If you’ve been following along with my
Sourdough Series,
it’s time for something a little more decadent: Sourdough Chocolate Babka.

Babka is a sweet, braided loaf made with enriched dough (butter, milk, eggs, sugar) that bakes up pillowy with dramatic ribbons of chocolate.

The flavor isn’t sour; the starter adds a gentle lift while the loaf tastes rich, chocolatey, and distinctly bakery-style. It makes an amazing snack with coffee in the afternoon or a slice for breakfast. They also make a great gift for friends and family.

🕒 Timeline Example (Next-Day Bake)

Step-by-Step Babka Guide

The full detailed recipe is posted below. Here’s a small summary with pictures so you can see how we make this delicious babka.

Instead of doing stretch & folds like our crunchy loaves, we follow the procedures for our sourdough sandwich bread and our sourdough challahs, where we add everything in the mixer, let the dough develop gluten, and then we leave it to grow.

With this babka, we do things a bit differently. We mix the dough ingredients minus the salt and butter and leave it to autolyse. After 20 minutes, we add the salt and the butter a little at a time and mix until the dough develops gluten and passes the windowpane test (where you stretch the dough without tearing):

Then we let our mixture grow 2½–3 hours, and we let it proof overnight in the fridge. This gives it more flavor and helps shape the dough the next day.

On day 2, we make the filling. We roll out the dough into a rectangle and spread the filling on top. Now we roll into a log and cut it in half lengthwise (yes, this will be messy! but so worth it). With the 2 halves, we twist them together, and then we place the shaped babka into our loaf tin.

We let it proof for 2 hours, we egg wash and bake. After the babka bakes, we brush it with our sugar syrup and let it cool.

🍴 Variations to Try

• Nutella Swirl: Hazelnut spread for instant bakery vibes.
• Cinnamon Sugar: Cinnamon + brown sugar (skip cocoa).
• Raspberry Chocolate: Thin layer of raspberry jam under chocolate.
• Peanut Butter & Chocolate: PB base + chocolate filling.
• Apple Cinnamon: Sautéed apples with butter + cinnamon.
• Tahini Chocolate: Add tahini for nutty depth.
• Almond Paste: Almond paste + sliced almonds.
• Lemon Poppy: Lemon curd + poppy seeds.
• Savory Cheese & Herb: Cream cheese, garlic, herbs.

❄️ Freezing & Storage

• Freeze-shaped dough: Braid, wrap tightly, freeze before proofing. Thaw overnight, then proof and bake.
• Freeze-baked babka: Cool completely, wrap well, freeze up to 2 months. Rewarm slices for bakery-style softness.

🛠 Troubleshooting

• Dense center: Underbaked—aim for 200–210°F (93–99°C) internal temp.
• Filling too dry: Reduce cocoa or increase butter; use filling warm, spreadable.
• Braid collapsed: Overproofed—bake when pillowy, not doubled.

⚡ Same-Day Option & Trade-Offs

Mix and knead in the morning, rise 3–4 hrs at room temp, chill 1 hr to firm, then roll, fill, braid, proof, and bake. It’s still soft and chocolatey, but with slightly less depth than the overnight rest.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Sourdough Chocolate Babka

Bakery-style sourdough chocolate babka with buttery enriched dough, swirls of chocolate, timeline, variations, freezing tips & same-day bake

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Proofing & Resting Time20 hours hrs

Total Time21 hours hrs

Course: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Snack

Cuisine: Jewish

Keyword: babka, enriched dough recipe, sourdough babka

Servings: 1 loaf

Calories: 4930kcal

Author: Tiffany bendayan

Ingredients

For Dough

• 350 grams Bread Flour
• 100 grams Active Sourdough Starter
• 125 grams Whole Milk slightly warm
• 2 large Eggs room temperature
• 75 grams Sugar
• 6 grams Salt
• 112 grams Unsalted Butter softened

Chocolate Filling

• 150 grams Dark Chocolate chopped
• 100 grams Unsalted Butter
• 25 grams Cocoa Powder
• 85 grams Powdered Sugar sifted
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder or vanilla optional

Egg Wash

• 1 Egg

Syrup

• 50 grams Water
• 50 grams Sugar

Instructions

Dough

• In a stand mixer bowl, combine bread flour, slightly warm milk, eggs, sugar, and starter until shaggy. Rest 20–30 minutes.
• Add salt. Knead with the dough hook.
• Add butter gradually (a few pieces at a time) until fully incorporated
• Continue mixing 8–10 minutes until dough is soft, elastic, and slightly tacky
• Cover and let rise 2½–3 hours at room temperature until puffy
• Refrigerate overnight

Filling

• Gently melt chocolate and butter together (microwave in short bursts or bain-marie)
• Whisk in cocoa powder, then powdered sugar (add espresso or vanilla if using). Use while warm, glossy, and spreadable (Nutella-like)
• Roll chilled dough to a 25×35 cm (10×14 in) rectangle
• Spread filling evenly, leaving a 1 cm border clean
• Roll into a tight log, seam side down
• Slice the log lengthwise to expose layers
• Twist the two strands together with cut sides up. If the braid is longer than the pan, fold gently to fit
• Place the braid in a parchment-lined 9×5 in loaf pan
• Cover and proof 2–2½ hours until pillowy and ~30–40% bigger (a finger dent springs back slowly)
• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Brush top with egg wash. Bake 35–40 minutes; tent with foil if browning early
• Optional doneness check: internal temp 200–210°F at the center

Glaze

• Simmer sugar and water until dissolved
• Brush syrup generously over the hot babka immediately after baking. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool before slicing
• Enjoy!

Notes

• Same-day option: bulk 3–4 hours at room temp, chill 1 hour to firm for shaping, then roll, braid, proof, and bake (slightly less flavor depth than an overnight chill).
• If filling thickens while shaping, warm briefly and stir smooth; aim for warm-spreadable, not runny.
• Freezing: freeze the braided (unproofed) loaf, wrapped well; thaw overnight, proof, and bake. Or freeze baked loaf (cool completely, wrap well) up to 2 months; rewarm slices.

Nutrition

Serving: 1loaf | Calories: 4930kcal | Carbohydrates: 573g | Protein: 86g | Fat: 264g | Saturated Fat: 156g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 72g | Trans Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 1013mg | Sodium: 2656mg | Potassium: 2267mg | Fiber: 35g | Sugar: 253g | Vitamin A: 6368IU | Calcium: 503mg | Iron: 27mg