Apple Babka

A sweet, enriched babka bread, with an cinnamon apple filling swirled throughout– make this apple babka bread recipe with step by step photos for complete success!

 

Ok it might be sad that summer is basically over. But let’s rejoice with apple season. I mean I don’t think you can be sad if you make some homemade apple babka. Even if you are it’s a great way to drown your sorrows am I right?

Because this was a recipe that I found myself having a hard time not taking bite after bite of. Like, a really hard time. I know that’s when I’ve stumbled up on a great recipe. This apple babka bread starts with a rich brioche dough, cinnamon brown sugar swirl, and apples cooked in a little bit of butter, and then topped with a crumble topping before baking.

Yup, this bread makes it ALL OK that summer is coming to a close. Apples + Bread = One Happy Girl. It took me a few attempts to get this bread right. The “bad versions” were also gobbled up! Yes even the “not so perfect” apple babkas were still crazy good. But I think I nailed down a perfect version for you!

Ingredients Needed

For the brioche dough:

Here are the ingredients you need for the brioche dough:

For the apple filling:

Here are the ingredients for the filling:

For the cinnamon and crumb topping filling:

And you’ll need to round up a few ingredients for the topping!

Ingredient Notes

The full list of ingredients and amounts are in the recipe post at the bottom but here a few things to note:

• Yeast – I used instant yeast, but you can also use active dry yeast but your dough will take longer to rise. I love and recommend Red Star platinum yeast, which has dough enhancers and produces amazing results every single time.
• Apples – I love using Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Cortland apples for baking but you can use other varieties as well. I do recommend that you peel and then thinly dice so they can easily fit inside the dough.
• Milk – Do not use cold milk. This will help with how long it takes to rise. Colder milk will slow down the process (the dough will still rise just a bit slower). Room temperature is fine I don’t heat it, but you don’t want it straight from the fridge.

How Do You Make Apple Babka? 

Make The Dough

Yes this can be a time consuming bread recipe. But let’s break this down step by step.  

1. Make The Dough. In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, stir together flour, sugar, and salt together in the bowl. Add starter, eggs, yolk, milk, and vanilla using the dough hook. Mix on low speed until mixture comes together, scraping down the bowl and hook as needed. On low speed, add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes. 

1. Knead dough. Increase speed to medium and knead with the dough hook for about 10 minutes. The dough should have pulled away from the sides of the bowl.
2. Bulk Rise. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning the dough, so it is evenly coated. Cover with a damp towel and let rise for 6-8 hours. You don’t have to oil the bowl, if you use a dough scraper in the end it’s not necessary.

Make Your Filling

1. Cook apples and butter. Stir together the butter and sliced apples in a saucepan and heat over low heat until the butter is melted, and the apples are softened, about 3 minutes.
2. Add lemon juice. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Shaping The Babka Part 1

1. Roll Out Dough. Divide dough in half. On a floured surface, roll one dough half into a rectangle about 12 x 12 inches. If you roll the dough too long it won’t fit in your loaf pan in the end.
2. Add cinnamon mixture. Spread half of the cinnamon filling over the rolled dough. Remember you’re making two loaves so save some for the second loaf!
3. Add apples. Sprinkle with half of the cooked apples on top into a single layer, making sure they lay flat.
4. Roll up dough. Starting on the 10-inch short side, roll up the dough tightly. Fold the ends underneath to seal.

Shaping The Babka Part 2

1. Shape the dough into a “U”. Just bring one dough up to the other end to form the letter, U.
2. Twist the dough into a figure 8. Place one end over the other end, and then twist one more time to form an 8. If your dough is too small to twist into an “8” gently stretch the dough lengthwise to get it twist, just don’t tear the dough. Don’t worry this doesn’t have to be perfect!
3. Place into your prepared loaf pan. Tuck the ends underneath and place into your loaf pan. Prepare second loaf. Cover the pans with greased plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until puffy. During the last 20 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 350ºF. 
4. Top with crumb topping and bake. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the babka loaves at the end of the second rise. Bake the breads in the oven for 40–50 minutes, or until 190ºF.