This sourdough chocolate babka is a rich, tender loaf swirled with layers of gooey chocolate and naturally leavened for incredible flavor. It’s a show-stopping bake with a soft, buttery crumb and just the right amount of sweetness in every slice.
If you’ve never had babka before, get ready to fall in love. Babka is a rich, sweet braided bread with Eastern European roots, often swirled with chocolate or cinnamon. Originally created by Jewish communities in Poland and Ukraine, babka was traditionally made from leftover challah dough rolled out thin, spread with filling, and twisted into a loaf. Over time, it evolved into the decadent, dessert-like loaf we know today—fluffy, rich, and beautifully marbled with layers of sweetness.
The beauty of babka is in both its appearance and flavor. Each slice reveals ribbons of gooey chocolate twisted through soft, enriched dough. The texture lands somewhere between a brioche and a cake—tender, slightly chewy, and rich with butter and eggs. While chocolate is a classic choice, babka can be filled with everything from cinnamon sugar to nutella to fruit spreads, making it endlessly customizable. The recipe I’m sharing below has a delicious chocolate filling, but you could easily swap out the fillings.
My version uses sourdough to naturally leaven the dough, which gives the loaf a slightly tangy complexity and a more developed flavor than traditional yeasted versions. It takes a little more time, but the payoff is absolutely worth it. The dough becomes incredibly soft and pillowy, and the chocolate filling melts into the layers as it bakes, creating pockets of fudgy goodness in every bite.
Whether you serve it warm from the oven, toasted with a bit of butter, as amazing French toast for brunch, or simply sliced and enjoyed with a cup of coffee, this sourdough chocolate babka is the kind of treat that feels both homey and indulgent. It’s a labor of love—but one that’s meant to be shared and savored.
The dough for this sourdough babka is enriched and beautifully soft, made with eggs, butter, and milk to give it that classic brioche-like texture. I use a sweet stiff levain in this recipe, which is essentially a low-hydration sourdough starter fed with sugar. This not only helps the dough rise slowly and steadily, but it also mellows the tanginess of the sourdough and adds a subtle sweetness that pairs perfectly with the chocolate filling. You’ll want to build this levain about 12 hours before mixing your dough – I always make mine the night before so I can start my dough first thing in the morning.
Now, let’s talk dough texture—because this part can feel a little alarming. This is a wet, sticky dough, and yes, it will absolutely make you want to reach for more flour. But trust me on this: don’t do it. The high hydration is what gives this babka its signature lightness and soft, pull-apart texture. It might feel like a sticky mess at first, but once it’s fully mixed and has gone through its bulk fermentation and cold proof in the fridge, the dough will firm up and be much easier to handle.
Once chilled, the dough rolls out beautifully on a lightly floured surface. You’ll spread the rich chocolate filling edge to edge, then roll it up tightly into a log. From there, use a sharp knife to slice the log lengthwise and expose those gorgeous layers of chocolate swirls. The final twist might look fancy, but it’s really just a matter of gently overlapping the two halves like a rope, with the cut sides facing up. Don’t stress about making it perfect—the imperfect, rustic look is part of the babka’s charm.
This dough is delicate, but that’s what makes the final loaf so special. Once baked, it’s tender, airy, and layered with rich chocolate in every bite. The result is a show-stopping loaf that tastes just as incredible as it looks—and I promise, every sticky moment is worth it.
Make your sweet, stiff levain – about 12 hours before
Yes, you can substitute active starter, but this sweet, stiff levain is going to give your bread such a light and airy texture and keep it tasting more sweet and less tangy.
To make your sweet stiff levain you’re going to take your active sourdough starter and mix it with granulated sugar, flour and water. And because this is a stiff levain, you’re going to notice it doesn’t stir very easily. So mix it as best as you can with your spoon or dough whisk and then dump it on the counter and knead it until it forms a cohesive ball. It’s going to look like a little ball of dough.
Place that sweet stiff levain into a clean jar or bowl, cover it and place it somewhere warm. It’s going to be active and ready for you to use in about 10-12 hours.
Your levain is ready to use when it has doubled in size, has air bubbles scattered throughout and has a domed top.
NOTE: you can substitute active sourdough start, but just know that you'll probably need to add a little extra flour when your mixing. Then you'll need to watch your dough carefully because it can overproof easier.
How to Roll, Fill, and Braid Your Sourdough Babka
Step 1: Chill your dough
After bulk fermentation, place your dough in the fridge for 3-4 hours. This helps it firm up and makes it easier to roll without sticking.
Step 2: Lightly flour your surface
Turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust the top with a little flour and use a rolling pin to gently roll it into a rectangle about 10×14 inches. The dough should be around ¼ inch thick—don’t worry if the edges aren’t perfect.
Step 3: Spread the filling
Evenly spread your chocolate filling over the surface of the dough, leaving a ½ inch border on all sides. Optional: sprinkle chopped chocolate or mini chips over the top for extra fudgy pockets.
Step 4: Roll it up
Starting from the long side, tightly roll the dough into a log, just like cinnamon rolls. Try to keep the roll snug without stretching the dough too much. Once rolled, gently pinch the seam to seal.
Step 5: Chill again (optional but helpful)
If your kitchen is warm or the dough feels too soft, pop the rolled log into the fridge for 15–20 minutes. This firms up the filling and makes slicing cleaner and easier.
Step 6: Slice the log
Use a sharp knife to cut the log lengthwise, but leave about 1 inch uncut at the top so the two halves stay connected. This helps keep the twist neat and makes braiding easier. You’ll now have two long pieces joined at the top, with beautiful chocolate spirals facing up.
Step 7: Braid with the cut sides up
Lay the two halves side-by-side with the cut sides facing up. Gently twist them together, overlapping one over the other like a rope. Don’t worry about perfection—those messy layers bake up beautifully.
Step 8: Transfer to your pan
Carefully lift the braided loaf and place it into a greased loaf pan (or line with parchment). If it’s longer than your pan, just tuck the ends under slightly.
Step 9: Final proof and bake
Cover the loaf and let it rise at room temperature until puffy (usually a few hours depending on your kitchen). Then bake as directed until golden, glossy, and fully baked through.
Chill dough
Roll out
Spread filling
Roll into log
Cut down the middle
Pull apart
Cross over
Cross over
Cross over
Pinch ends together
Place in pan
Proof & bake
Sample Same-Day Baking Schedule
| Day 1: 8 p.m. | Mix up your sweet stiff levain. Cover and place in a warm spot overnight. |
| Day 2: 8 a.m. | Mix up your dough. Cover and let proof – about 4 to 5 hours. |
| 1 p.m. | Place covered dough in the fridge to chill |
| 4 p.m. | Roll, fill and braid your dough. Place in greased bread pan and proof until almost doubled – about 4 to 5 hours |
| 8 p.m. | Bake |
| 8:45 p.m. | Make your simple syrup |
| 9 p.m. | Drizzle or brush simple syrup on your loaf. Let cool overnight and enjoy in the morning. |
Sample Baking Schedule with Overnight Proof
| Day 1: 8 p.m. | Mix up your sweet stiff levain. Cover and place in a warm spot overnight. |
| Day 2: 8 a.m. | Mix up your dough. Cover and let proof – about 4 to 5 hours. |
| 1 p.m. | Place your covered dough in the fridge to chill 3-4 hours. |
| 4 p.m. | Remove dough from fridge. Roll out, fill and braid your dough. Place in a greased bread pan. Cover and place in fridge overnight. |
| Day 3 8 a.m. | Remove dough from fridge and let raise until nearly doubled – usually 6-8 hours |
| 2 p.m. | Bake – check after 30 minutes, if it’s getting too dark you can cover it with tin foil for the rest of the bake. |
| 2:45 p.m. | Make simple syrup |
| 3 p.m. | Drizzle or brush simple syrup over hot babka loaf. Remove from pan and let cool before slicing. |
Sourdough Chocolate Babka
Equipment
- Digital Kitchen Scale
- Mixer or large bowl
- Medium size sauce pan
- Loaf pan
- Bread knife (or your favorite sharp knife)
Ingredients
Sweet Stiff Levain
- 15 grams active sourdough start
- 15 grams granulated sugar
- 60 grams all purpose flour
- 30 grams water
Dough
- All the sweet stiff levain about 120 grams
- 100 grams milk warm
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 8 grams salt
- 85 grams butter softened (about 6 tablespoons
- 2 eggs
- 350 grams bread flour
Chocolate Filling
- 70 grams butter 5 tablespoons
- 100 grams sugar 1/2 cup
- 25 grams cocoa powder
- 80 grams chocolate chips
Simple Syrup
- 30 grams water
- 30 grams granulated sugar
Instructions
- About 10-12 hours before you want to make your babka, mix your sweet stiff levain. This is a stiff start, so it's going to look kind of like dough when you're finished mixing it. Don't be afraid to dump it on the counter and knead it to make sure that you've got everything mixed well. Cover and set someplace warm overnight.
- The next morning, combine levain, warm milk, sugar, salt, eggs and flour into a stand mixer. Mix until combined. Scrape down the sides and add softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until a smooth dough is formed. It will be sticky. Don’t add extra flour.
- Cover and let proof. This usually takes about 4-6 hours, assuming your dough is 75-78*F. If your dough is cooler, it will take longer. You’ll know the dough is finished proofing when it feels light and airy and has risen at least 50%.
- Place your dough in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours. This makes the dough easier to roll out and shape.
- Lightly flour your counter and roll out your dough.
- Make the chocolate filling: in a medium size sauce pan melt butter, sugar and cocoa powder until a sauce forms. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate chips melt and a smooth sauce forms. If mixture cools too much, place back on low heat to finish melting the chocolate.
- Spread chocolate mixture on the dough leaving a small space at the end of one long end to help seal the loaf.
- Starting at the long end, begin rolling the dough like you would for cinnamon rolls. Gently pinch the seams together.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the log in half longways. Leave about 1 inch at the top so there are two pieces joined at the top.
- Carefully twist together and then place in a parchment lined loaf pan. (For more detailed instructions on how to shape your loaf, see instructions and photos in the blog post above)
- For a next-day bake, cover and place in the fridge for the night. If baking same-day, skip the fridge.
- Remove from fridge and let proof until loaf it doubles in size – this will take about 6-8 hours. Alternatively, you can let your loaf proof until almost double in size and then place into the fridge for the night. Then you can bake it directly from the fridge the following day. Both work great, it's all personal preference.
- Bake at 350 °F for 50-60 minutes. Check on your loaf after about 30-40 minutes and if it’s getting too dark cover with foil. The sugars in this loaf can get too dark and burn if you’re not careful. Bake until the internal temperature reaches at least 190 °F.
- Once finished baking, make your simple syrup by combining water and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
- Once your loaf is finished baking, remove from oven and brush or drizzle the simple syrup over the top. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes and then remove from -the pan and place on a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Let cool completely before slicing.
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