This Valentine’s Swirl Babka is a bread showstopper with its vibrant pink, red and purple swirls of sweet dough. It’s a festive treat that’s as delicious as it is beautiful, and perfect for sharing with your loved ones.
What is Babka and why is this one different?
Babka is a sweet yeast bread of Eastern European Jewish origin. The people would use leftover dough from their traditional Challah bread, and would braid or swirl the dough with fillings like cinnamon and sugar. But in recent years, this classic treat has undergone a delicious transformation, with bakers experimenting with a variety of fillings like chocolate, fruits (like raspberry or apple) and nuts, and even savory options!
This Valentine’s Day, I wanted to put a festive spin on this beloved brioche bread. Instead of putting in a filling, I decided to keep it plain and highlight the vibrant swirl of pink, red, and purple dough. While the swirl may look intimidating, no fear! It’s actually incredibly easy!
How to make Valentine’s Swirl Babka
Step 1: Make dough. Divide into 4 even sections. Knead in desired coloring.
I recommend using a scale when it comes to dividing the dough evenly. But if you don’t have a scale, Roll your dough into one large ball on your countertop and cut the dough into four even sized pieces.
When it comes to kneading coloring into the dough, make sure you use a good quality food coloring. You have to be careful because some food colorings might slightly alter the dough’s moisture content, as well as it can have a very minor impact on dough viscosity. I personally love working with Americolor gel coloring. This is a starter kit I recommend investing in that’s best value. The color lasts basically forever and you can imagine easily using those other colors in other baking. But they also sell these colors solo on Amazon if you want to pick 2-3 favorite reds, pinks, or purples. You can also adjust the shade by using less or more of that color, allowing you to get 2 colors for your bread from just that one bottle.
Cover each colored dough with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size. You can also put in the fridge to rest overnight if you want to spread out the steps.
Step 2: Roll out each section onto parchment paper into about a 12×14″ rectangle (a little bigger than a piece of printer paper)!
Why parchment paper? It allows you to not have to flour your countertop as well as not add more flour to your brioche dough. It also is easier to transfer when you are ready to flip the dough over onto each other when you layer them together!
Does each piece need to be exact? Each piece of dough does not need to be a perfect rectangle and exactly 12×14″. As long as each piece is roughly 12×14″ and are the same size and shape, you are going to do great!
Step 3: Layer on top of each other. Gently roll with a rolling pin to seal together.
Gently flip the parchment paper over so the dough is touching the next layer of dough, then peel off the paper to have two layers on top of each other. Repeat the process with the other two layers until you have all four layers stacked together. It doesn’t matter the order you layer the dough colors in. I personally separated the pink layers so you could see the pinks better.
Then gently roll over the top of your stacked dough with a rolling pin to seal the pieces together, but without spreading the dough too much. We don’t want the stack to be too thin!
Step 4: Roll up like a cinnamon roll from the longest edge, and then cut through the center vertically.
Gently roll the dough up tightly from one of the longer sides (14″ side) to the other. Once rolled, pinch the seam closed and tuck the end underneath to create a neat log.
Take a sharp knife or a bench scraper and cut the log in half vertically. Make sure you cut it all the way through!
Step 5: Shape and proof
Take the bottom two ends of each vertical half of dough and cross them over to make an “X”. Then take the top two pieces and twist the two pieces around each other once or twice. Do the same for the bottom section of the bread until you created a twisted bread loaf (imagine a twisted breadstick but larger!). If needed, tuck in the two ends while placing the dough into a bread pan.
Cover loaf with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise for about 45 minutes, or until almost doubled.
Step 6: Brush with egg wash and sprinkle coarse sugar on top.
There are lots of ways to make an egg wash but, I use 1 large egg white plus 1 tablespoon of water for my egg wash. You mix those two together in a small bowl until both are mixed well. Then, take a pastry brush and brush the egg wash over the top of the babka loaf. Then take your course (or turbinado) sugar and lightly dust the top of the loaf with the sugar.
Step 7: Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes and enjoy this festive Valentine’s swirl babka.
Babka questions
What if the outside of my bread is getting too brown? You can loosely tent the bread (so it isn’t touching the bread itself) with tin foil during the last 15-20 minutes to ensure that the bread doesn’t burn on the outside from direct heat.
When should I slice into it? Let the bread cool completely before slicing into it with a sharp serrated/bread knife. This allows the bread to have time to firm up, making it easier to slice evenly without squishing it.
More Babka recipes to try!
Raspberry Swirl Babka
Chocolate Babka
Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Babka
Valentine’s Swirl Babka
Ingredients
- 249 grams (1 cup) warm whole milk (at about 110 degrees F) any other milk will do; fattier the better
- 2 ½ tsp. instant yeast *See note
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp. salt
- About 3.5-4 cups bread flour *See note
- gel food coloring *See note
Egg wash
- 1 large egg (whites only, no yolk)
- 1 tbsp water
- coarse turbinado sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Add warm milk, yeast, and sugar to a stand mixer with a dough hook. A large bowl will also work if making by hand.
- Add about 2 cups of flour, eggs, and salt. Let mix well. Then while mixer is running on low speed, slowly add the butter. Then slowly add remaining flour. Depending on your moisture level, it may be slightly more or less flour so keep a close eye on how the bread is coming together in the bowl.Dough should be soft and smooth, but not too wet or sticky. If it's tough and dense, you've added too much flour.
- Knead together for 3-4 minutes. Remove dough and divide into 4 even portions (a scale helps with this!)
- Pick 4 shades of gel food coloring. Or you can choose 2-3 and just do more or less for different portions to get a darker or lighter tone. Add a few drops to the first portion, a few drops of a different color to the second portion, etc. Using your stand mixer or kneading by hand, pull, press, and knead in the coloring for a few minutes until the color is mostly distributed. (It doesn't have to be totally perfect, but get it incorporated as much as you can. As it bakes, the color will bleed into the dough, helping to create an even color throughout.) You will end up with 4 different colored doughs.
- Shape each into a ball and place it in its own bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size. You can also put in the fridge to rest overnight.
- This will make one 9×5 loaf or two 8×4 loaves. Spray 9×5" loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Roll out each section of dough onto parchment paper to be the same size, about 10×14". Layer them on top of each other and gently roll on top of the stack to seal them together. Trim any hanging edges as needed. (See post for step by step pictures)
- Starting with the LONGER end, roll it up like a tight cinnamon roll.
- Using a sharp serrated knife or bench scraper, cut it open vertically down the middle.
- Make an X with the dough, crossing them on top of each other. Then twist the top two times and twist the bottom two times. You end up with a beautiful twisted dough. Place in the loaf pan. Tucking in the ends as needed so the swirls don't pop out.
- Cover and let it rise for about 45 minutes, or until almost doubled. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F.
- Whisk together just the whites of one egg (to keep it light in color) with 1 tbsp of water. Brush on the tops of the RISEN loaf with the egg wash. Generously top with coarse (or turbinado) sugar.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, until tops and bottoms are golden and the top of the bread seems set. If your oven browns the tops quickly, you can put a piece of foil on the top about 20 minutes in. It's done when the bottoms are a dark golden brown and twists look fully cooked. Interior temperature should be about 195-200℉.
- Leave it in the pan to start cooling for 5-10 minutes, then transfer it to a cooling rack. Let it finish cooling, then slice and enjoy! Be sure to slice it cooled to get the clean swirl look. Warm bread can squish together and become a bit more dense when cutting into.
Notes
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[…] Valentine’s Swirl Babka Chocolate BabkaRoasted Red Pepper Pesto Babka […]
We loved it! This bread was so fun, delicious, and easy!
Thank you for sharing!! So glad it was a hit!