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Eastern European Babka: Spiced Sweet Potato Swirls with Streusel Topping & Soaked in Simple Syrup

This dessert bread consists of an enriched sweet dough with swirls of spiced sweet potato filling topped with a sweet, buttery streusel and soaked in a simple syrup. While this bread screams holiday, it can be enjoyed any time of year. It makes a great snack, dessert, or breakfast. Dip slices in an egg mixture and grill for a French toast breakfast topped with maple syrup.
Prep Time1 hour 25 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Rising Time2 hours
Total Time4 hours 25 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Eastern European
Keyword: babka, sweet potato, sweet bread, sweet babka, jewish bread, holiday bread
Servings: 2 loaves

Ingredients

Bread Dough

  • 2 ¼ tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast
  • 75 g (⅓ cup + 2 tsp) granulated sugar superfine dissolves easily & quickly
  • ¾ cup milk divided (¼ cup & ½ cup)
  • 400 g (3¼ cups) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp orange zest optional
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 stick (½ cup /4 oz) butter, melted (additional for topping)
  • 1 tsp salt increase salt to 1¼ tsp if using unsalted butter

Sweet Potato Filling

  • 1 lb sweet potatoes
  • 2 tbsp (1 oz) butter softened
  • ¼ cup packed brown sugar
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • ⅛ tsp nutmeg
  • ¼ cup walnuts chopped (optional)

Streusel Topping

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp (1 oz) butter chilled & cut into small pieces
  • 1-2 tbsp (.5-1 oz) butter melted to brush on the dough before adding the topping

Simple Syrup

  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup water

Instructions

Bread Dough

  • In a measuring cup, add ¼ cup milk and heat in the microwave for ~20 seconds or over the stove until the milk reaches 100°F-110°F (38˚C-43˚C). Measure out 75 grams of sugar and from that take 1 tbsp to stir into the milk. In a small bowl, add the yeast, the 1 tbsp sugar, and whisk in the warm milk until the yeast is dissolved. Set aside for 10 minutes or until bubbly and frothy.
    TIP: If the yeast doesn't activate, it will not work. Discard the mixture and start again with a new package of yeast.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, remaining sugar, salt, and zest (if using). Use a fork or whisk to combine the ingredients.
  • Measure out and heat up remaining ½ cup milk until it reaches 100°F-110°F (38˚C-43˚C). In small bowl, cut up the butter (to help it melt more evenly) and microwave it for 20 seconds or so until mostly melted. Stir to melt any remaining solids. Add 5 seconds more, if needed, and stir until all solids are melted. You want butter that is just melted, not too hot or it may negatively affect the yeast.
  • Attach the dough hook and turn the mixer on low. Gradually pour in the yeast mixture, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl edges as needed. Knead for 8 minutes on low to medium speed until the dough is elastic and pulls away from the bowl. The dough should be tacky (meaning it doesn’t stick to your hands). If the dough is sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time kneading between each addition until the dough is no longer sticky.
    TIP: Crack eggs on a flat surface to prevent broken shells from getting into the white. Also, crack each egg in a separate small bowl first to catch any unwanted broken shells and the rare bad egg.
  • Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Place the bowl in a warm area for 1-2 hours until the dough has almost doubled in size.

Prepare the Sweet Potato Filling (or Use Leftover Sweet Potato Casserole)

  • Peel, wash, and chop in large chunks the sweet potatoes. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat. Decrease heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain water from potatoes and place potatoes in a large mixing bowl.
    TIP: Check potatoes by piercing a larger one with a knife, if soft, potatoes are done.
  • To the potatoes, add butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Use an electric hand mixer and whip up the potatoes until smooth. You can use a potato masher or spoon. Stir in walnuts, if using. Set aside.

Prepare the Streusel Topping

  • In a small bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, and salt. Mix up the ingredients. Using a pastry cutter (fork or hands) cut in the butter until you reach a grainy/chunky consistency. Set in the refrigerator until ready to use it.

Fill & Twist the Bread Dough

  • Prepare two 9x5-inch loaf pans by lining them with parchment paper, or greasing them with cooking spray, butter, or shortening.
  • Once the dough has doubled in size, deflate it with a spatula and turn it out onto a heavily floured work surface. Divide the dough in half, eyeballing it is fine. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out each dough half into an 16x12-inch rectangle.
  • Spread the sweet potato mixture evenly over each dough rectangle from edge to edge. Start at one short side and tightly roll the dough into a log like cinnamon or jelly roll dough. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap, place them on a tray, and refrigerate them for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
    TIP: Use no more than 1-1½ cups total of filling or the center of the dough will be too moist to bake through.
  • Remove the logs, one at a time, from the refrigerator and unwrap. Place the log on a lightly floured work surface. Use a knife or bench scraper to cut the log down the center lengthwise to separate the log into 2 halves. Open the halves to reveal the inside layers facing up and place them side by side. Twist the 2 halves (like a simple braid) keeping the inside layers face up and visible. Push the ends towards each other to help compact the dough. Carefully pick up the twisted dough loaf and compact it in the prepared loaf pan. Repeat with the other log. Cover each loaf pan with a towel or loosely with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray (to prevent the dough from sticking as it rises). Place the loaf pans in a warm area for 1-1½ hours for the dough to rise.
  • During the last 30 minutes of the rise, preheat the oven to 350˚F (177˚C).
  • Once risen, remove the towel/plastic wrap. Brush 1-2 tbsp melted butter over the top of each dough loaf. Sprinkle on the streusel topping somewhat patting it down so it sticks to the dough. Place the loaf pans on a cookie sheet to catch any topping that might fall. Bake in the oven for 50 minutse-1:05 hours. If the tops begin browning too quickly, cover the loaves loosely with tented foil. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 200°F (93˚C).
    TIP: If using parchment paper, stand up the parchment paper around the edges to help hold any topping above the pan in place.

Prepare the Simple Syrup

  • While the bread is baking, make the simple syrup. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar and water. Heat on simmer and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
    TIP: Superfine sugar dissolves more quickly and easily

Add the Finishing Touches & Cool

  • Once the bread is baked, remove the pans from the oven. Use a skewer or ice pick to poke holes all through the bread of each loaf to create space for the simple syrup to ooze down throughout the bread. Slowly pour the syrup evenly over the top of each bread loaf and edges.
    TIP: You may want to pour your syrup in a measuring cup to make it easy pouring and to easily divide the liquid between the 2 loaves.
  • Let the loaves sit for 10 minutes to cool. Lift out the bread from each pan holding onto the parchment paper. Remove the parchment paper (if using) and place the loaves on a wire rack to cool completely.
    TIP: If you greased the pan instead of using parchment paper, run a knife along the inside edges of the pan to loosen the bread. Then, carefully tilt the loaf pan to allow the bread to “slide” out and place it right side up on a wire rack to cool.

Video

Notes

Storing Babkas
Wrap Babkas and store at room temperature for a few days. The moisture from the simple syrup will keep the Babkas from drying out. For longer storage, place sliced Babkas in a  freezer bag and store for up to a couple of months in the freezer. Remove slices as you want them, thaw on the counter for about 30 minutes, and heat in the microwave until warm.
Notes:
-Use the bread for French toast. Consider slicing the bread, dipping it in an egg mixture (whisk 5 eggs, 1 cup milk, 2 tbsp brown sugar, and ¼ tsp cinnamon), soaking the bread 30 seconds on each side, and grilling it on both sides in a greased skillet until brown, flipping it once. Serve with maple syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar.
-Use your leftover sweet potato casserole as the filling in this recipe. Only use up to 1½ cups of the filling for both loaves. Too much moisture will prevent the center of the bread from baking through and it will fall.
-You can use the same basic bread dough recipe and sub your favorite filling for the sweet potato filling and topping. The most common fillings in eastern European countries are chocolate or cinnamon and sugar (like an American cinnamon roll).