Description
Lemon Blueberry Babka is a rich, braided sweet bread with zesty lemon and juicy blueberries, topped with crumble and icing. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2/3 cup whole milk, warmed to about 110°F
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons Platinum Yeast from Red Star
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 and 3/4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1 and 1/4 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (for filling)
- 3 tablespoons bread flour (for topping)
- 3 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar (for topping)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed (for topping)
- 1 egg white (for brushing)
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar (optional for icing)
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional for icing)
- 1 tablespoon whole milk (optional for icing)
Instructions
- Combine warm milk, yeast, and 1 tbsp sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Let sit 5 minutes until foamy.
- Add remaining sugar, butter, lemon zest, egg, vanilla, salt, and 1 cup flour. Mix and gradually add remaining flour until dough forms.
- Knead for 6–8 minutes until smooth. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise 3–4 hours until doubled.
- Meanwhile, make the filling by cooking blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice for 10 minutes until thickened. Let cool.
- Roll dough into a 12×18 inch rectangle. Spread filling evenly, roll tightly into a log, twist, and place in greased pan.
- Cover and let rise again for 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Mix topping ingredients into crumbs. Brush babka with egg white and sprinkle topping over it.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until golden and toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool for 10–15 minutes in pan, then transfer to rack. Drizzle with icing if desired once fully cooled.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients for best results.
- Frozen blueberries can be used if well-drained.
- Let both rises complete fully for a soft texture.
- Store wrapped at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerate up to 1 week.
- Freeze slices individually for longer storage.
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Bread, Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Jewish, Eastern European
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
Keywords: lemon blueberry babka, sweet bread, braided bread, brunch dessert, yeast bread