Sourdough Chocolate Babka

There's something deeply nostalgic about Sourdough Chocolate Babka. Soft, rich, swirled with dark chocolate and brushed with sugar syrup, it's the kind of bake that feels indulgent before you've even sliced it. For me, babka has always been tied to childhood breakfasts - thick slices of chocolate or cinnamon babka, warmed slightly and slathered with far more butter than was strictly necessary. Creating a sourdough version felt inevitable.

This sourdough chocolate babka recipe keeps everything I love about the original, but adds depth, structure, and flavour that only wild yeast can bring.

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Enriched Dough and Sourdough

Babka is traditionally made with an enriched dough - similar to brioche dough - containing milk, eggs, butter and sugar. That enrichment gives you a soft, tender crumb, but it also changes how the dough behaves, especially when you replace commercial yeast with a bubbly sourdough starter.

Here's what to expect:

• Slower rise. Enriched dough ferments more slowly because fat inhibits yeast activity. Don't expect dramatic doubling during bulk fermentation or final proof.
• Softer, stickier dough at first. This dough will feel quite wet and sticky to start with. A proper (lengthy) mixing makes it elastic, glossy and beautiful to work with, though. Dough rest and overnight cold proof help it firm up beautifully, making shaping far easier the next morning.
• Better flavour with time. Cold fermentation allows the wild yeast to develop flavour without over-fermenting the dough. The result is a babka that's rich but not cloying, sweet but balanced.

If you're new to enriched sourdough, this bake rewards patience more than force.

Ingredient Notes

Here's everything you'll need for this Chocolate Sourdough Babka recipe:

• Strong bread flour. A higher protein content supports gluten development and structure. All-purpose flour will work in a pinch (reduce milk to 90g, though), but bread flour gives more strength for shaping and twisting.
• Active sourdough starter. Use a starter that's fully risen and bubbly. A sluggish starter will struggle with enriched dough. We used 100% hydration starter. 
• Milk. Adds softness and richness. Whole milk works best.
• Eggs. Provide structure, colour, and tenderness.
• Unsalted butter. Softened butter incorporates more easily. Butter is essential here - this is not a low-fat bake.
• Granulated sugar. Just enough sweetness for the dough itself. Most of the indulgence comes from the filling.
• Dark chocolate. Finely chopped chocolate melts more evenly into a smooth filling. Milk chocolate works too, but the result will be sweeter.
• Cocoa powder & powdered sugar. These thicken the filling and give it that rich chocolate intensity.
• Sugar syrup (simple syrup). Brushed on while the babka is hot, it keeps the loaf moist and glossy for days.

Step-By-Step Method

1. Mix the sourdough babka dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add milk, eggs, and active sourdough starter. Mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

2. Add butter gradually. With the mixer running on medium speed, add softened butter a little at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl if needed. Continue mixing until the dough is smooth, elastic, and passes the windowpane test.

Top tip: Enriched dough takes longer to develop gluten. Give it the extra time.

3. Bulk fermentation. Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 4 hours. Perform coil folds every 30 minutes during the first two hours. The dough will rise slightly, not dramatically.

4. Cold proof overnight. Place the dough in the fridge for 8-24 hours. This overnight rest makes shaping far easier the next day.

5. Prepare the filling. Gently heat butter and cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add dark chocolate and stir until melted. Whisk in cocoa powder and powdered sugar until smooth. Leave to cool until thick but spreadable.

6. Shape the babka. Using a rolling pin, roll the cold dough out on a lightly floured work surface into a large rectangle, long side facing you. Spread the chocolate filling evenly, then roll tightly from the short end into a log. Cut the tight coil lengthwise with a sharp knife, twist the two strands together, and place into a parchment paper-lined loaf pan.

TOP TIP: Fancy individual buns, instead of making one loaf? Try our Sourdough Chocolate Knots! Same flavour, but baked in a muffin tin!

7. Final rise. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and leave to proof at warm room temperature for 2½-3 hours. The dough should puff up slightly.

8. Bake. Bake at 180°C fan until deeply golden brown and cooked through, about 45 minutes. If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with aluminium foil.

9. Sugar syrup glaze. While baking, simmer sugar and water until dissolved. Using a pastry brush, generously smear the syrup over the babka as soon as it comes out of the oven. Cool briefly in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack.

Serving Suggestions

This babka is best enjoyed on day one, slightly warm or at room temperature.

• Thick slices with butter or cream cheese
• Toasted gently and spread with favourite jams (hint: try it with cherry jam!)
• Served with coffee as a proper breakfast bake
• Day-two slices turned into French toast or bread pudding
• Slightly stale babka makes excellent dessert sandwiches with ice cream

If reheating, warm gently. High heat can scorch the chocolate filling.

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Store baked babka in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

To freeze, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminium foil. Thaw at room temperature and warm gently before serving.

Yes, you can toast slices - just keep the heat moderate so the chocolate doesn't burn.

More Enriched Sourdough Bread Recipes

If you enjoy working with enriched dough, you'll love exploring more enriched sourdough bread recipes, from sourdough cinnamon babka to soft sourdough brioche bread and festive breakfast bakes. Which one are you going to make next time?

Sourdough Chocolate Babka

There's something deeply nostalgic about Sourdough Chocolate Babka. Soft, rich, swirled with dark chocolate and brushed with sugar syrup, it's the kind of bake that feels indulgent before you've even sliced it. For me, babka has always been tied to childhood breakfasts - thick slices of chocolate or cinnamon babka, warmed slightly and slathered with far more butter than was strictly necessary. Creating a sourdough version felt inevitable.

5 from 7 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Fermenting and Proofing 22 hours hrs

Total Time 1 day d 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine Eastern European, Sourdough

Servings 1 babka (approx 12 slices)

Calories 3850 kcal

Equipment

• Stand Mixer with a Dough Hook Attachment
• Mixing bowl, ideally quite shallow
• Rolling pin, ideally stainless steel
• Sharp Knife
• 2lb loaf pan, (4x8 in)
• Parchment Paper

Ingredients

  

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For The Dough:

• 160 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
• 320 g strong bread flour
• 100 g milk
• 2 eggs medium
• 100 g unsalted butter softened
• 30 g granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Filling:

• 60 g unsalted butter cubed
• 60 g double cream/ heavy cream
• 100 g dark chocolate finely chopped
• 45 g powdered sugar icing sugar
• 15 g unsweetened cocoa powder

Sugar Syrup Glaze:

• 30 g granulated sugar
• 40 g water

Instructions

 

DAY 1

• First thing in the morning, feed your sourdough starter and leave it in a warm spot to at least double in volume. We typically feed our starter in a ratio of 1 part starter: 1 part water: 1 part flour, and it doubles (or even triples) within 4 hours.

The Dough:

• In a bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Add the milk, eggs and active sourdough starter. Start mixing the dough with a bread hook attachment on low speed until you have a shaggy dough (about 5-7 minutes). Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.
• Return the bowl to your stand mixer, and running it on medium speed, start adding room temperature butter one bit at a time. Note, that butter will tend to stick to the sides of the bowl, so you may need to scrape the sides once or twice. Run the mixer for 10-15 minutes until you have a relatively wet, but soft and elastic dough that passes the windowpane test.

Bulk Fermentation and Coil Folds:

• Scoop the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm spot (20-24°C) for 4 hours.
• Over the first hour, every 30 minutes, perform 2 series of coil folds. You will have a much less sticky dough by the end of the fourth coil fold. Then leave it to finish its first rise for 2-4 hours, depending on the temperature, to finish bulk fermentation. Your dough is unlikely to double in size, but should increase by about a quarter.

Cold Proof:

• Place the sourdough babka dough in the fridge to finish proofing overnight. The dough ferments slower at cold temperatures, so it can safely stay in the fridge for 8-24 hours.

DAY 2

Filling:

• Heat butter and cream in a small pan over low-medium heat until melted. Add the finely chopped chocolate and mix until it melts, then remove the pan off the heat.
• Whisk in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar - make sure no dry lumps remain. Allow the mixture to cool for about 45 minutes, until it thickens to a spreadable consistency.

Shaping:

• Line a 2 lbs loaf tin with baking parchment.
• Scoop the dough onto a floured work surface. Roll it out into a large rectangle measuring about 20x40cm (8×16 in).
• Spread the chocolate filling across the surface, then roll it into a very tight roll starting from the short side and pinch the seam together.
• Cut the roll in half lengthways using a sharp knife, but leave it intact at one end (so you have two legs attached at the top).
• Twist the two legs together. Then place it into a prepared loaf tin.

Second Rise:

• Brush a piece of plastic wrap (cling film) with neutral oil. Cover the top of the sourdough babka loosely and leave it at a warm temperature (21-27°C) to proof again for 2.5-3 hours. The loaf should puff up by about 25% - it will not double.

Baking:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan (360℉).
• Bake Sourodugh Babka in the oven for 40-50 minutes. It should puff up heaps, be golden brown on top.

Sugar Syrup Glaze:

• As the babkas bake, make the sugar syrup by combining the sugar and water in a small pan. Simmer until the sugar dissolves, then remove from heat.
• As soon the as the babka comes out of the oven, brush the top with the sugar syrup.
• Allow the sourdough babka to cool in the loaf pan for 20-30 minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack. Best served slightly warm or at room temperature.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 3850kcalCarbohydrates: 429gProtein: 71gFat: 210gSaturated Fat: 125gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gMonounsaturated Fat: 56gTrans Fat: 5gCholesterol: 745mgSodium: 2561mgPotassium: 1649mgFiber: 25gSugar: 136gVitamin A: 5605IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 403mgIron: 19mg

Keyword Chocolate Sourdough Babka, Sourdough Babka, Sourdough Chocolate Babka

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