Make the most amazing classic cinnamon babka with this well-tested recipe. Rich and buttery, with lots of cinnamon!
I adore making babka. It’s such a versatile pastry / bread / cake, that always guarantees delicious and beautiful results. Slicing into a warm babka loaf to discover the gorgeous swirls of your filling nestled between the soft and buttery bread is a special kind of culinary satisfaction. My chocolate babka recipe is obviously a favorite for many, but cinnamon babka is actually my personal favorite.
What to expect with this recipe
Two cinnamon babka loaves. Or you could use one half to make a cinnamon babka, and the other half to make chocolate babka. An enriched bread with cake-like softness.Delicious, sweet cinnamon swirls inside the bread. The cinnamon flavor is strong, but you can reduce it to your liking.The recipe is a two day process. The enriched bread is extremely similar to my brioche bread, so chilling the dough overnight will help you shape the babka more easily and develop more flavor.This babka is perfect for gift-giving!Equally delicious with coffee or tea in the afternoon, or as a cinnamon roll substitute for brunch.
This brioche-like enriched dough is not hard to make with the help of a stand mixer. But you’ll need some patience because this dough takes time to come together and build enough gluten.
Ingredients needed to make this cinnamon babka
Apart from a weighing scale and a stand mixer, you will also need TWO 9 x 4 x 4 inch loaf pans. You could also use TWO 9 x 4 inch pans that are 3 inches in height as well, which should be just enough in size.
However, if you’re using a standard loaf pan (8 x 4 x 3 inches), you could make 3 – 4 loaves with this recipe (3 big loaves or 4 small ones).
Enriched bread dough
MilkActive dry yeast (see recipe notes for substitutions)HoneySugarEggsAll purpose flour (you can also use bread flour or a mix of the two)SaltUnsalted butter
Cinnamon filling
Cinnamon – Use good quality cinnamon for the best cinnamon flavor. Regular supermarket-brand cinnamon is often less strong, so you may need to use more cinnamon for equivalent flavor. You can also use Ceylon cinnamon for a more floral cinnamon flavor.ButterSaltBrown sugar
Step by step instructions to make cinnamon babka
Enriched bread dough
Enriched dough bread is bread that is made with added eggs and/or butter. Because of these fat-rich additions, the gluten takes longer to develop. So it’s important to make sure that you take the time to knead the dough until the dough can pass the window pane test. First, activate the yeast in warm water. Second, add the rest of the ingredients, except for the butter. Knead the dough for about 5 – 7 minutes until it starts to look smooth. Add the butter in four additions, making sure to knead in each butter portion before adding the next. Adding the butter will make the dough seem more runny, sticky, and soft. This is normal! Keep kneading the dough and it’ll start to become shiny and smooth. This must be done at mid speed, because the low speed will not knead the dough properly to form gluten. You can tell that your dough was kneaded enough when the dough passes the window pane test. Let the dough proof at room temperature for about 1 – 2 hours, until it’s about 1.5 – 2 times the initial size. Not more than doubled in size. De-gas the dough gently (don’t punch the dough!) by turning the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and folding the edges towards the center, and then pressing down lightly. This will remove excess gas from the dough. Then turn the dough over again and form a smooth surface on top, and place it back in the mixing bowl. Refrigerate for about 8 – 12 hours. This cold proof will develop more flavor in the dough, plus a chilled dough will be much easier to work with as well.
Cinnamon filling – this is made the following day, before assembling
Some babka bakers will spread the butter over the dough, and then sprinkle the sugar over the butter. If you prefer to do this, that is A-OK. However, I personally prefer to make a cinnamon butter by mixing softened butter with sugar and cinnamon, and then spreading this mixture over the dough instead. This ensures a nice even layer of butter, cinnamon, and sugar! If it’s winter and cold where you live, you may need to slightly soften the butter in the microwave first (just a few seconds). The butter should then be soft enough to be mixed with the sugar and cinnamon to form a spreadable paste.
Assembly – after making the cinnamon filling
This is also done on the second day, after the dough has chilled in the fridge overnight. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge. Take the dough out of the bowl, and place it on a lightly floured and smooth surface, and lightly flatten the dough. Weigh the dough and divide it into two equal portions. Place one portion back in the bowl, cover, and chill until needed. Make sure the other portion of dough is chilled when you work with it. It’s much easier to handle the dough and shape the cinnamon babka while it’s chilled. If it gets too soft, pop it in the freezer for a few minutes, so that it’s nice and chilled again. Roll out this dough portion into a rectangle (10 – 11 x 15 – 16 inches), with a fairly even thickness. Spread the cinnamon butter in a thin layer over the surface of the dough, making sure to leave a 1 inch border along one of the long edges. Next, roll up the dough towards the 1 inch border with no filling, and seal by pinching the edge. The dough is usually too soft for me by this point, so I carefully place the rolled up dough on a baking tray, cover it with plastic wrap, and freeze it for about 20 minutes until the dough becomes firm again. I’ve tried to shape the cinnamon babka when the dough is too soft, and it quickly becomes a sticky disaster! So definitely make sure you chill the dough roll before shaping it. When the dough is firm again, it’s ready to be shaped. Cut the tube of dough in half (lengthwise) with a sharp knife. If you like, you can trim the edges. Twist the two pieces of chocolate babka dough together, and tuck it in the prepared loaf pan. Then repeat this with the second portion of dough.
Baking cinnamon babka
It’s very important to let the cinnamon babka loaves proof before baking. If the babka dough doesn’t proof properly, the dough will “tear” as it bakes in the oven. Cover the loaf pans with plastic wrap or cloth, and keep them in a warm place until they have doubled in size. This can take as little as 1.5 hours in the summer, or can be as long as four hours in the winter! Just make sure to find a warm area in your house to proof the loaves during winter. When the babka loaves have proofed, they are ready to be baked! You have the option of baking the loaves without an egg wash, especially if you’re going to brush the loaves with syrup after baking. However, if you’d like to skip the syrup, you can brush the tops with an egg wash instead for a lovely shine on the cinnamon babka loaves. You also have the option of adding a streusel topping before baking the babka. Bake the babka for 50 – 60 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches about 190 – 200 F. If the loaf is browning too much on the surface, tent the pan with a piece of foil. Once the cinnamon babka is baked, you can brush the loaf with a sugar syrup. This is not essential, but the syrup does add more moisture to the babka and a lovely sheen on top.
How to serve cinnamon babka
Cinnamon babka is a rich and indulgent treat on its own! It’s also delicious with tea or coffee. I really enjoy eating a slice of cinnamon babka after warming it up in the microwave for several seconds. But I’ve also eaten and served this at room temperature and straight out of the fridge, and it’s a treat either way!
How to store babka
Freshly baked cinnamon babka should be stored in an air-tight container. Honestly though, this babka loaf never lasts too long in our house. While one babka loaf is stored in the fridge for about 5 days, the other is stored in the freezer until my family is ready to eat it. If you want to store the cinnamon babka for about 2 weeks in the freezer, you can just wrap the babka well and place it in an airtight container or freezer bag. However, if you’re storing it in the freezer for any longer than that (up to 2 months), you need to make sure to prevent freezer burn on your babka. Wrap the babka with plastic wrap tightly (even two layers), followed by foil. Reduce the chance of the babka being exposed to any cold air. Then finally place the loaf in an airtight container or freezer bag and store in the freezer. And make sure you don’t slice the bread before storing as well! This will make the babka go stale faster.
My favorite tips to ensure perfect results with this cinnamon babka recipe
Use weight measurements. This will guarantee consistent results. Volume measurements of dry ingredients vary too much and can result in dry bread. Be patient with the kneading process. This is an enriched bread, so it’ll take time for the dough to develop gluten. You can read my comprehensive post on brioche bread for more information about enriched dough. Look for the window pane to know that your dough is done. The fridge and freezer are your friend. Chill the dough overnight, both for flavor and to make it easier to work with. Any time the dough gets soft and sticky, transfer it to the freezer (covered) for a few minutes to make it firm again. Cinnamon comes in varying strength depending on the brand. I like my cinnamon babka with LOTS of cinnamon, so taste the cinnamon butter and add more cinnamon just in case the cinnamon you use isn’t as strong. I use a conventional oven. If you have a convection oven, then you will need to reduce the temperature of the oven by 25 F / 15 C to bake the loaf. Use a 9 x 4 x 4 inch loaf pan. With this pan, you can make TWO loaves. You can also use a 9 x 4 x 3 inch pan. If you’re using 8 x 4 x 2.5 inch loaf pans, you will be able to make FOUR smaller loaves. If your loaf pan is higher than 2.5 inches, you’ll get THREE loaves instead of four.
