Sweet potato in baking is kind of a new concept, however, biting into this Sweet Potato Babka is the kind of soft and fluffy bread with crunch from pecans and spice from the ground cinnamon sugar swirls that will warm you right up.
With Fall in full swing reaching for root vegetables becomes almost second nature, but this Babka is a great way to use up a little sweet potato in a way you might not have considered before.
Why you'll love this
Soft and fluffy bread
The bread thanks to the sweet potato, milk, butter and an egg is fluffy and moreish in that way you’ll be grateful this isn’t a small loaf and better when each serving is a thick slice!
Coffee glaze
The coffee glaze adds a slight depth to the loaf and compliments the pecans and sweet potatoes perfectly!
Ingredients and substitutions for Sweet Potato Babka
- Yeast: Yeast doesn’t just help give our babka that fluffy bread texture, it also help it rise to create a nice crumb.
- Milk: This helps give our loaf a soft crumb and the golden crust. You could substitute with water in equal measure if you prefer.
- Bread flour: This one matters because bread flour has a higher protein percentage which helps to produce the gluten content which we need to give our dough a firmness which is easier to shape. If you don’t have any on hand you can substitute all purpose or plain flour in equal measure, however, if you live in the UK…you will notice the difference in texture of your dough – it will feel incredibly soft in your hands and be a little harder to work with.
- Egg: Adding moisture and binding the dough together, the egg helps with rising as they act as a leavening agent as well as giving our rolls that nice light crumb thanks to the fat from the yolks.
- Butter: We add room temperature butter to our dough once the gluten has begun to form to help create a smooth and luscious dough. This results in your dough feeling as fancy as picking up a babka from your favorite bakery. You can substitute with non dairy butter in equal measure, however, I have not tried this and do not recommend substituting with oil because of the different texture it would lend to the finished babka.
- Sweet potato: Mashed sweet potato brings plenty of moisture to our dough and helps create a nice lightness that compliments the pecans and cinnamon filling.
- Sugars: We use three sugars in our babka and this is for different reasons. For the dough, superfine or caster sugar is perfect because it dissolves into the dough and adds a light sweetness without adding any further flavor. You can substitute in equal measure with brown sugar instead, if you prefer. The brown sugar in the filling caramelizes alongside our cinnamon and is the best choice, it’s not recommended to completely substitute with another sugar here. The coffee glaze needs to be made with confectioner’s or icing sugar to create the nice light texture and offset the bitterness in our instant coffee.
- Pecans: Completely optional, but damn if they don’t add a bunch of complimentary flavor here. You could substitute with walnuts instead, if your prefer.
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations
You can definitely change up the dish by changing the following:
Pumpkin - you could substitute the sweet potato puree with canned pumpkin.
Spices - instead of simply placing ground cinnamon into your filling you could add pumpkin spice or a dash of ground cardamom or allspice.
Savory - instead making a sweet one as here, you could smear with roasted tomato pesto and some goat’s cheese alongside the butter in the filling. Or fill with a cheese spread as found in this Savory Cheese Babka recipe.
Storage
The Sweet Potato Babka is best consumed within 24 hours of baking and should be kept covered in a container to keep the dough nice and fluffy and soft. It will stay great for up to 3 days, any longer and it is recommended to warm slightly to freshen up.
You could also freeze the baked bread covered for 1 month. It’s not best to freeze the babka pre baking.
Equipment needed to make this
Mixing bowl: You’ll need a large mixing bowl to prepare the dough and a small or medium bowl to combine the filling ingredients together.
Stand or hand mixer: A stand mixer is best due to the length of kneading time. Though a hand mixer will do the job if you use the lowest setting and work slowly so as not to overwork it. You can also make the dough by hand.
Rolling pin: A rolling pin will help you achieve a nice consistent dough, however, you could substitute a wine bottle for similar results.
Bench scraper: This isn’t necessary, however, will make shaping the nice even edges of your dough to give you a perfect rectangle shape.
Loaf tin: The loaf tin used here fits 1 kilo or 2 pounds.
FAQ’s for the best Sweet Potato Babka
Do my ingredients need to be room temperature for my dough?
Yes, the eggs and butter need to be room temperature so that they mix better with the dough and room temp butter will incorporate better into your dough to create that smooth texture. The butter at room temperature will also incorporate best for the sugar and cinnamon filling.
Can I make the dough by hand?
Yes you can, however, you will have to knead the dough for approximately 20 minutes to achieve the same results as a mixer. You can knead in the mixing bowl directly or if kneading on a work surface. You will have to make sure it is best done without any additional flour to ensure the butter is properly mixed throughout without drying out your dough.
More sweet potato recipes you'll love
Sweet Potato Pie
Sweet Potato Loaf Cake
Vegan Shepherdless Pie
How to make:
Place the yeast and milk in a bowl and allow to dissolve for 3 minutes.
Once bubbling, add the flour, egg, sweet potato puree and sugar and beat on low until the mixture forms a tight dough.
On a low setting with your mixer, add in 1 cube of butter or 2 (if your cubes are small, no more than 5 grams or ⅓ tablespoon of butter at a time) and incorporate until you cannot see any butter remnants in your dough.
Continue by adding another piece of butter and mixing until it is fully incorporated into your dough.
Beat for a further 5 minutes, until the dough it looks slightly glossy and is pulling away at the sides of your bowl.
Lightly butter a bowl and place the dough therein, placing in the fridge to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
Remove from the fridge, lift and allow the dough to fully deflate.
Meanwhile, place the sugar and ground cinnamon into a small bowl and stir to combine.
Add in the softened butter and combine until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Roll your dough out to an equal rectangle and ¼ inch thickness, approximately 1 ½ inches longer then your loaf tin on either side.
Smear the filling mixture over the dough leaving the ¼ inch edge without any filling.
Toss the pecans evenly over the filling.
Slowly and carefully roll your dough from the base of your wide rectangle into a tight scroll with the edge of the dough facing the work surface.
With a sharp knife, cut into the center of the scroll, dividing equally.
Lay the two pieces of dough right next to each other and fold one side of the dough over the other in the top third section.
Fold the other piece under and over the piece of dough, slowly twirling the two pieces firmly together and pressing the ends together and folding ½ inch underneath itself to really firmly hold the dough in place.
Lightly butter a loaf tin and carefully place the dough into the tin.
Allow to proof at room temperature for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375F.
Bake for 35 minutes or until golden on top.
Remove and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting and place onto a cooling tray until it is cooled to room temperature.
Whilst the babka is cooling, place the sugar, instant coffee and water into a bowl and stir together until smooth.
Slowly drizzle across the top of your babka and allow to set whilst the babka cools.
Set aside to cool completely before serving.
Slice and serve.
Dig in!
Print
Sweet Potato Babka
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
- Category: Breads
Description
Light and fluffy sweet potato dough is filled with a sugar and ground cinnamon spread and a sprinkle of pecans all topped with a light coffee glaze for a real warm bite for cooler Fall days.
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Dough
4 grams / 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
61 grams / ¼ cup whole milk, lukewarm
280 grams / 2 cups bread flour
60 grams / ⅓ cup superfine/caster sugar
1 gram / 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg, room temperature
100 grams / ⅓ cup + sweet potato puree
45 grams / 3 tablespoons butter, cubed and room temperature
Filling
100 grams / ½ cup brown sugar
35 grams butter, room temperature
3 grams / 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
54 grams / ½ cup pecans, roughly cut
Glaze
75 grams / ¾ cup confectioner’s/icing sugar
1 gram / 1 teaspoon instant coffee
10 grams / ¾ tablespoon hot water
Instructions
- Place the yeast and milk in a bowl and allow to dissolve for 3 minutes.
- Once bubbling, add the flour, egg, sweet potato puree and sugar and beat on low until the mixture resembles a shaggy mixture.
- On a low setting with your mixer, add in 1 cube of butter or 2 (if your cubes are small, no more than 5 grams or ⅓ tablespoon of butter at a time) and incorporate until you cannot see any butter remnants in your dough.
- Continue by adding another piece of butter and mixing until it is fully incorporated into your dough.
- Beat for a further 5 minutes until the dough it looks slightly glossy and is pulling away at the sides of your bowl.
- Lightly butter a bowl and place the dough therein, placing in the fridge to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
- Remove from the fridge, lift and allow the dough to fully deflate.
- Meanwhile, place the sugar and ground cinnamon into a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Add in the softened butter and combine until the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Roll your dough out to an equal rectangle and ¼ inch thickness, approximately 1 ½ inches longer then your loaf tin on either side.
- Smear the filling mixture over the dough leaving the ¼ inch edge without any filling.
- Toss the pecans evenly over the filling.
- Slowly and carefully roll your dough from the base of your wide rectangle into a tight scroll with the edge of the dough facing the work surface.
- With a sharp knife, cut into the center of the scroll, dividing equally.
- Lay the two pieces of dough right next to each other and fold one side of the dough over the other in the top third section.
- Fold the other piece under and over the piece of dough, slowly twirling the two pieces firmly together and pressing the ends together and folding ½ inch underneath itself to really firmly hold the dough in place.
- Lightly butter a loaf tin and carefully place the dough into the tin.
- Allow to proof at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375F.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until golden on top.
- Remove and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting and place onto a cooling tray until it is cooled to room temperature.
- Whilst the babka is cooling, place the sugar, instant coffee and water into a bowl and stir together until smooth.
- Slowly drizzle across the top of your babka and allow to set whilst the babka cools.
- Set aside to cool completely before serving.
- Slice and serve.
- Dig in!
Notes
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 thick slice
- Calories: 387 calories per slice
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