Story behind the Babka
From a covid side-gig to small business!
My name is Alex and I started The Babka Shop during Covid-19. Like many of you, I was at home baking up a storm, and realized that LA was missing the babka scene that NY has. So I went on a mission to bake the perfect babka. One that would cure our quarantine sorrows and make us smile. I tested about 6 different recipes until I formulated the perfect one—buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, babka with a sweet crumble topping (my favorite part).
What some people may not realize, is that babka is a lot more tedious to make them your average challah. The dough needs to proof several times and the longer you let the flavors marry, the better it is. It is a 2-day process and it is worth the wait!
How to make babka
Day 1: Make your dough! After mixing together your ingredients, the dough proofs for 2 hours. Then it chills in the fridge overnight. On day 1, I will also make the filling and crumble topping.
Day 2: Make your babka! Roll out the dough, spread filling, cut in half, twist, and then proof for 1 hour before baking.
*When I first started over the Jewish holidays, I had so many orders that I had to wake up at 4:00am to bake all the babkas (since it is so time consuming).