There are hundreds of great recipes out there. I've baked it three or four times with success. One of those staples we grew up on in suburban NJ. Welcome to heaven.

I will be 66 this week too! May 2nd. Happy Birthday fellow Taurus (Taurusian? Tuaurite?)

Never had Babka either, if I see it now I will try it also.

I turned 66 in January and have never had it either. I'm going to make a note and go on a hunt. I live in a metro area so should be able to find it.

OMG! Mine is the 2nd, too! I've only personally known 2 other people with that B-date, now I know 3! Yes, I am a Taurus and although I'm not really gung-ho on the validity of Horoscopes, I am a Taurian all the way. And unfortunately the other 2 people that I've known who shared my b-date were painfully stubborn and steadfast in their opinions which I'm afraid I'm guilty of too. Sigh. Ricky, I searched "babka" on this forum before I posted and saw your post about making it. I have a feeling it's not something that I'll ever do, looks kinda complicated. You said it wasn't that bad but I think I'll leave that one to the experts.

I'm getting mighty close to 80, and I've never had Babka, nor have I ever seen it in stores here. But now I'm drooling all over my keyboard! I'll be making a couple of trips to 'the city' next month, hopefully I'll have time to try to track some down. That's one of the many things I love about the 'net, I can 'hunt' from home, and not have to waste time and gas looking all over for something.

Rusty

Ooops, almost forgot, Happy Birthday, Rita! ! !

Happy Birthday, ritaweeda and schoolhouse !

Around here Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have babka. I prefer the cinnamon version, but they're both wicked good.

I've never had babka, and unfortunately probably won't get to try it. So that means free calories for anybody else who wants to eat sweets on my behalf.

Happy birthday to another fellow Taurean. At least that's what I was led to believe you name someone with the astrological sign Taurus. The name is from the saint Taurinus. It was my sister-in-law's birthday yesterday and my nephew's birthday on the 26th of April. Then there are three of us in May. One could say we are almost full of bull in our family. At least in the sign sense ;-).

I do like tauresiun.

I've never had Babka either...

Happy Birthday, Rita and Schoolhouse, wishing both of you many more happy, healthy ones!!

I've only had Babka once, last year around Christmas. Trader Joe's had a made-in-NYC chocolate Babka and husband really wanted to try it. It was very dry and (I can't believe I am writing this because I am a chocoholic) it had too much chocolate and was way too rich. But I would definitely try another brand to compare.

Ritaweeda & Schoolhouse....

Haven't heard of babka - till now - let alone tried it, but it sounds delish!

Taureans ... wouldn't be somewhat bull-headed, would one suppose?

Which might well be an attribute of folks linked to other signs, as well?

ole joyful

Thank you, thank you. And guess what? My BF shares my May 2nd. birthday too!

Happy Birthday, Rita and Schoolhouse! Today would have been my best friend's 72 birthday, however she joined her late husband last Saturday. Yes, one of her precious traits was her stubbornness. I have never had Babka either. The first time I heard of it had to be around 30 years ago when I watched Martha Stewart make one on her show on sattellite TV. You know, back when we had the huge black perforated satellite dishes? Yes, I'm 75 and have never had it, but hope to make one someday, maybe. Or I'll buy one.

Madonna

It's best fresh, like all baked goods. But if not fresh, then yes, toast it and add butter. I'll bet it could be mail ordered, I googled it and saw plenty of online ordering options. It would probably ship well.

Zabar's has the best babka: https://www.zabars.com/zabars-homestyle-babka-kosher/A110012.html

ETA: and if a babka is dry, then it's quite old. It stays moist for a very long time, and butter would just be gilding the lily - it's plenty rich on its own!

kadefol, I love chocolate too, but also found TJ's chocolate babka too rich. It reminded me of brownies.

OTOH, Whole Foods cinnamon babka is absolutely delicious. I like to warm a slice in the toaster oven before eating. No butter necessary.

Bookwoman, that's true if it started out as good babka. If it was baked too hot or too long, it'll be dry no matter what. :)

When I was a kid the brown babka was better than the black. I'm thinking we have richer more easily obtained cocoa powder now. The trick to a really superior one (I've had TJ's which is nice enough but not superior) is that the bread layer and filling layer are equal thicknesses and distinct, not mushed into a glob in the middle. It should be infinitely tender but not damp nor dry. The body should have some bread-like spring but also cake-like loft, rather than something stiffer and directional like danish. If it's superior, it's often in a simple loaf shape. The fancy shapes with slashes are very pretty, but they often disguise (or create?) an inferior crumb.

I actually learned the name from this forum. Babka was one of the special delights of my childhood which was brought to ladies' meetings and given to the children before they were sent off to not disturb their elders. It was made by experts, one loaf at a time and it was the most wonderful thing. Especially the brown kind (I don't specifically remember it tasting of cinnamon, but I do remember it kind of catching my throat in way that spice would, and revelling in the flavor). The crust was firm but tender, too. Not dry and shattery like some I've seen, which also had a drier crumb.

Thanks, Ritaweeda, for sharing your birthday and your treat with us. Many happy returns to you and all who are celebrating their birthdays. May all of your (and our) days be filled with sweetness and delight.

Yeah, the babka I've had out here in the hinterlands was . . . ahem . . . quite old. But I've had it fresh too. I feel the same way about rugelah. The difference between what I've gotten in the store from who knows where and who know when, and fresh from a dedicated bakery is astounding.

Happy Birthday Rita, and you too, Schoolhouse. My birthday is in May, but it's the 30th, the old traditional Memorial Day. That makes me a Gemini, but I'm still pretty bullheaded, LOL.

I've made a Nutella Babka and it was good enough that I haven't made it again. The recipe I used was very similar to a brioche dough, and it was relatively simple to roll up/cut/twist, although I made a heckuva mess with the Nutella. Good thing I have grandkids to eat stuff like that!

Madonna, I'm sorry to hear about your friend. 72 seems younger all the time.

Annie

I believe I’ve had babka from either a Polish or Ukrainian (?) bakery. I recall (?) it having something like a mix of farmers’ cheese Twisted into it. Could that have been babka?

Rita & Schoolhouse, Happy Birthday! And, Madonna, I am sorry about your friends passing at such a young age. She sounds like a colorful personality.

Annie1992, I would have a difficult time resisting Nutella or any chocolate babka.

Petalique, babka is Polish, but Ukraine is close enough. These things spread.

I've never seen or heard of cheese babka (there was a different word, probably Yiddish, when I was little, though many of the old ladies also spoke Polish), but I can't see why not. Cheese danish, cheese rugalagh, cheese strudel, cheese babka.... same thing, right? Babka is, as Annie said, a brioche type of sweet yeast dough which is stretched out very thin. As a dear family friend used to say, "Thin enough to read the Fader Unser through it." Spread a layer of filling to equal the thickness to the risen dough, roll tightly, twist to fit in the pan (and with skill to make a pretty pattern). Usually, something like palmiers. So for cheese, it would have to either be a whipped spreadable filling, or well sprinkled with small crumbles that would melt together to make the filling layer. Sounds hard to do, but not a problem for a skilled babka maker.

Thanks, plllog. I’ll have to follow up on where I had it. I checked out the Zabar link. Delicious looking. Unfortunately, I would not be able to stop wolfing it down.

This recipe for babka looks easy. Need to buy eggs...then I'll try it. Link

Petalique, good choice! I don't think anyone should be alone with a good babka. much easier to say no when you have to share. :) When I was a kid, I'd unroll it to make it last longer. :)

Nicole, that recipe does look easy and "right" enough, but I don't know about the glaze. I think the magazine just added it to be fancy. :) Traditionally, it's a longer, tighter roll, so you get more, thinner layers, but when they're too thin, they moosh together in a dense lump, so yours looks like a great place to start. I hope you report back on how it goes. Good luck.