Sep 9, 20204 min read

The History of Babka and Melissa Clark's Chocolate Babka Recipe.

Updated: Nov 8, 2020

Where Did Babka Come From?

The actual dough, similar to pain au chocolat or brioche and most likely came from France. Chocolate plus bread made Babka! However, chocolate was a luxury that many people could not afford. Only at the end of the 19th century did people start to eat it as a confection. Most people drank it. Sweets in the shtetl or village were plain things like cookies and cakes. It is safe to say, babka was a luxury.

One theory for early chocolate babka is that after the Spanish Inquisition, Sephardic Jewish Community formed and brought the Spanish chocolate-making process with them. In a small town of Bayonne, Jewish chocolatiers gained popularity. Today, we still see old-style Bonajuto chocolate from Sicily which has its origins from the Sephardic Jewish community.

Babka took off in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine during the 19th century. The original babka was tall and made in a Turk's head pan, similar to a tall bundt cake. The pleats that circle the pan are a possible reason for the original name, baba, meaning grandma in Ukrainian. The pleats were said to resemble the pleats of a grandma’s long skirt. Once their pans became smaller, “ka” was added to mean little grandmother. It has also been thought that the babka was an ancient fertility symbol that was used in a matriarchal system that was once in place in Ukraine. Some historians say that babka could have also been brought from Italy by Queen Bona Sforza of Poland in the 16th century, from there, a Russified version of panettone formed.

The Polish version is baked in a bundt cake; the Jewish version is a twisted loaf that is most commonly seen today. The Jewish version uses olive oil to keep it easily compatible with kosher laws, while the polish version uses butter. Jewish babka came from housewives in the early nineteenth century who used the extra dough from the sabbath egg challah, put on some jam or cinnamon, and baked it for after dinner.

The history is unsure of whether Babka started in the Mediterranean or eastern Europe where it became most popular, but we do know that it came to the US in the 1950s with Jewish Immigrants. Jewish babka began spreading outside areas that were predominantly Polish and/or Jewish. It made its way to non-Jewish bakeries around NYC and other areas with large Jewish populations. Jewish foods don’t really have chocolate in them, and the chocolate became mainstream once Babka came to the US. Besides the original cinnamon filling, almond paste, apricot lekvar, cheese, chocolate, poppy seed, and walnuts have also been created. Babka with sweetened curd cheese can come out for Shavuot and shikkers babka (meaning drunk grandma), unfilled and covered with a whiskey or rum lace syrup, comes out at Purim. Babka and tea became a custom for Poles to break the fast of Yom Kippur. Babka is usually brought out around the holidays but can be eaten for breakfast and of course on Shabbat!

Pictured above is my attempt at Melissa Clark's Chocolate Babka.

The recipe takes two to three days, but it is mostly proofing time, and the result is well worth it! Moist, crunchy on the top, and super chocolatey.

Link to Recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018045-chocolate-babka

Recipe Outline:

Gather and measure out your ingredients. Test your yeast in a large mixing bowl (stand mixing bowl if you have a stand mixer) (hand mixing=with a wooden spoon). Mix your ingredients and add the yeast.
Butter a new bowl, let the dough proof covered and in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
Punch the dough down, let sit covered in the refrigerator for 4 hours minimum, but ideally overnight.
Prepare the filling or just use Nutella! Prepare the Streusel topping. I skipped this just because of personal preference. Prepare the simple syrup.
Butter and line two loaf pans with parchment paper.
Retrieve the dough from the fridge and cut in half.
Roll out each half into a 9x17 rectangle, add the filling in an even layer, roll tightly, and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.
After chilling, cut in half lengthwise and twist. Let these rise for 1-1 1/2 hours covered and in a warm place. (Or put them in the fridge until you are ready to bake and then let them come to room temp for an hour before baking.)
Pop them in the oven for 40-50 minutes at 350, pour the simple syrup on top immediately after coming out. This creates the amazing crackly, sweet glaze on top. Cool, slice, and enjoy!