Polish Bobka Easter Bread {Simple Bobka Recipe} (2024)

FAQs

What is the original babka? ›

Babka originated in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe in the early 19^th century. Part bread, part cake, the name is thought to derive from a popular Easter cake made in Poland called “baba” which means “grandmother” in Polish.

Many different versions of this rich bread, laced with rum syrup and drizzled with icing, are served at Easter in Polish households. It's such a tradition, and so well-loved, that there are probably as many babka recipes as there are Polish bakers!

Like many Jewish-American specialties, babka originated in Eastern Europe – Poland and Ukraine in particular – in the early 1800s. As a way to use extra challah dough, Jews there would roll up the dough with cinnamon or fruit jam and bake it alongside the challah.

We've gathered together some top-rated traditional Polish breads (pieczywo), including sourdough rye bread, bagel-like bialys, egg breads, sweet breads, poppy seed rolls, and more.

Babka Recipe Variations

Cinnamon, poppy seeds, almond paste and cheese are all traditional companions for the cake with the challah-like crumb. But it doesn't get more popular than chocolate babka nowadays, which adds an element of decadence to the dense loaf.

: a sweet bread made with yeast and butter: a. : a sweet bread that contains various fillings (as of chocolate, cinnamon, or poppy seeds), is typically rolled and twisted before baking in a loaf pan, and is often topped with streusel.

Usually, a small piece of the Babka (or even a whole Babka) is placed into the Easter basket, along with boiled and painted eggs, butter, ham or cured meat, salt and bread which is blessed on Easter Saturday and enjoyed for breakfast on Easter Sunday.

Czech Slovak and Polish: nickname from babka a diminutive of baba '(old) woman grandmother' figuratively 'coward' (see Baba ). Czech: nickname from babka a type of edible mushroom used for someone who looks like this mushroom.

In the 1200s, the Jewish people weren't allowed to bake bread. This was due to the ties between bread and the sacrament. Poland was considered relatively progressive when it came to the land's Jewish population, and Jews were allowed to work with bread.

Babka used to be filled with scraps of Challah and seeds or nuts. It wasn't until Eastern European Jews arrived in New York that they decided to put chocolate in the bread. While Breadworks' Chocolate Babka isn't a twisted loaf, it still has delicious chocolate in it!

Why is babka eaten at Easter? ›

Traditionally it is baked the day before Easter, and taken in the Easter basket to church, where it is blessed by the priest, then it is eaten to break the strict Easter fast after mass on Easter morning.

Polish people have various terms for the heel of the end of bread. Some commonly used words include 'główka', 'dupka', or 'piętka'.

The most popular Polish breakfast food are open-face sandwiches featuring slices of hard cheese, cold cuts, tomatoes and cucumbers. Also eaten are different style eggs (soft and hard boiled, fried, scrambled, etc.), pot cheese with radish and chives or honey or jam served with fresh bread and rolls.

Babka is similar to “Paska,“ but is usually sweeter. and richer, almost cake-like. While babka and paska are two different Easter breads, you will often hear the names used interchangeably.

In a surprising turn of events, beloved Fitzroy bakery cafe Babka has changed hands for the first time since opening its doors in 1993.

Trader Joe's Cinnamon Brooklyn Babka is a zesty, swirly, brioche-meets-cake loaf rooted in Eastern European Jewish traditions.