These chocolate babka buns are made with the fluffiest milk bread dough and are filled with a ton of delicious, rich chocolate filling.
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chocolate babka buns
Hello hello! ☺︎ Today I have for you these delicious babka buns. They’re made with a fluffy and delicious milk bread dough – which is a yeast dough that’s enriched with more milk, and they’re filled with your classic delicious chocolate babka filling – chocolate, butter, cocoa, and sugar.
I know dough can seem a little intimidating but I have all my best tips and tricks for successfully making dough below. Plus, you can make the dough the night before so that you only have to worry about shaping & baking the day of. So let’s get into it! ☺︎
why you’ll love these chocolate babka buns:
- The dough is super soft and fluffy: The tangzhong (milk bread) method makes these super soft and fluffy.
- Chocolate filling: there’s a ton of chocolate filling in here so that you
- It’s easy to make: well, easier than you might think! Once you’ve got the dough together, the hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the dough to rise.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before you’ll need them.
the dough will take a while to knead
Kneading this dough will take a longer time than you are probably used to. This dough is enriched with eggs and butter which makes it take longer for the proper amount of gluten to develop. Kneading in the mixer can take me anywhere from 10-20 minutes. The dough is ready to be used when it passes the windowpane test and has pulled away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If you are weighing your ingredients, just trust the process! If you are using cup measurements and the dough just is not coming together after 15 minutes, try adding in 1 tbsp. of flour at a time.
how to tell your dough is done kneading: the windowpane test
The windowpane test is (in my opinion) the best way to tell that your dough has been properly kneaded. Once the dough starts to pull away from the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl, it is most likely ready. However, just to be sure that it’s good to go I check if it passes the windowpane test. To do that, take some of the dough in your hands and start to slowly stretch it out. If it can get thin enough to where light passes through it before tearing, then it’s good to go! If not, keep kneading until it does!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
chocolate babka buns ingredients –
Milk Bread dough:
- Bread flour: for structure and chewiness. You can sub in all purpose flour, just be sure that you are using a high-quality flour that has a high protein %, such as King Arthur (11.7%) so that your gluten will develop. If you’re using a low protein flour, the gluten will not develop enough and you will have to add a lot more flour to the brioche, which will alter the dough!
- Active dry yeast: for making the dough rise. You can easily substitute in instant yeast if that is what you have on hand (more notes on that later on.)
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the brioche. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the brioche and for helping the yeast with rising.
- Egg: for binding and adding moisture.
- Brown butter: for tenderizing the dough and giving it a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth feel, and for a toasty flavor. I would not recommend substituting in salted butter since salt is important to controlling yeast growth and the amount of salt in salted butter is a little variable.
- Whole milk: for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest dough because the extra fat helps tenderize the dough. You can however swap in 1%, 2% or your favorite non dairy milk alternative! Just note that the dough may be a little less soft and fluffy due to the varying fat content.
chocolate filling:
- Semi-sweet chocolate: I recommend a baking bar here because chocolate chips have stabilizers that can make the filling less smooth. I prefer semi-sweet because it’s not too sweet and not too bitter but you could also use milk chocolate or dark chocolate here depending on your preference!
- Unsalted butter: for richness, you can use salted butter here as well.
- Powdered sugar: for sweetness and to thicken up the filling.
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder: for more chocolate flavor and to thicken up the filling. I recommend dutch-processed cocoa powder for the best flavor, but you could use natural cocoa powder here as well.
topping:
- Egg wash: an egg and a splash of milk – helps the tops of the buns turn nice and golden brown while baking.
- Simple syrup: a tiny bit of sugar and a tiny bit of water – helps lock in the moisture so the buns stay fresher for longer.
how to make chocolate babka buns
Below are a few pictures of the steps for making these chocolate babka buns. You can find the full recipe at the end of this post!
chocolate babka buns
recipe q&a
what is tangzhong?
Tangzhong is a cooking method that involves cooking a portion of the flour in a recipe with 4-5x the amount of liquid. Cooking the flour pre-gelatinizes the starch in the flour, allowing it to hold on to more liquid. This leads to a bread that can hold way more liquid than it normally would be able to, which makes the bread softer, and fluffier, and keeps it from staling as fast. It’s basically a secret ingredient for better bread, using ingredients you already need for the bread! If you ever see the word “milk bread”, that means that that bread uses tangzhong!
how to store these babka buns
Brioche is definitely going to taste the best and most fresh on the day that it is baked, and I highly recommend serving it the same day you bake it, but they will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. I recommend heating them up in the microwave for a few seconds before eating them to freshen them up!
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double the ingredients and bake it in two eighth sheet pans or two 8″ cake pans. I even more strongly recommend using a kitchen scale if you are scaling up the recipe, for the best results.
can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Definitely – just pop all of the dough ingredients into your mixing bowl to start kneading. I recommend refrigerating the dough overnight to make it easier to work with and more flavorful. However, if you are making the recipe all in one day, and using instant yeast, just be mindful that the dough will double in size faster.
can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes, and I highly recommend it! Brioche dough is a very enriched dough that can be hard to work with when warm. Knead the dough together, cover it, and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready, take the dough out of the fridge and proceed with the recipe.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Chocolate Babka Buns
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 20 g bread flour (2 tbsp. + 2 tsp.)
- 80 g whole milk (2 ⅔ oz.)
Brioche Dough
- 200 g bread flour (1 ⅔ c.)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 tsp. salt
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature (4 tbsp.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 70 g whole milk (2 ⅓ oz.)
Chocolate Filling
- 115 g semi-sweet chocolate baking bar or chips (⅔ c.)
- 75 g unsalted butter (5 ⅓ tbsp.)
- 40 g powdered sugar (⅓ c.)
- 24 g dutch-processed cocoa powder (¼ c.)
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 30 g whole milk (2 tbsp.)
Simple Syrup
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp. water
Instructions
Tangzhong
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, continuously stir together the flour and milk until the mixture and thickens into a thick slurry. Take off the heat and set aside. Alternatively, whisk together the flour and milk in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the mixture becomes a thick slurry.
Brioche Dough
- Add the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, egg, milk, and tangzhong mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
- Knead the mixture on medium speed for ~15-20 minutes. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the sides or bottom of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.*
- Once the dough is done kneading, shape the dough into a ball and place it back into the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, and place it in a warm area to rise until doubled in size (~1 hr.)**
Chocolate Filling
- Once the dough has doubled in size, make the chocolate filling. Add the chocolate and butter to a medium-sized mixing bowl and microwave it in 20-second intervals, stirring after each, until the mixture is melted and smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and mix until well combined.
- Lightly punch down on the dough to release the air in it. Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly floured surface, then roll it out to a 18″ x 12″ (45 x 30 cm) rectangle. If the dough keeps springing back a lot while rolling it out, let it rest for 5 minutes before rolling it again.
- Place dollops of the chocolate filling on top of the dough, then spread it out into an even layer.
- Fold the dough into thirds from the longer side by bringing the dough from the top down ~⅔ of the way, then by folding the bottom part of the dough on top of the first fold.
- Roll the dough out a little bit to make an 8" x 12" (20 x 30 cm) rectangle, then cut the dough into 6 long strips.
- Cut each strip in thirds long-ways, leaving the strip still attached at the top. Braid the three strips together, then make a circle with the twisted dough and tuck the end under the bun.
- Transfer the rolls to a lightly buttered and/or lined eighth sheet pan*** Lightly cover the pan with a towel, and let the rolls rise in a warm environment until doubled in size (~30 minutes).
Egg Wash
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C.
- Make an egg wash by whisking together the egg and milk, then brush it over the roll right before baking. (You will not use all of the egg wash, store the rest in the fridge or freezer for other pastries!)
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops of the knots are golden brown and the internal temperature of the rolls has reached a minimum of 190°F / 88°C.
Simple Syrup
- Add the sugar and water to a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring after each, until the sugar has fully dissolved in the water and it starts to simmer. Brush the syrup over the warm rolls and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
