Red Bean Babka

A deliciously fluffy bread that is swirled with sweetened red bean filling.

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Storytime

Red bean paste is a sweet filling made from adzuki beans that is used in many traditional East Asian desserts and pastries. To make the paste, the beans are boiled until soft and then mashed with sugar or honey until they form a smooth, velvety texture. Brioche is a buttery, rich, and slightly sweet bread that originated in France. It is often made with a high proportion of butter and eggs, resulting in a tender, light texture and a delicious, slightly decadent flavor. This recipe brings those two together to create something abso-fucking-lutely delightful. The buttery brioche compliments the earthy, nutty flavor of red beans while the soft texture of the brioche balances the thickness of the red bean. There's a delicious harmony using these two together.

Red bean babka is a delicious and unique twist on the classic Eastern European pastry, filled with a sweet and nutty red bean filling that adds a delightful depth of flavor to the rich, buttery layers of the bread. The bread is typically made using a brioche dough that is enriched with butter and eggs, then rolled out, filled with the red bean paste, and twisted into a beautiful, swirled shape. Once baked, the babka is finished with a honey syrup glaze and sprinkled with sesame seeds, making it a perfect treat for any occasion.

Tools

Want to know what equipment I use to make this recipe? Check out the Tools for Red Bean Babka Makers.

FAQs

I don't have a stand mixer...

That's not a question but I'll go with it. You can use a hand mixer but I definitely don't recommend trying to do this without some sort of mixing device.

Almost everything is in grams, can you convert it to US Standard?

I could, but no. I highly recommend getting a kitchen scale. It's honestly a lot easier to mise en place and scale things. Weighing your ingredients also guarantees the same results every time.

Does this really take 2-days?

I mean you could do it in 1 day but you'd want to start pretty early. I haven't tried letting the dough proof outside of the fridge so... let me know how it goes in the comments!

Can you make this into a traditional cake?

I haven't tried it but this sounds like a fun experiment! Give it a go and let me know how it works out. Who knows, I may give it a try, too!

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