Matthew Woolen is a master pastry chef and has worked in a variety of Seattle restaurants, including gastropub Old Sage, Zhu Dang, and a gluten-free restaurant called Capitol Cider.

Matthew Woolen

Think of the best <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/if-croissants-and-cinnamon-rolls-had-a-baby">cinnamon roll</a> you’ve ever had. Got it? Now imagine the best <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/coffee-cake-with-a-european-twist">coffee cake</a> ever. Great. Now dial up the cinnamon flavor, make it more buttery, add in pecans and a heavy dose of caramel, and picture it coiled into a Bundt pan. There you have it: the best cinnamon babka. There are all kinds of babka—sweet, savory, and in any flavor combination you can imagine. This babka leans into the sweeter side of the babka universe and takes advantage of the fact that enriched, sweet doughs can be underproofed and underbaked and still produce exceptional results. Since starches gel at [f 185], cooking the dough to just under that temp ([f 175]) amplifies the gooeyness of the bread, making it all the more delicious to eat. The key to success is twisting the dough tightly but not too tightly. Using the classic twist for the shaping gives you tons of layers without running the risk of smushing them together (be gentle!). Using a Bundt pan increases the surface area of the exterior, yielding more caramelly, browned notes in the final pastry, with a speedier bake time than babka that’s baked in a loaf pan. It’s also helpful to plan on making the babka over two days. Make the dough and the fillings on the first day, then assemble, proof, and bake it off on the second day.

Cinnamon Babka