This is my go-to, make-in-a pinch babka dough recipe. You will be eating babka just a few hours after starting, so when the craving comes, this is the perfect place to start. The dough is buttery and delicious in every way, and works great with any of the fillings you’ll find in the book or the babka recipes on this site.
Ingredients
Servings 8
- 176 grams 3/4 cup whole milk, plus more as needed
- 7 grams 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 80 grams 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 450 grams 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg 50 grams
- 1 large egg yolk 18 grams
- 68 grams 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Nutritional Facts
Nutrition Facts
Sweet Babka Dough
Amount per Serving
Calories
337
% Daily Value*
Fat
9
g
14
%
Saturated Fat
5
g
31
%
Trans Fat
0.3
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
2
g
Cholesterol
66
mg
22
%
Sodium
219
mg
10
%
Potassium
114
mg
3
%
Carbohydrates
55
g
18
%
Fiber
2
g
8
%
Sugar
11
g
12
%
Protein
8
g
16
%
Vitamin A
310
IU
6
%
Vitamin C
0.003
mg
0
%
Calcium
44
mg
4
%
Iron
3
mg
17
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Instructions
- Warm the milk in the microwave until it reaches 80°F and then pour it into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk in the yeast, sugar, and vanilla until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes, until frothy and bubbly. If nothing has happened this means the yeast did not activate. If this is the case, you will need to make the mixture again and be sure to check these two things: Is your yeast expired? Is your milk at the correct temperature? If your milk was too cold, the yeast may still be dormant. If it was too hot, the yeast likely died off before it had a chance to activate.
- Attach the dough hook. Add the flour, salt, whole egg, egg yolk, and butter and mix on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Check the dough. If it looks very dry and is not coming together, then add 1 tablespoon milk. If it is too wet, then add 1 tablespoon flour until a shaggy dough forms.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix until a cohesive dough forms, another 4 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for 2 minutes.
- Form the dough into a rectangular shape about 1 inch thick using a rolling pin and your hands. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.
- The dough is now ready to use for any of the babka recipes in the book.
Credit line: Excerpted from WITH LOVE AND BABKA: 50 Sweet and Savory Recipes for Everyone’s Favorite Braided Bread. Copyright @ 2024 by Elena Pearlman. Photography Copyright © 2024 by Caitlin Bensel. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
