Great Family Bake Off – Cinnamon Babka Edition
During the start of the pandemic of 2020, when everyone was quarantining and flour and toilet paper were luxury goods. Inspired by Netflix binges of the Great British Bake Off (GBBO), my mother, sister, and I decided to do a virtual bake-off to stay in touch during the pandemic. We just had to settle on a recipe that was accessible to all three of us in terms of availability of ingredients and complexity of baked goods. After some back and forth we decided on Cinnamon Babka.
Why babka? Well first off, it met the requirements of having common ingredients . These ingredients were relatively easy to source and just complex enough to make a bake off a lot of fun! Aside from bake-off related rationale, Babka reminds me of a new york deli / bakery. Delicious sweet bread with a sweet spiced filling. Typically they are made in two forms Chocolate Babka or Cinnamon Babka. Cinnamon Babka is my favorite as it reminds me of a more adult version of my childhood cinnamon toast. Also it features an amazing spice, Cinnamon!
What’s special about cinnamon?
While researching recipes I wanted to find out more about this spice and where it comes from. Believe it or not, cinnamon is actually the bark of a tree. There are many varieties of cinnamon with two most common being Ceylon and Cassia. The original or Ceylon cinnamon comes from a variety in Sri Lanka, while one that is more common in the US is the Cassia variety. Most likely the recipes you have found are utilizing the Cassia variety which is primarily sourced from China.
Here are some interesting videos I found relating to the harvesting of both cassia and ceylon cinnamon.
Techniques for this recipe
Now, back to the Babka. This recipe requires a few simple techniques that will result in a beautiful pattern of swirly cinnamon deliciousness in your babka. The first is the rolling of the babka in the same way you would roll a cinnamon roll log. The second is splitting the log in two, long ways and then twisting to create a beautiful swirl pattern throughout the dough.
These are both relatively simple techniques, but to help visualize it here is a video I made, detailing how to execute on these techniques! With a bit of practice your babka will be a delicious work of art.
Taste Test Verdict / Results of the Cinnamon Babka Bake-Off
The verdict on taste: delicious! The sweet filing and soft fluffy bread make for a great combination. The babka is a great option for a quick breakfast paired with some coffee to offset the sweetness.
Now we also need to cover the verdict for the family bake off. We had to settle who was the winner of the bake off! As there were no judges outside of ourselves to taste, we had to come down to visuals and based on those. I think we were all winners here. Everyone’s babka turned out gorgeous and ours was absolutely delicious. More importantly the virtual bake off made us all winners because we got to spend more time doing shared activities even when apart.
For an interesting twist, the next time I make this I would love to try a recipe with cardamom after making these cardamom buns. I think the warm spice of cardamom would work just as well as the cinnamon and provide a nice newish take on this classic recipe.
I really do hope you try both the Cinnamon Babka recipe as well as a virtual family bake off. There truly are no losers when it comes to spending time with loved ones!
Cinnamon Babka
Equipment
- Stand Mixer - Optional
- Medium mixing bowl
- Whisk / fork
- Loaf Pan
Ingredients
Babka Dough
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 packet active dry yeast or 1 teaspoons yeast
- 35 g sugar plus a pinch
- 250 g flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- Grated nutmeg to taste
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter cut into tablespoons, plus more for greasing
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Babka Filling
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
Instructions
- Warm milk to 110℉ (or until warm to the touch). Add Yeast to the milk and let sit until the yeast begins to froth, about 10 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine flour, sugar, salt, and nutment and mix until combined.
- Put the stand mixer bow into the mixer and add in the yeasty milk and mix for about 1 minute. Add in the eggs one at a time and continue to mix until the dough is elastic.
- Begin adding in butter while the dough mixes one tablespoon at a time until all is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Ball up the dough and place back into the stand mixer and cover for 1.5 hours. Remove dough, punch down, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 3-4 hours.
- Make simple syrup by mixing water and sugar until simmering. Let simmer for 15 minutes and then remove from heat and let cool.
- Combine the cinnamon, sugar and softened butter until it forms a paste.
- Remove dough from the fridge and roll out to a 24x18 inch rectangle. Spread cinnamon filling all over dough while leaving a 1 inch border along the edges. Roll into a long cylinder by grabbing the short end and rolling along the long edge. (see video for details)
- Place rolled dough into the freezer for about 20 minutes to firm up. This will help with the twisting in the following step.
- Remove the dough log from the freezer and cut the dough in half lengthwise. Next hold the two sides against each other with the cut sides facing out. Twist the dough so it forms a decorative twisted pattern on the outside and then place it into a greased and parchment lined baking pan into a coiled loaf. See video for more details. Place a damp towel onto the baking pan and let the dough rise for 1.5 hours until puffed.
- Preheat oven to to 375℉ and bake for 30-40 minutes, brush with simple syrup and let cool on rack for one hour to cool before slicing. Enjoy!