Sweetened Red Bean Babka

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

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Storytime

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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