This Vegan Chocolate Babka Recipe is not complicated at all and is worth the effort and time. Babka is a Jewish sweet brioche-style bread that is both buttery and soft. The hardest part is waiting for it to be done, so you can taste it! The best part is most of the ingredients are ones you probably already have in your pantry. No weird ingredients!

The bread is an enriched dough, meaning it contains dairy (milk and butter), which makes it harder to proof, but is really buttery and soft. The real winner is the filling. You can fill it with any number of fillings from fruit to nuts, but I chose to go with my favorite: chocolate. It goes so well with the bread and smells amazing. Almost like a chocolate croissant.

I first heard about this bread online and looking at the twists of bread and chocolate, I knew I had to try it. I’m glad I did. I have made and perfected this recipe many times. It is a good gift to share with friends.

I really hope you try this vegan chocolate babka recipe for yourself. You won’t regret it!

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Ingredients

For the Dough you need:

• Flour. For this recipe, I used all-purpose flour. But you can also use white bread flour.
• Sugar. I used cane sugar, but you can use any granulated sugar.
• Instant Yeast. With Instant Yeast you add it directly to the flour and it is not affected by salt. If you only have Active Dry Yeast, you have to add it to the warm milk with sugar. Let it rest until foamy and then add it to the flour.
• Non-Dairy Milk. Soy milk works best because of the high protein content, but if you are allergic or don’t want to use it then you can use any other non-dairy milk.
• Vegan Butter. The Dough is a brioche-style dough that is very buttery. Don’t try to substitute it with coconut oil or olive oil. Try to get the buttery sticks and not the one in the tub.

For the Chocolate Sauce:

• Vegan Butter. This can be any type of butter. If you can’t get unsalted, omit the salt in the recipe.
• Dairy-free chocolate chips or bars. I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips and melted them down in the microwave. But you can also use another brand or a dairy-free chocolate bar.
• Brown Sugar. I like the flavor of brown sugar, but you can also use coconut sugar
• Cinnamon. This is optional, but it adds a nice flavor.

The last thing the bread needs is a sugar syrup made from sugar and water. Don’t skip this step. It makes the bread last longer, taste better, and it even looks better.

Rolling and Shape the Dough

Roll it out. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to an about 11 inch by 15-inch rectangle. It should be fairly easy to do and not shrink back. Try to shape it into a rectangular shape by gently pulling the four corners of the dough.

Spread the filling. With a spatula, spread it evenly. Remember to leave about a 1-inch border on all sides, so the dough will stick together. This is also when you can add chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit.

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Roll tightly. Brush the 1-inch border lightly with water and then roll the longest side. Do this step as tight as possible, since this will make it easier on you later when you braid it.

Pinch the seam to ensure the roll stays together. As you can see, I added a little too much filling and it leaked out a bit, but this bread is almost the messier the better.

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Cut the Dough. Gently stretch the dough, so it is evenly sized. With seam side down, cut the dough in half to expose the filling. This part will get messy, but that is the best part. Now you can twist it together to make those beautiful swirls.

In a lightly oiled bread pan, put the Babka in and tuck the ends down gently, so as not to ruin the swirls. It is at this point, you will let it proof at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until double in size.

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Put it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F when the dough is proofed. Gently, brush soy milk over the top of the dough and then put it in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes. To check if it is ready, you can stick a knife into the thickest part to see if it is cooked. Some chocolate is fine, but raw dough is not.

Make the Syrup. When the babka has 10 minutes to go, you can make the syrup go on top of the babka when it comes out. This syrup makes the babka last longer and makes the babka sweeter. This is very important so don’t skip this step.

Cutting and Storing It

Let it cool for 15-20 minutes before you take it out of the loaf pan. Transfer it to a wire rack to let it cool completely. I know it will be hard, but don’t slice it until it has cooled. I learned the hard way that slicing it when it is still warm makes it dense and gummy. 🙁

Store it. This Vegan Chocolate Babka lasts about 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. Don’t put it in the fridge because that will make it turn stale faster. If it is stale, you can warm it in a toaster oven for a couple of minutes.

Can you freeze it? Yes! You can freeze either the entire loaf or slices of Babka in a freezer-safe bag. Then to serve you can leave at room temperature to defrost and then warm in a toaster oven.

Want More?

Try Out Similar recipes below:

• Fluffy Vegan Japanese Milk Bread
• Soft Cardamom Buns
• Buttery Vegan Brioche

I hope you try this recipe. I really enjoyed making this vegan chocolate babka recipe and, of course, eating it. If you tried this recipe, let me know in the comments below.