Babka is a sweet bread made from a buttery dough that is rolled out into a rectangle, covered with filling, rolled up and braided before baking. When you cut it, the filling draws spirals between the layers of dough. It was born in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe and reached the rest of the world through the bakeries of New York.
At Santo Pane, babka is naturally leavened and braided by hand. This guide tells where it comes from, what sets it apart from a brioche and how to enjoy every slice at home.
Where does babka come from?
Babka was born among the Ashkenazi Jews of Poland and Ukraine. The most accepted version of its origin is a domestic one: the dough left over from challah, the braided Sabbath bread, was rolled out, covered with fruit jam or cinnamon, rolled up and baked. The name comes from the Slavic word for grandmother, babka, and some say the shape recalled grandmothers' pleated skirts.
With immigration to the United States, babka arrived in the Jewish bakeries of New York, where it gained more butter and the chocolate filling that is the best known today. In recent decades it left the neighbourhood and became a star of pastry shops all over the world.
One distinction is worth making: in Poland, babka is also the name of a tall Easter cake baked in a ring mould. That is a different preparation, without the layers of filling.
Is babka bread or cake?
It is bread. The dough is leavened, kneaded and rises like a bread dough, and that is what gives the crumb that pulls apart in strands. The difference lies in the enrichment: butter, eggs and sugar make the dough soft and fragrant, and the filling does the rest. At the table, it takes the place of a cake: afternoon coffee, dessert, a gift.
What is the difference between babka and brioche?
Both use a dough enriched with butter and eggs. What changes is how they are built:
| Babka | Brioche | |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Jewish, Eastern Europe | French |
| Shape | Dough rolled with filling, cut in half and braided | Balls joined in a tin, a loaf, or the classic brioche with a “head” |
| Filling | The essence: chocolate, dulce de leche, cinnamon, fruit | Optional; the dough itself is the star |
| When cut | Spirals of filling between layers | Even, golden, silky crumb |
What is Santo Pane's babka like?
The difference is the leaven. Most babkas are made with commercial yeast, in a few hours. Ours uses levain, our house natural starter, and ferments slowly. The dough gains a deeper aroma and a light acidity that balances the sweetness of the filling and avoids the kind of sweetness that tires you by the second slice.
The flavours change through the year. Some that have already come out of our oven:
- Dulce de leche and walnut: the dulce de leche caramelises at the edges and the toasted walnuts add crunch.
- Bariloche: layers of dulce de leche and milk chocolate chips.
- Chocolate chip: restrained sweetness, made to go with an espresso.
- White chocolate: creamy, milky notes, lovely with fresh berries.
- Christmas Babka: white chocolate and dried red fruits such as cranberry, goji, cherry and blueberry. Made for the holiday table and for gifting.
This week's flavours are on the menu.
How to serve babka
- Lightly warmed. Oven at 160 °C for 5 minutes, or a slice in a frying pan with a little butter, one minute on each side. The chocolate melts again and the edge turns crisp.
- With coffee. Filter coffee, a short espresso or black tea. Babka is sweet enough that you can skip the sugar in the cup.
- As dessert. A warm slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or with berries and yoghurt.
- As French toast. Two- or three-day-old babka, dipped in egg and milk and browned in butter, makes the best French toast you will ever eat.
How to store babka
The butter in the dough helps babka stay soft for longer than a lean bread.
- Up to 3 days: at room temperature, well wrapped in plastic or in a closed container, away from heat.
- For longer: slice it, separate the slices with baking paper and freeze, well wrapped. Warm straight from the freezer, in the oven or a frying pan, without thawing first.
More tips in our storage guide.
Quick questions
Does babka contain lactose and egg?
Yes. The dough has butter, eggs and milk, and some versions contain walnuts or hazelnuts. The full allergen list is on each product page.
Does babka make a good gift?
A very good one. It travels whole, keeps for a few days and looks beautiful on the table. At the end of the year, the Christmas Babka is our suggestion for gifting.
How many people does one babka serve?
It depends on the slice. As dessert or with afternoon coffee, it serves a family table; the weight of each babka is on the product page.
Where to find naturally leavened babka in the ABC region and São Paulo
Santo Pane bakes once a week in Ribeirão Pires and delivers with its own fleet to Ribeirão Pires, Rio Grande da Serra, Mauá, Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, São Caetano do Sul and part of the city of São Paulo. Enter your postcode on Closer to You and reserve your babka from the next bake.