this will really help the dough to become firmer. It’s a lot of kneading and it will give your machine a workout, but it really does stiffen things up by quite a lot.
For the proofing in the loaf pan, can I proof in a warm oven with the temp being 200F and then turning the oven off after it preheats?
That sounds like a great idea! Good luck!
Hi there! Any advice on how to modify this recipe for the bread machine (i.e., what order to add ingredients, etc.)? Thanks!
Unfortunately, despite all the kneading, the dough is sticky and I had to use a lot of flour to even be able to roll it. Now with the chocolate on, it’s basically impossible to roll it up at all. It’s just sticky and pieces are coming off. Just stuck it in the freezer for a few minutes, hoping that it might become firmer so that I can save it. Not sure what went wrong 🙁
This was meant as its own comment, but I accidentally replied to the person above. Sorry about that.
Does the wet ingredients (water, eggs, butter) need to be at room temperature?
It’s best if they are, yes. Good luck!
After I roll the dough can I leave overnight or only 4 to 5 hours?
You can refrigerate it for up to 48 hours.
If I am refrigerating this for about 48 hours, should I punch down the dough periodically? And how often? Every 10 – 12 hours or so?
You only need to punch it down the one time. Good luck and I hope you enjoy!
Are these proportions right? My dough was SO sticky, nowhere near rollable! 2 cups of flour and 12 tablespoons of butter? Other recipes said 6 cups of flour and 8 tablespoons of butter!
Yes, they are right! I tested the recipe several times. A few tips for you:
Hopefully this info is useful!
I tried it today, it’s so good! I have seen many different recipes of Babka and my family love yours. The taste and the texture are superb!
This sounds wonderful. I do have one question. Do you have to prep the loaf pan in any way before putting the dough into the pan. Thanks so much.
Hi there! You only have to lightly grease the pan. I typically just give it a quick mist with non-stick spray. Good luck and I hope you enjoy!
Hi Allie, I attempted the brioche today. My dough was a success, but I had chocolate oozing everywhere. My roll was not tight. And I did use a good quality chocolate. Did you let your chocolate firm up a bit before putting it on the dough? That is what I am thinking. Nevertheless, I baked it, it smelled divine and tasted pretty good to. Thank you.
Hey Diane! I’m so happy you tried the recipe but sorry that you had some trouble! When I was making it, the dough was still a little cool from the fridge as I was rolling it out, and the chocolate filling had probably been sitting for around 10 minutes. It was quite runny when I poured it on, but I noticed that as I started spreading it, it was firming up just from being in contact with the cool air and the dough. You can sort of see this in the video. I’m glad that your finished product still tasted good but I’m sure that must have been frustrating to work with. Hopefully this helps and maybe next time you’ll have better luck. Thanks for reading!