| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr 15 min |
| Prep: | 35 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr 40 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 1 babka |
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) melted margarine or butter, cooled, plus more for brushing
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup melted margarine or butter, cooled
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 orange, zest finely grated
- 1 large egg white
Instructions
- To prepare the dough: In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of the warm water. Sprinkle in 1/4 teaspoon of the sugar and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Turn the mixer on low speed and add the remaining water, sugar, melted margarine, eggs, and salt. Add 2 cups of the flour and turn the speed up to medium; continue to mix until incorporated. Gradually add the remaining flour, and continue to mix until the dough holds together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl; the dough will be very soft.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, until smooth and elastic. Rub the inside of a mixing bowl with the oil and put the dough in it, turning to coat. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.
- To prepare the filling: Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Add the orange zest, raisins, walnuts, and melted margarine. Fold the ingredients together to combine.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and brush with melted margarine.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle, about 10 by 18-inches. Brush the surface of the dough with melted margarine and spread the filling evenly across. Roll the dough up, jelly roll-style, into a long cylinder, and twist it a few times like your wringing out a towel. Put the dough on the sheet pan and coil it around like a pinwheel, tuck the loose end of the dough under so it doesn’t unravel. Brush the top of the dough with more melted margarine. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until your kitchen smells like cinnamon, and the babka is golden brown. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack.
- To prepare the orange glaze: Mix the all the ingredients together in a bowl, until the sugar dissolves. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps; drizzle it over the top of the babka while it is still warm.
Reviews
My family loved this recipe. Thou it was too dry because I had to add extra flour. It took a whole extra cup to be able to come off my hands and to place in a bowl to rise. I am sure that is why it was so dry. Any suggestions?
Very good recipe and delicious babka. I did soak the raisins in a little water first. For the glaze I used just orange juice ***** sugar and spooned it over the top of a cool bapka. It is larger then I expected it to be but it was only out of the oven an hour and my husband has already had 2 pieces…..Maryann from Bolivia NC
This recipe did take time, don’t just think you’ll whip it up for breakfast! That being said it is fabulous. Perfectly sweet, I did not use the glaze, I used light brown sugar because I had no dark. I also left out the raisins because I am not a huge fan. This recipe was really fun to make and the results are well worth the wait.
Fantastic recipe! Simple, quick and wonderful results!
Very Tasty. However, be forewarned that the dough is very soft and initially hard to work with. Because the dough is so soft, rolling and twisting it is a challenge. I would cut the dough in half and use loaf pans. The filling is sufficient.
The only reason I gave the babka for stars is because I think it needed for filling. When you are spreading on the filling it looks like a lot but once it bakes, there seems to be a lot more dough then filling. I would recommend making slightly more filling and as you are rolling the dough as a “jelly roll” brushing more of the filling on in order to disperse it more evenly.
Also.. when you first make the dough it will be VERY sticky. Do not be alarmed. Just use more flour when you are kneading it. It will eventually form a ball especially when you roll it around in the oil!
Enjoy!
Tyler…Thank you! My husband is of Polish-German decent, and he said that it was “The Best he has ever had”. I have never liked Babkas, but this one is excellent (not super sweet and not dry). I was afraid my husband was not going to like it, because it had cinnamon and raisins, but he could not get over how good it was. Some readers suggested “double the filling” , but I followed it exactly as you said. Next time I go to my in-laws, I’ll be bringing this with me!!
The dough is delicious and easy to work with. BUT, I would NOT double the filling. Mine came out far too sweet, a bit gooey in parts, and my babka exploded in places due to too much filling. A single recipe of filling would be plenty. The babka I remember as a child of Polish descent was mildly sweet with a little orange flavor and white raisins. That was it. I know this was a Cinnamon Bun Babka, but it is more cinnamon bun than babka. I will make the dough but play with the filling.
Being of Polish decent my Grandmother made Babka all the time, hers never tasted like this. Traditional Babka has raisins and citrus in it, or plain with a crumb topping, not gooey at all as others stated. After making this I would never make it the way I used to, this is absolutely incredible,sorry Grandma.
I have 4 kids and getting them all to agree that something is good is very rare. They ALL loved this babka.
I would suggest re-hydrating the raisins before using them in this recipe (soak in hot water for 15-20 minutes). I have even used craisins instead of raisins.
I tried to double the filling like many other posts suggested, but this made it more like a cinnamon roll rather than a babka (but a very tasty cinnamon roll). If you are looking for a traditional babka, keep the filling as stated in the recipe. If you want a cinnamon roll type of bread, double the filling. Both ways are GREAT!!!!