The Best Sourdough Chocolate Babka

Sourdough Chocolate Babka combines fluffy sweet bread with rich chocolate filling to create an irresistibly delicious treat. Its braided shape looks stunning, but is very easy to create. Once you’ve made your first loaf, I think sourdough chocolate babka will quickly become a holiday tradition in your home!

My mom and I love baking this recipe during the Christmas season although you can enjoy it anytime of the year. Although it seems challenging, it’s actually simple to make.

Babka tastes amazing served warm, but you can also enjoy it for breakfast or a snack the next day.

Tips for making Sourdough Chocolate Babka

• I recommend using a stand mixer to knead the dough because the dough is so sticky. If you don’t have one though, you can knead it by hand for 5-10 minutes, until it forms a stretchy ball.
• Because it is an enriched dough, the babka might not double in size while it’s proofing. That’s ok. As long as it has risen noticeably, it should turn out fine.
• Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, your babka may not need to rise for 10-12 hours after shaping. You want it to rise enough to fill the pan. I would not recommend trying to speed up the process by using a proofing oven, as the chocolate chips may melt and the bread might start to bake.
• Watch the babka carefully while it’s baking to make sure it doesn’t get overly brown. If baked too long, the babka will turn out dry. Once the babka is a light golden brown, it’s ready to come out.

Tools you will need

To make sourdough chocolate babka, you’ll need:

• 2 bread loaf pans
• Parchment paper
• Stand mixer with paddle and dough hook attatchments
• Rolling pin

Ingredients you will need

Don’t let the long list of ingredients intimidate you; you probably have everything you need in your kitchen right now!

Babka Dough:

• 4 cups flour – All-purpose flour works well here.
• 1/2 cup sourdough starter – Make sure it’s active and bubbly!
• 1/2 cup sugar – White sugar or coconut sugar works best.
• 3 eggs – If you can think ahead, leave out the eggs for a few hours to bring them to room temperature.
• 1/4 cup milk – You can use whole, skim, or 2% milk. A plant-based milk will not work very well for this.
• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt – Kosher salt works well here.

Chocolate Filling:

• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder – Black cocoa powder will be too dark for this, so just use regular unsweetened cocoa powder.
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar – Also called confectioner’s sugar.

Sugar Syrup:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Hot water

Optional glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3-5 tbsp milk – Whatever milk you prefer!

How to make Sourdough Chocolate Babka:

The morning before you want to bake your Babka:

Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add in the eggs, sourdough starter, milk, and vanilla, and mix on medium speed using a paddle attatchment until it starts to form a ball of dough.
Cut the butter into pieces. With the mixer still on medium speed, add the butter to the dough piece by piece. Once you’ve added the last piece, mix until the butter is completely incorporated into the dough.

Change the paddle attatchment on your mixer to a dough hook. Mix the dough on medium speed for 10 minutes. It will be pretty sticky, but if if doesn’t form a ball when you use the dough hook, then you can add a bit more flour to make it more manageable.
After kneading the dough with the dough hook, cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise for 10-12 hours. It will likely not double in size, but it should rise noticeably.

To assemble the Babka:

Once your dough has risen, you can make the filling. Mix together the butter, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. It should form a chocolate paste that you can spread easily.
Separate the dough into two equal pieces. Keep one in the bowl while you shape the first piece.
On a piece of parchment paper, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 16 x 9 inches long. The dough wil be slightly sticky, so you can use flour if you like. Just make sure not to use very much because it will make it harder to shape the dough later on.
Spread half of the chocolate mixture over the dough, leaving about an inch gap on all the edges. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mini chocolate chips over the filling.

Tightly roll the dough lengthwise and pinch the edges together at the end to seal. Press along the seam to make sure the roll won’t come undone.
Place the log of dough seam-side down on the parchment paper. Starting about an inch from the top of the log, cut down the middle of the roll.

Twist each strand of dough 1/4 of a turn so that the filling is facing up. Braid the dough by layering one strand over the other until you get to the end of the strands. Tuck the ends under and place the babka in a greased bread pan to rise.
Repeat the shaping process with the other piece of dough.

Cover the pans and let the loaves rise for 10-12 hours, until puffy. I usually let them rise overnight.

Baking the Babka:

Once the loaves have risen, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farhenheit, using the convection setting on your oven if you have it. Bake the loaves for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
While the loaves are baking, prepare a simple syrup by mixing the granulated sugar with hot water. You want the sugar to completely dissolve into the water. I used about 1/2 cup water.
Once the loaves have come out of the oven, let them cool for 10 minutes before transfering them to a rack.
Pour the syrup over the loaves, making sure to get into the cracks and crevices. This will help keep your bread from getting too dry.

Optional Glaze:

Mix together the powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl. Add milk as needed until it forms a glaze that will drip from the end of a spoon, but isn’t very runny.
Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the tops of your babka. Enjoy!

Hungry for more?

Check out other yummy sourdough recipes at the Kitchen Counter!

Here are some more yummy sourdough recipes to try:

Easy Sourdough Cinnamon Donuts

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Best Ever Sourdough Sandwich Bread

If you make this recipe and enjoy it, let me know in the comments section below! You can also tag me on instagram @oldfashionedinspiration with a picture of your creation.