Cinnamon Brioche Babka Knots
Didn’t think cinnamon buns could get any more beautiful?! Well I present to you, Cinnamon Bun Brioche Babka Knots! These precious little buns are have that deliciously sweet cinnamon filling, with the buttery dough of brioche, wrapped up in a little knotted babka package! They’re relatively easy to make, with just a few processes that differ from your typical cinnamon bun, but the result is so worth it! These Cinnamon Bun Brioche Babka Knots are delicious on their own, but can also be served with a nice drizzling of a sweet and creamy cream cheese frosting!
Cinnamon Babka Knots vs. Cinnamon Buns
If you’re wondering, why these instead of cinnamon buns? Well, first, they way more beautiful than your typical cinnamon bun and as such more awe-inspiring! Seriously, every time I serve these people always comment on how “pretty” or “cute” these are! Don’t get me wrong, everyone loves a good cinnamon bun but they’re kind of old news now! The second reason to make these over cinnamon buns is because the actual dough and subsequent bread are soooo rich and buttery! The dough for these is basically the same as challah or brioche, so it has a bunch of fat – in the form of butter and egg yolks, which makes the bread soft, fluffy, tender, with a flavor that is erring on the side of sweet! Truly a treat.
What is Babka?
Babka is yeasted bread with Jewish origins. It is typically made from an enriched dough that is filled with some sort of filling. This filling is typically sweet, with the most popular being chocolate. The filling topped dough is typically rolled up into a log, and then sliced and braided, resulting in a bread with beautiful swirls throughout. Babka knots are a take on the typical loaf of bread, but instead of one big bread, it features equal separate portions that are topped, cut, braided, and then wrapped into knots.
Babka actually originated from Jewish grandmothers utilizing the scraps leftover from making challah bread, which is another enriched Jewish bread. These grandmothers would twist together the scraps from the challah with nuts or seeds. Interesting right! As such, the dough from babka is therefore quite similar to challah, or even other enriched doughs such as brioche.
How to Make Cinnamon Brioche Babka Knots
First Steps
My favorite way to make these cinnamon bun brioche babka knots is with the stand mixer and dough hook. Start by blooming the yeast in the slightly warm milk. Once the yeast and milk have become frothy, add it to the stand mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until well combined. In another separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Throw the egg mixture and the flour mixture into the stand mixer with the frothy milk, and mix it all together with a wooden spoon until a very shaggy dough is formed.
Forming the Dough
Place the dough hook onto the stand mixer, and proceed to beat the dough on medium. Once the dough has come together and looks uniform, begin to add the soft butter 1 tbsp at a time, ensuring the butter is fully incorporated before the next addition. After all the butter has been added continue to beat for around 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer dry.
If the butter doesn’t seem to want to incorporate, I find it’s always best to try to manually knead the butter in with your hands. Also, you can and more flour, but add it very slowly – 1 tbsp at a time, until the butter begins to incorporate.
Proofing the Dough
The dough should be pretty tacky, smooth looking, and elastic. It should be sticking to the bottom of the bowl a bit, but should not be sticking to the sides of the bowl. Then you place the dough into a greased bowl, cover it with plastic, and place in warm place to rise for about an hour.. After an hour it should be doubled in size. This is now where you portion the buns out, roll each portion out, top it, slice it, braid it, and knot it! With a second rise the knots should look nice and puffed up, and be ready for the oven!
How to Assemble, Cut, and Braid Babka Knots
Filling & Cutting
Assembling and braiding these cinnamon brioche babka knots is pretty easy but a little time-consuming. You start by portioning out dough into 6 equal and separate pieces. Roll each piece out into a 4” x 12” rectangle, with the long-side facing you. Spread the cinnamon mixture over top of each rolled out piece, leaving a ½” strip bare at the very top of each. Brush a little bit of water onto the bare ½” strip, then proceed to roll the dough away from you into a long log shape – similar to how you would when making cinnamon buns. Next, using a serrated knife, slice the log down the length of itself. Repeat for each bun.
Braiding
Now were ready to braid! To braid the dough, place the sliced edges face up and place the two strips into an ’X’ formation. Working from center out, interweave the two strips by folding them over one another alternating back and forth. When at the end, pinch the ends together. Repeat on the other half.
Knotting
Now onto the knotting. Take the ends of the dough and form a circle, with both ends extended past the circle, and one end on top of the other. Take the bottom end arrange it in the center of the circle, and then tuck the top end underneath the bottom end, pinching the ends together. After all the knots have been formed, allow to rise once more before baking.
Here is a video on how to knot them.
Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Brioche Babka Knots
Ingredients
Brioche Dough
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk,, warmed to 100°F
- 2 ¼ tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 7 tbsp Unsalted Butter,, cut into small pieces, at slightly warmer than room temperature (should be very soft)
- 1/4 cup White Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour,, plus more if needed, measured correctly †
Cinnamon Filling
- 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
- 3 tbsp Cinnamon
- 1/3 cup Very Soft Unsalted Butter
Instructions
Making the Cinnamon Filling
- Add all filling ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine.
Making the Brioche Dough
- In a measuring cup add warm milk and yeast together. Stir together to combine, then allow to sit until it becomes foamy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, add egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and sugar. Whisk together to combine.
- Add egg mixture, foamy yeast-milk, flour, salt, and cinnamon to stand mixer. Using a large wooden spoon, mix together the dough until a shaggy dough forms. Place the dough hook onto the stand mixer and turn the stand mixer onto medium. Beat the dough until it has come together and looks uniform.
- While still beating the dough, begin adding in the butter 1 tbsp at a time, ensuring that each addition is incorporated before adding the next. After all the butter has been added, continue to beat for another 5-8 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic, and tacky. It should be sticking to the bottom of the bowl, but not to the sides.
- Transfer dough to a greased large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, then place in a warm area to rise for about an hour, or until the dough is doubled in size.
Shaping and Braiding the Babka Knots
- Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a lightly flour work surface, and cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 4”x12” rectangle, with the long-side facing you.
- Spread cinnamon filling (I find its easiest to work with when its very soft, so I’ll pop it in the microwave here and there for 15 second intervalover top of the dough, leaving about a 1/2” strip along the top. Brush the bare 1” strip with a bit of water. Roll the dough away from you into a log (try to maintain even thickness throughout).
- Using a serrated knife, slice the log in half lengthwise. Place the sliced halves face up and side by side each other. Form an ‘X’ formation with the two strips. Working from center out, interweave the two strips by folding them over one another alternating back and forth. When at the end, pinch the ends together tightly. Repeat on the other half.
- Knot the dough by taking the ends of the dough to form a circle, with both ends extended past the circle, and one end on top of the other. Take the bottom end and fold it over into the center of the circle, and then tuck the top end underneath the bottom end, pinching the ends together.
- Transfer each knot onto the prepared pan, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and place into a warm place to rise for 20-30 minutes.
Baking the Babka Knots
- Preheat oven to 350°Place knots into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes (internal temperature of 200°F).
Notes
Source: Dough recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
Related Recipes
Looking to make other sweet treats? Check out these below:
CARROT CAKE SCONES WITH MAPLE CREAM CHEESE GLAZE, These tender flaky scones feature all the great flavors we all love from carrot cake, plus a delicious maple cream cheese glaze.
BOURBON SALTED CARAMEL SHORTBREAD BARS. A buttery, rich layer of shortbread is topped with a thick layer of bourbon & vanilla bean infused caramel, which is followed by a thin layer of dark chocolate and flaky sea salt.
RED VELVET MACARONS. Cute little macarons with all the much-loved flavors of red velvet – complete with a cream cheese filling.
