Name: Savory Sourdough Babka
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Ingredients: Dough; 275g flour, see notes for flour options (2 cups); 200g sourdough starter (3/4 cup stirred down); 125g milk (1/2 cup); 75g plain yogurt (1/4 cup); 5g salt (1 tsp); splash of milk to brush on loaf before baking; Filling 1; 4 cloves of garlic; 42g softened butter (3 Tbsp); 1 cup of chopped cilantro (or basil); 65g shredded pecorino romano or parmesan (1 cup); (For a loaf with more separated layers, add 2 Tbsp of olive oil to this filling.); Filling 2 (More Cheese and Garlic); 6 cloves of garlic; 1 cup chopped cilantro; 28g olive oil (2 Tbsp); 170g shredded mozzarella (1 3/4 cup or 6 oz); 50g grated parmesan (1/2 cup); 1-2 Tbsp additional parmesan to sprinkle on top of the loaf before baking; Filling 3 (Gouda and Scallion); 2 large stalks of scallions chopped; 120g smoked gouda chopped (4 slices); Filling 4 (Chocolate and Cinnamon); 71g softened unsalted butter (5 Tbsp); 56g sugar (1/4 cup); 20g cocoa powder (1/6 cup); 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon; 85g bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped (heaping 1/2 cup or 3 ounces); Dough Notes

I recently discovered that the layered and twisted form of a babka is a delicious and attractive way to add herbs, garlic, and cheese to bread. Babka is a Jewish Eastern European bread made with a buttery enriched dough and filled with chocolate or cinnamon. This recipe takes the babka shape, but uses a much lighter, tangy dough and a savory filling.

This savory babka idea actually began when I learned to make naan bread using sourdough starter discard. Naan is a thick flatbread from Central Asia and India, and it’s my favorite way to use excess starter. (Usually it is oven baked, but my version is fried in a dry cast iron pan.) I keep the dough in the refrigerator for several days until I happen to be cooking something that pairs well with flatbread — anything from the obvious curried lentils to the unexpected taco fixings. Instructions for making flatbread from this dough are at the end of the recipe below.

The all-in mixing and casual cold fermentation of naan make it easy. The rolling and frying of ten individual naan is a little more time-consuming, which led me one day to bake some of the dough as rolls. They were delicious — crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I had also been experimenting with putting garlic and cilantro into the dough before rolling it flat.

It was only natural that I would soon contemplate how to add a lot of filling to this delicious dough and how to bake it in an easy format. I debated doing savory “cinnamon” rolls, but went with a babka. The twisting layers are beautiful and easier than you might think. Moreover, my naan dough recipe happens to be the right size for a loaf pan.

In the photo galleries below, you’ll see garlic and cilantro with parmesan, an extra cheesy mozzarella version, and a smoked gouda and scallion version. All of these options are delicious, and your personal preference can guide you. In particular, I suggest substituting basil if you’re not a fan of cilantro.

After many savory iterations of this recipe, I did make a chocolate-cinnamon version based off the filling instructions of The Pioneer Woman blog (a little more butter and cinnamon, no sugar syrup), and I include information and photos for that also.

Savory Sourdough Babka

This Savory Sourdough Babka is made with the tangy dough of naan bread, and filled with cilantro, garlic, and cheese. The twisted and layered design of a babka maximizes delicious filling distribution and makes for a beautiful presentation that is actually quite easy to achieve.

Prep Time

30 minutes

Baking Time

1 hour

Total Time

1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients

Dough

275g flour, see notes for flour options (2 cups)
200g sourdough starter (3/4 cup stirred down)
125g milk (1/2 cup)
75g plain yogurt (1/4 cup)
5g salt (1 tsp)
splash of milk to brush on loaf before baking

Filling 1

4 cloves of garlic
42g softened butter (3 Tbsp)
1 cup of chopped cilantro (or basil)
65g shredded pecorino romano or parmesan (1 cup)
(For a loaf with more separated layers, add 2 Tbsp of olive oil to this filling.)

Filling 2 (More Cheese and Garlic)

6 cloves of garlic
1 cup chopped cilantro
28g olive oil (2 Tbsp)
170g shredded mozzarella (1 3/4 cup or 6 oz)
50g grated parmesan (1/2 cup)
1-2 Tbsp additional parmesan to sprinkle on top of the loaf before baking

Filling 3 (Gouda and Scallion)

2 large stalks of scallions chopped
120g smoked gouda chopped (4 slices)

Filling 4 (Chocolate and Cinnamon)

71g softened unsalted butter (5 Tbsp)
56g sugar (1/4 cup)
20g cocoa powder (1/6 cup)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
85g bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped (heaping 1/2 cup or 3 ounces)

Dough Notes

I like for some portion of the flour and/or starter to be whole grain flour. One version I made was with whole grain rye starter, and this dough was a little softer and less elastic to handle.
Your starter does not have to be at peak activity. Somewhat dormant starter will simply cause the dough to rise slower. That said, I never tried the recipe with extremely unfed starter.
Kefir milk instead of yogurt and milk works well, but requires a little more flour (1-2 Tbsp). Likewise, you might add a little more milk (1-2 Tbsp) if you are using a thick Greek-style yogurt.
I used low fat and/or full fat yogurt and milk, but I believe non-fat would perform fine.

Instructions

Mix all of the dough ingredients together. The dough will be slightly tacky.
Either let rise slowly in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, or set out at room temperature for 4-6 hours. Any combination of room temperature and cold retarding is fine. For the longer cold fermentation, you might flip the dough after a day or so to prevent a dryer top layer. The dough should grow to be about 150% the original size.
When your dough is finished with the bulk fermentation, prepare your filling. The savory fillings can be done in a food processor, blender or by hand. The chocolate-cinnamon filling is best done in a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or by hand.
Scrape the dough onto a floured counter. Flour the top of the dough and press it into a rectangle, roughly 10x13 inches.
Flour the top of the dough again, and flip it over. Then lightly flour the new top of the dough, gently brushing the flour onto the surface of the dough just so it isn't tacky. This flipping and flouring is to make rolling and cutting the dough easier.
Spread the filling on the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch empty on one of the short sides. You can dampen this stripe with a wet fingertip to help adhesion.
Roll from the dry short side, and let the rolled dough rest on the seam for a few minutes.
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
Using kitchen scissors (or a knife), cut down the middle of the roll.
Make an X with the two strands of dough (see gallery below), then twist the top strand under the bottom strand. Do this both above and below the X. Pinch the ends together.
Using a bench scraper and/or spatula, scoop up the twisted dough and place it into the parchment-lined loaf pan. Your long twist will scrunch up during this process, allowing it to fit into the loaf pan.
Cover and let proof for about an hour at room temperature, or 8-10 hours in the coldest part of your refrigerator.
Preheat your oven to 325F.
Brush the loaf with milk (or egg) and sprinkle with more cheese if you want.
Bake uncovered for 60 minutes or until the inside of the loaf is above 190F. Let cool in the pan on a rack for about 30 minutes, then remove from the pan and peel off the parchment paper.

Instructions for Making Naan

At the end of the bulk ferment in the instructions above, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured counter.
Roll the dough into a tube and cut it in 8-10 pieces (~680g total dough weight).
Start warming up a cast iron frying pan 10" or bigger on your stove at medium heat.
Roll out a dough piece into a circle (ish) shape about 1/4 inch thick. Flour your rolling pin and counter as needed.
Brush the top of the rolled-out dough with water.
Place in the hot frying pan, water side down.
When the naan has bubbles all over the top and is starting to curl under at the edges, then flip it over.
Optional: You can brush the naan with butter before flipping, but if you find your brush is popping bubbles, wait until the naan is already cooked for this step or skip it altogether if you want.
Cook until both sides have dark golden brown areas. You can roll out each naan while cooking the previous naan and be done in about 20 minutes. Keeping the process moving also prevents the pan from overheating. You can also lower the heat if you fall behind. Your first naan might be a little unattractive as you gauge how hot you want your pan to be and when to flip.
Cool on a rack. You can serve immediately, store loosely wrapped in paper or plastic on the counter, or freeze in a plastic bag with small pieces of parchment paper between each flatbread.

: Start of bulk fermentation

: End of bulk fermentation (~1.5x the original size)

: Prepping the filling

: Chopping butter, garlic, and cilantro

: Pressing or rolling the dough (approx. 10×13 inches)

: Spreading the filling

: Adding shredded pecorino romano

: Rolling from the short side

: Resting a few minutes on the seam while prepping a parchment paper-lined loaf pan

: Cutting down middle with scissors

: Arranging in an X, then twisting top strands under

: Pinching to close the ends

: Using a bench scraper and spatula to transfer the loaf into the parchment-lined pan

: Start of the final proof

: End of the final proof

: Baked and ready to slice

: Slices of savory sourdough babka

: More slices of savory sourdough babka

Here is the first version of this I made. It was delicious but a little oily, which I believe is why the layers stayed more separated.

: Cilantro, garlic, butter and olive oil

: Spreading filling

: Start of proof

: End of proof, with egg wash and parmesan sprinkle

: Cooked babka

: Slice

Here is the super-cheesy and garlicky version I made.

: More garlic, 2 Tbsp oil instead of butter

: 2 cups of mozzarella, 1/2 cup of parmesan

: Very cheesy babka

Here a version with a rye sourdough starter, as well as smoked gouda and scallions. It didn’t brown well and I believe I overproofed it, but it was tasty nonetheless.

: Two scallions

: 4 slices cheese (120g)

: Cutting the roll

: Start of proof

: End of proof

: Cooked bakba

Here is the chocolate cinnamon babka (still using naan dough). The tangy crumb paired quite nicely with the slightly sweet chocolate filling.

: Cut and twisted dough

: Baked babka

: Slices

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Savory Sourdough Babka