Sourdough Cinnamon Babka

Name: Sourdough Cinnamon Babka
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 250 g flour (8.82 oz); 125 g stiff levain (4.41 oz); 112 ml warm milk (0.47 cup); 1 egg; 55 g butter – room temperature (1.94 oz); 50 g sugar (1.76 oz); 2 g salt (0.07 oz); 1 tsp honey; a bit of vanilla; 100 g soft butter (3.53 oz); 80 g brown sugar (2.82 oz); 2 tbsp cinnamon; 25 g flour (0.88 oz); 15 g butter (0.53 oz); a bit of brown sugar; cinnamon; a pinch of salt

by Matea

12 servings

1 hr 10 min

After seeing babka on Instagram all the time, I finally went to do it myself. This babka turned out to be so delicious. It is full of autumn and cozy flavors, led by cinnamon. It is so buttery and soft, packed with cinnamon aroma – what else could you wish for?!

You can choose whatever filling you like. You can take some chocolate, Nutella, all kinds of fruit jams or pistachios. Or you can go for a savory version and use pesto roso or genovese for example, various types of cheese, ham, pizza babka... The options are endless.

Sourdough Cinnamon Babka

You can do it! Saved to your recipes

Recipe details

Yield 12 servings
Time spent: Prep time: 30 Minutes Cook time: 40 Minutes Total time: 1 hr 10 min

Show Nutrition Info

Per serving

% Daily value

Ingredients

For the dough

250 g flour (8.82 oz)
125 g stiff levain (4.41 oz)
112 ml warm milk (0.47 cup)
1 egg
55 g butter – room temperature (1.94 oz)
50 g sugar (1.76 oz)
2 g salt (0.07 oz)
1 tsp honey
a bit of vanilla

For the filing

100 g soft butter (3.53 oz)
80 g brown sugar (2.82 oz)
2 tbsp cinnamon

For sprinkling

25 g flour (0.88 oz)
15 g butter (0.53 oz)
a bit of brown sugar
cinnamon
a pinch of salt

Instructions

Knead the dough well, it’s quite wet. Leave the dough covered on the kitchen counter to bulk ferment for 5-6 hrs then transfer it into the fridge overnight.
In the morning roll out the dough, spread the filling and roll the dough into a log. Cut it lengthwise to get two even pieces and wrap them around each other.
Transfer babka into a greased mould and let it rise for another 3-4 hrs on room temperature.
Coat with one egg whisked with a bit of milk. Sprinkling is optional.
Bake on 200 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 180 degrees Ceslius and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Tips

Yeast
If you don't grow natural yeast at home or you simply want a quicker solution, use a sachet of dried yeast instead of levain. You will get a lovely result as well.
But I do strongly encourage you to play around with growing your yeast at home, once you get used to it, it becomes an effortless routine. And the results are unbeatable.
Filling
Filling is really up to your choice and liking. I like cinnamon and autumn flavors, but chocolate is a great choice as well. Also, you can use fruit jams, pistachio or even some savory fillings and spices. Feel free to play around and discover what you like best.

Comments

SLWM on May 11, 2021

what is levain

3 Reply
- See 1 previous
- Matea on May 12, 2021
  
  It’s a mixture of bread and water used in sourdough bread making. If you do not bake with sourdough, proceed with fresh or dried yeast as you normally would. There is a tip for the yeast type in the recipe.
  
  Like
- Jean on May 12, 2021
  
  Sourdough starter.
  
  2
Barbara on May 12, 2021

How about using regular measurements. Teaspoons, tablespoons and cups. Not ounces.

5 Reply
- See 2 previous
- Lori on May 12, 2021
  
  Barbara, get yourself a kitchen scale, it is so much easier to measure and you know you have the correct weight for each ingredient for your recipe. For an example, when putting flour into a measuring cup, some might put too much or not enough into the measuring cup, it is never consistent. I wish all recipes came with weight measuring.
  
  1
- Matea on May 12, 2021
  
  Hi Barbara! As Lori said, when working with dough, measurements need to be precise. Cups and tablespoons are certainly not. Investing in a kitchen scale is not a big cost and it will certainly help you a lot with your future baking.
  
  2
- Tammy on Apr 30, 2023
  
  Barbra: For most of the world these ARE the regular measurements. The reason most AMERICAN baking recipes list a cup range for flour is because humidity plays a big role in how much flour weights and how the recipe turns out. Too much moisture can ruin a bread recipe beyond saving. European/South American use weight measurements because going by weight automaticly adjusts for the moisture already present in the flour. Volume measurements don't
  
  2