Maybe you’ve never heard of a babka before, but we’re here to change all of that. Babka is a braided yeast bread that originates from Central and Eastern Europe. It’s traditionally baked as a sweet bread that’s served for breakfast, but we love this delicious baked good so much that we’re breaking with tradition and stuffing these 3 babkas with some exciting, new flavor combinations. We’re starting off with a meat lover’s pizza babka loaded up with cheese, salami, ham, and ground beef. From there, the Mediterranean veggie babka takes the stage, jam-packed with fresh veggies and feta cheese. And to round everything off, we’ve got a sweet dessert babka, oozing with ooey, gooey chocolate and caramel and just a hint of crunchy peanuts. Whichever one you choose to try, we know these freshly baked delicacies will impress you and your taste buds. It’s all of your favorite flavors, just with a big twist!
Yield: 1 per recipe
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Babka Yeast Dough (for 1):
You’ll Need:
- 4¾ cups flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp dry yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup milk
- 3 eggs
- ¾ stick butter, softened
Here’s How:
To make the yeast dough, combine the flour, water, butter, eggs, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the milk, sugar, and dry yeast until combined, then add the yeast mixture to the first bowl of ingredients. Lightly flour a clean work surface and knead everything together by hand until a smooth dough forms. Cover the dough, transfer it to a warm place, and and let it rise for 90 minutes.
1. Meat Lover’s Pizza Babka
You’ll Need:
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 15 slices of salami
- 6 oz ground beef, sautéed
- 4 oz ham, cubed
- 12 slices of mozzarella cheese
- ¼ stick butter, melted
- Italian seasoning
Here’s How:
1.1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll the dough into a large ball, then roll it out into a rectangular shape about 20 inches x 15 inches long.
1.2 Spread the tomato sauce over the surface of the rolled-out dough, leaving about 1–2 inches of one of the long edges of the dough uncovered.
1.3 Place a layer of sliced salami, cooked ground beef, cubes of ham, and slices of mozzarella cheese on top of the layer of tomato sauce. Roll everything up into a snug log, making sure to roll up the uncovered edge last.
1.4 Transfer the roll to the refrigerator and chill for about 45 minutes in order to make the ingredients easier to cut through. Once the roll of dough has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and cut it in half lengthwise. Twist the 2 strands of dough together.
1.5 Turn both ends of the twisted dough towards the center so that the shape of the dough resembles an ‘S’ and transfer the meat lover’s pizza babka to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush melted butter over the surface of the dough and sprinkle Italian seasoning on top. Transfer the baking tray to the oven and bake the meat lover’s pizza babka at 350°F for 40 minutes. If the dough looks like it’s getting too dark before the baking time is over, cover it with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning.
2. Mediterranean Veggie Babka
You’ll Need:
- 6 oz baby spinach
- ½ red onion, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- 12 slices of mozzarella cheese
- ¼ stick butter, melted
- pepper to taste
Here’s How:
2.1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll the dough into a large ball, then roll it out into a rectangular shape about 20 inches x 15 inches long.
2.2 Place layers of baby spinach, crumbled feta cheese, sliced onions, minced garlic, and sliced of mozzarella cheese on top of the rolled-out dough, leaving about 1–2 inches of one of the long edges of the dough uncovered.
2.3 Roll everything up into a snug log, making sure to roll up the uncovered edge last. Transfer the roll to the refrigerator and chill for about 45 minutes. Once the roll of dough has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and cut it in half lengthwise. Twist the 2 strands of dough together.
2.4 Turn both ends of the twisted dough towards the center so that it resembles an ‘S’ and transfer the Mediterranean veggie babka to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush melted butter over the surface of the dough and sprinkle some freshly ground pepper on top. Transfer the baking tray to the oven and bake the Mediterranean veggie babka at 350°F for 40 minutes.
3. Chocolate Caramel Nut Babka
You’ll Need:
- 1 cup Nutella
- ⅓ cup peanuts
- 6 soft caramels, crumbled
- ¼ stick melted butter
- sea salt flakes to taste
Here’s How:
3.1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll the dough into a large ball, then roll it out into a rectangular shape about 20 inches x 15 inches long.
3.2 Spread the Nutella over the surface of the rolled-out dough, leaving about 1–2 inches of one of the long edges of the dough uncovered, then sprinkle peanuts and crumbled soft caramels on top of the layer of Nutella.
3.3 Roll everything up into a snug log, making sure to roll up the uncovered edge last, then transfer the roll to the refrigerator and chill for about 45 minutes. Once the roll of dough has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and cut it in half lengthwise. Twist the 2 strands of dough together. Turn both ends of the twisted dough towards the center so that it resembles an ‘S’ and transfer the chocolate, caramel & nut babka to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush melted butter over the surface of the dough, sprinkle sea salt flakes on top, transfer the baking tray to the oven, and bake at 350°F for 40 minutes.
Although babka is traditionally eaten as a sweet treat for Easter breakfast, we think it’s only fitting to eat this delicious bread all year round. From its gorgeous presentation to delicious range of fillings, we can’t get enough of them! Feel free to get creative and try out some new fillings of your own.