**For the best results, be sure to use a kitchen scale**

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the flour, milk, eggs, sugar, salt and sourdough starter on low until there is the flour has been completely incorporated.

310g (2 1/4 cups) bread flour, 60g (1/4 cup) milk, 2 eggs, room temperature, 50g (1/4 cup) sugar, 3g (1/2 tsp) salt, 100g (heaping 1/3 cup) sourdough starter

Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Exchange the paddle attachment for a dough hook. While kneading the dough on medium speed, add 1 Tablespoon of butter, giving short pauses between each additional pat of butter. Continue to knead the dough until the butter is thoroughly incorporated and the dough is pulling from the sides of bowl (about 5-10 minutes).

70g (5 T) unsalted butter, room temperature

Cover the bowl with a bowl cover or plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to double in size. In my 70 degree F kitchen, this took about 6-8 hours. Warmer environments will quicken the process. Cooler ones will lengthen the process.

Once the dough has doubled, cover the dough and place it into the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. This helps the dough to firm up for easy shaping.

Before shaping the Sourdough Babka, prepare the chocolate filling.

Heat a small saucepan on medium-low. Add the butter, sugar, and sifted cocoa powder to a small saucepan and heat to medium low. Stir occasionally until the butter has completely melted and the cocoa powder is thoroughly combined. Remove the chocolate filling from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

70g (5 T) butter, 100g (1/2 c) sugar, 25g (1/4 c) cocoa powder, sifted

**Refer to shaping photos above**

ˆ8. Remove the sourdough babka dough from the fridge and place it onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough to 10x14" with a rolling pin (does not have to be exact).

Evenly spread the chocolate filling all over the dough, except for 1 inch on the top short side to help seal the dough. Sprinkle chunks of chocolate on top of the chocolate filling.

70g (1/2 c) chocolate chunks

Starting with the short side closest to you, roll up the dough into a tight cylinder.

Turn the horizontal roll now to be vertical, then with a sharp knife, cut the roll in half except for 2 inches on the top of the roll. Twist the dough together and place it into a lightly greased and lined with a piece of parchment paper 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise for a second time until it has doubled in size and looks puffy. In my 70 degree F kitchen, this took about 3-4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake the Sourdough Babka for 45-55 minutes or until the internal temperature is 180-200 degrees F with an instant read thermometer.

I would start checking the internal temperature after 45 minutes of baking, and continue to bake as needed.

Once baked, remove the sourdough babka from the oven and leave it to cool in the loaf pan while you prepare the simple syrup.

Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring to medium heat. Stir continuously until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. While the bread is still warm, poke holes throughout with a sharp knife. Brush the sugar syrup on top of the babka with a pastry brush. Allow the sourdough babka to soak up the simple syrup for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

75g (1/4 c) water, 65g (5 T) sugar

Slice and serve warm! Enjoy!