Vegan Cinnamon Babka, a fluffy buttery brioche-like dough with swirls of caramelized cinnamon. This babka is easy to make with the help of step-by-step pictures in the below post!
This buttery twist bread is prepared like vegan cinnamon rolls but it is shaped and twisted into a loaf.
Alternatively, for a quicker vegan cinnamon bread, check out my cinnamon quick bread.
Ingredients for the vegan cinnamon babka
First, we need some pretty simple ingredients including:
- Plain or all-purpose flour
- Vegan butter or margarine
- Plant-based milk
- Cane sugar (for the dough)
- Brown or coconut sugar (for the filling)
- Cinnamon
- Instant quick yeast
Do I need to activate instant quick yeast before using it?
Instant quick yeast does NOT need to be activated before baking with it. This is according to the instructions on my packet of yeast, Serious Eats, The Kitchn and many more.
I keep my yeast in my fridge all year long and this prolongs its shelf life... I've used refrigerated yeast up to 1 year past its use by date and it's worked perfectly ;).
If you use another type of yeast, I'd strongly recommend googling the conversion as most other types cannot be used as a 1:1 substitution!
First rise for the vegan cinnamon babka dough
After you've kneaded all the dough ingredients, pop it in a floured or greased bowl and allow it to double in size.
Depending on the climate of your home (temperature and humidity), it can take 1 hour up to a few hours for the dough to double. If it's taking longer than expected, reposition the dough in a warmer spot.
The vegan cinnamon babka dough is 'enriched' with butter and this inhibits the dough from rising as quickly as other bread doughs. If you make sure the dough is in a WARM spot, the butter will be soft and the dough is encouraged to rise!
You can place the dough in an airtight container in the fridge and allow it to rise overnight. It might not double in size this way but if you let it come back to room temperature afterwards, it'll eventually get there.
Making the filling for the vegan cinnamon babka
Unlike some vegan cinnamon rolls, we need to combine melted butter with the sugar and cinnamon to make a paste for the filling. Having too much butter (or too much filling) will drown the babka. As much as I looove cinnamon, we don't really want this!
In the recipe card at the bottom of the post, you'll find my 'tried and tested' cinnamon babka filling ratio.
Assembling the vegan babka
Now for the fun and messy part! Similar to cinnamon rolls, we need to roll out the dough on a floured surface and spread the cinnamon filling on it.
From the long size, roll up the dough to make a log! Try to use two hands to roll the dough up as tightly as possible.
Once you have a 'log' of dough, slice it lengthways using the sharpest knife you have. You'll then have two strands of dough with an exposed cinnamon filling
The easiest way to assemble and twist the dough is to make an 'X' shape from the two strands. Twist together the bottom then twist together the top.
I accidentally made my vegan cinnamon babka MUCH longer than my loaf tin. To fit it in, I 'compressed' the length of my babka then squashed it into my 20 cm loaf tin.
Second rise for the babka
All the hard work is done at this stage! Allow your babka to rest for the second time. It should rise just a little, say by 20%.
This step can also be done in the fridge overnight! I'd recommend sprinkling a little water on the babka before you cover it and let it rise. The water will prevent the babka from drying out.
Keeping the vegan babka 'moist'
To prevent this baked bread from drying out, I strongly recommend creating a simple sugar glaze (sugar and water) and pouring it over your babka when it's hot from the oven.
The sugar glaze gives your vegan cinnamon babka a beautiful and shiny exterior and traps in the moisture from baking. The glaze also adds plenty of moisture to your babka and makes it less likely to dry out!
Check out my other vegan babka recipes:
Or see my vegan bread recipes:
- Vegan Brioche
- Sticky Cinnamon Buns
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
- Jam Donut Cinnamon Rolls
- Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls
Vegan Cinnamon Babka
Ingredients
Babka Dough
- 2 ¾ cups (345g) all-purpose plain flour, or bread flour plus more for dusting
- ½ cup (125g) dairy-free milk, warm
- ½ cup (112g) vegan butter, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons (40g) granulated sugar, or coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon (10g) instant dry yeast, (note 1)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of any good-quality salt
Cinnamon filling
- ¼ cup (55g) vegan butter, melted
- ½ cup (80g) dark brown sugar, or coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons (20g) ground cinnamon
Babka sugar glaze (optional, note 2)
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar, or coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30g) water
Instructions
- Line an 8 inch (20 cm) loaf tin with parchment paper. A longer loaf tin will work well too.
To make the babka dough:
- Combine all the dough ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix until all ingredients come together.
- Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. The dough is ready when it's soft, stretchy and comes away from the side of the bowl (or kneading surface). If the dough hasn't formed a smooth ball, add a dash of milk and knead again. If the dough sticks to the side of the bowl (or kneading surface), add a little more flour and knead again.
- Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a tea towel. Rest the dough in a warm place for at least 1 hour or until the dough doubles in size. If the dough doesn't double in size, place it in a WARMER spot and wait until it does.
To make the cinnamon filling:
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until smooth. Allow to cool until it thickens to a spreadable consistency.
Shaping the babka:
- Dust a clean surface with flour. Roll out the dough into a rectangle shape around 10 x 8 inches (25 x 20 inches) large. The long side of the dough should be a little longer than the length of your loaf tin.
- Spread the filling onto the dough leaving a 1 inch (2 cm) border around the edge.
- Starting from the long side, roll the dough into a log (note 3). Use a sharp knife to cut the log in half lengthways. This will create two long 'strips' of dough. Carefully twirl the two strips together. Use the pictures in the above blog post for guidance.
- Lift the twirled dough into your loaf tin. Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rise for at least 1 hour. The babka is ready when it rises by at least 20% and looks soft and puffy. You can also let it rest overnight in the fridge, as long as you bring the babka back to room temperature before baking.
Baking the babka:
- When your babka is ready for baking, preheat your oven to 170°C (340°F).
- Bake the babka for 30-40 minutes. The babka is ready when its surface is be golden brown and if you insert a skewer into the middle and there's no wet dough on the skewer.
- If the top of the babka is browning too quickly (and the middle isn't cooked), reduce the oven to 150°C (300°F) and cover the babka with aluminium foil (or an oven-safe bowl which doesn't touch the top of the babka). Remove the babka from the oven.
Sugar glaze (make this while your babka is baking):
- Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. While the babka is still hot from the oven, pour the sugar glaze on top.
- The babka is best eaten on the day it is baked. Alternatively, store it an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. Warm up the leftovers before serving.
Notes
- Instant yeast doesn't need to be 'activated' or 'bloomed' beforehand. However, if you use another type of yeast, combine it with warm milk and a pinch of sugar beforehand. Wait until it bubbles then use it in the recipe.
- Alternatively, use 50mL of any liquid sweetener instead of the sugar and water. Heat it up and drizzle on the hot babka.
- If your dough is too soft, it will be difficult to shape. If so, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up. This is just for the babka's appearance and won't affect its taste or texture.
Nutrition
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Very dry because not hydrated enough. In bakers percentage this is 36% hydration. Needs to be around 50% hydration and depending on the flour could be pushed as far as 58% hydration.
I'm sorry you found this recipe too dry. As stated in the Method, you're welcome to add more milk to hydrate your dough. Babka and braided breads normally have lower hydration than other bread and sourdough because it needs to be shaped. That's why the final sugar glaze is added!
Hi!
Just baked it a couple hours ago...cooled...and tried it with my afternoon coffee!
Deeèeelicious!!!!
Very yummy and very easy to make!
Just one question for you: that it the forth recipe I have tried the past couple of weeks, and by far it is THE Recipe I am keeping....and as with the last three, my babka comes out of the over very soggy at the bottom, literally with water droplets in the bottom of the tin when I take out the babka....the solution I have found is to put it back in the oven on a rack, no tin, to "dry it out"....
Do you have any idea why that is???🤔🤔🤔
Thank you soooooo soooo much...
Take care,
Melina (from 🌞🌞🌞 Greece)
Hi Melina, aw I'm so happy that you loved this recipe!
That's interesting that other babka recipes were soggy! From experience, it is usually from too much butter or liquid in the filling (or other parts of the recipe). The butter melts and creates steam but is trapped inside the loaf pan and can turn into water droplets! Glad that this recipe didn't go soggy for you :). Thanks so much for your kind feedback! xx
Excellent recipe, made it for Hanukkah, vegans and non-vegans loved it.
I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Happy Hanukkah 🙂
Love this recipe! Turned out great and was devoured by my family within an hour of baking it haha
Haha, I'm glad that your whole family loved this babka! Fresh bread is truly the best 🙂
Absolutely delicious!!
Aw thank you!
Such a delicious recipe! We've made it several times and it always works perfectly and produces an incredibly light and fluffy babka. Creating the swirl is so satisfying and Anthea explains the process so clearly.
Thank you so so much! And I'm so glad you've enjoyed making this several times 🙂
I used a few tablespoons of applesauce (instead of milk) to get the dough to come together, which gave the babka a nice hint of apple. But I made the mistake of not rolling the dough thin enough to get more then a few rolls in, so the twirling was more difficult and the filling went everywhere. It was sort of a mess, but baked up into an incredibly moist, fluffy, amazingly delicious loaf, if not nearly as pretty as yours. Will definitely be making this again.
Thanks so much for your feedback Maggie! I hear you about messy babkas - I've made my fair share of them too! But glad that you enjoyed the texture and flavour of the babka at the end!
It was really delicious, half of it is already gone. Sadly the swirl wasn't really visible, but that was probably my fault because I put some agave in the filling which made the filling a bit runny. Looking forward to try more recipes from you!
So glad to hear Aira! Agave for the filling sounds delicious nevertheless. Thanks so much for your support and kind review xo
Hi can this be made gluten free?
I tried it with an Aussie gluten-free flour blend and it was rather dry. However, it may work with other gluten-free flour blends.
Hi, can it work with almond flour / gluten free flour as you mentioned in other recipes?
Hi Tom, unfortunately, it doesn't work with that combination :(. I found that the almond flour was too heavy for this recipe. I've experimented with a few gluten free flours and haven't found a great combination unfortunately but if you do any experimentation, let me know!
I was nervous to make babka for the first time, but this guide and recipe made it so simple! I really appreciate the step-by-step photos. I was surprised at how easy the dough was to work with. For the filling, I used a little applesauce instead of vegan butter and it was absolutely delicious. I can't wait to make this babka with other kinds of filling in the future!
Aw, I'm so glad the step-by-step photos helped and you enjoyed the whole process! I love the idea of using applesauce instead. Thanks so much for your feedback!
This has become my go to babka recipe and I recommend it to everyone! Easiest dough ever with the most simple ingredients. Far less time-consuming than other recipes I’d searched through.
I didn’t sub any of the ingredients (used unsweetened almond milk) and followed exact measurements, as well as proof and cook time.15 minutes at 160c, and another 15 minutes with aluminum foil loosely covering the pan.
The bread toasts up really well the next day too. The inside stays soft and fluffy while the outside gets a little crispy in the best way. I’m excited to experiment with different fillings.
Love all your recipes – thanks for sharing! ?
That's the best news Michelle and glad everything worked for you! Good tip to cover the pan with aluminium foil as well and loooove the idea of toasting it - makes me hungry thinking about it! Thanks so much for your kind feedback and support xo
PHENOMENAL! All the measurements came together perfectly and the dough alone is to die for. My notes:
1. Use BLOCK BUTTER. It will take longer if you are kneading with your hands, but trust me it's worth it. I've made this recipe with olive oil before, but the dough didn't rise as much. Although, still was a delicious babka. I used Naturli Vegan Block and it was a perfection.
2. If you run out of butter for the filling, I simply brushed the rolled dough with olive oil, then mixed sugar and cinnamon and generously sprinkled it on top. Then used my palms to mix it together. It came out really nice, probably not as indulgent as the buttery filling. Could be an option for people who prefer less sweetness and more brioche!
Definitely making this again! And again...and again...
Aw thank you a million Vai!!! Love your tips as well and I'm sure others will find them helpful too! I love using block butter so hopefully we the Naturli one in Australia soon! Thank you so so much xoxo