Move Over Pączki, Babka Is Our New Favorite Polish Breakfast Pastry

Pączki Day is coming up on March 1 this year, but right now, we're dreaming about another Polish breakfast recipe: Babka. This doughy, savory-sweet, cake-meets-bread recipe is the perfect way to welcome spring a little early — and with delicious fanfare. Traditionally an Easter recipe, Babka is perfect for early Spring, and this particular one boasts flavors like garlic, honey, Parmesan, and parsley. Get your bake on (and sign up for one of our baking classes, if you need a primer!) with this insanely delicious and doughy bread.

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Savory Garlic Bread Babka

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1/2 cup milk, warmed to 100 degrees F
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pink or fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cane sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Filling:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• Fresh ground pepper
• Fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

Egg Wash:

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk or water

Directions:

1. Whisk warm milk and yeast together in a large bowl of a standing mixer. Let sit until bubbles or foam forms.
2. Fit a dough hook onto the standing mixer.
3. Lightly whisk in eggs, salt, and sugar, then add in flour. Turn mixer on low or medium low speed to beat dough until a loose dough is formed. Slowly add in butter one tablespoon at a time and continue beating for about 10 minutes. Dough should combine and then start to pull from the sides of the mixture when it is ready.
4. Grease a large bowl with butter, then add dough to it. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until the dough has roughly doubled in size, 1 hour or so.
5. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, letting it hang over the long sides of the pan.
6. In a small bowl, mix together minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and honey.
7. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface with enough room to make a roughly 16x10 rectangle of dough. Roll out dough to this size. The dough should be relatively thin, which will give lots of layers and twists in the final loaf.
8. Brush the garlic mixture onto the rolled out dough, going all the way to edge except for the very top side that is furthest from you.
9. Add grated Parmesan on top of the garlic mixture, then grate fresh black pepper on top of that. You can add in some finely chopped parsley at this point, if desired.
10. Roll up dough away from you to make a large roll.
11. Place dough in the freezer for 15 minutes to help firm up the dough to make it easier to slice.
12. Remove from freezer, then use a serrated knife to slice the roll length-wise all the way down. You will have two halves.
13. Make an X with the two halves, crossing them in the middle. Then cross again two to three times on either side so that you have lots of twists to give the signature bobka look.
14. Scrunch the dough on either side gently to lift and place in the loaf pan. Sprinkle any cheese or parsley that has fallen on top of the loaf. Cover with plastic and let it continue to rise for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
15. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Make the egg wash by whisking the egg and milk or water in a small bowl, then brush on top of the loaf before placing in the oven
16. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until nicely golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing. Let cool completely before slicing and serve with extra parsley.

Recipe and photos by Sarah Anderson.