Soft, comforting, and full of flavor, this Savory Sourdough Cheese Herb Babka bread recipe is irresistible!

It’s a perfect springtime or summer recipe so you can use your fresh garden herbs, but tastes amazing year round.

This recipe is adapted to be 100% sourdough from its original version in my book Celebrate with Bread Baking.

In this post learn how to make this soft savory bread, review sourdough timing, 7 tips for the best bake, and ideas for how to adapt it with different fillings.

How to make Savory Sourdough Cheese Herb Babka

The process of making this savory sourdough recipe has the following steps: Ingredients, Starter preparation, Making the dough, Kneading, Bulk fermentation, Shaping, Proofing, Baking, and Cooling.

Ingredients for Savory Babka Recipe

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Starter
- 15 grams sourdough starter (1 tablespoon)
- 110 grams water (½ cup)
- 110 grams all-purpose flour (¾ cup)
Enriched Dough
- 110 grams milk (¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons) *see note in dough making section
- 70 grams warm water (¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon)
- 5 grams white cane sugar (1 teaspoon)
- 8 grams salt (1½ teaspoons)
- 200 grams starter (1 cup)
- 340 grams all-purpose flour (2¼ cups plus 3 tablespoons)
- 40 grams whole-wheat flour (¼ cup)
- 28 grams unsalted butter at room temperature (2 tablespoons)
Savory Filling
- 30 grams unsalted butter at room temperature (2 tablespoons)
- 125 grams mozzarella cheese grated, plus more for topping (1½ cups, loosely filled)
- 25 grams Parmesan cheese freshly grated, plus more for topping (½ cup, loosely filled)
- 6 grams fresh chives minced (2 tablespoons)
- 2 grams fresh rosemary minced (1 teaspoon)
- 2 grams fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley minced (1 teaspoon)

Note: You can substitute the herbs with other fresh herbs or in place of one you don’t prefer.

Starter Preparation for Savory Sourdough Cheese Herb Babka

You will need a healthy, established sourdough starter for making this recipe. If you need to buy one or make one, here are my resources to get started!

With your sourdough starter, you can use active sourdough starter or sourdough starter discard, add one tablespoon to a container that is at least 1-quart in size. Then feed it with water and all-purpose flour. You can use bread flour instead, I use all-purpose flour because it is less expensive for this step.

Let the starter sit at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours until it is doubled in volume, full of large bubbles, and smells fragrant like ripe fruit.

The time range will depend on the room temperature in your kitchen, starting temperature of ingredients, and weather.

Learn more about sourdough starters in these posts:

Making the Sourdough Babka Dough

Provided that your starter is active and ready, the first step to prepare the dough is scalding the milk. This neutralizes proteins in the milk that can conflict with good fermentation.

Add more whole milk than the recipe calls for (about 130g to start) to allow for evaporation. Heat the milk over medium to medium-high heat until it is steaming and proteins begin to stick to the pot. Temperature will be 130 to 140 degrees F. Don’t let it foam.

Transfer 110g of the warm milk along with 70g of the water to the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl to cool down to 90-100 degrees F.

While it’s cooling, add the sugar and salt to the liquid.

Once your milk is cooled add the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and 200g of the active sourdough starter. Stir with a dough hook attachment in a stand mixer or with a large spoon if you are mixing by hand.

Continue mixing the dough until it becomes completely combined and soft. Make sure to scrape your mixing bowl with a rounded bench scraper at various points.

Kneading the Sourdough Babka Dough

Once all the ingredients except the softened unsalted butter are added, it is time to knead your dough into a smooth, soft ball.

When using a stand mixer, use low to medium-low speed (I recommend the lowest 2-3 speeds) to knead your dough. It will take 3 to 5 minutes to get combined and soft until it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Kneading by hand will take 7 to 10 minutes.

Now, it is time to knead in the softened unsalted butter. Add it one tablespoon at a time with kneading in between each addition.

Continue kneading until the butter is completely incorporated into your dough and it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl or kneading surface and is a soft smooth ball.

Bulk Fermentation for Sourdough Cheese Herb Babka

Place your bread dough into an airtight container or use a large mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap. I like to use a 4-qt Cambro container like this one for bulk fermentation because it is easy to use and see the dough rise and gauge when the dough has doubled in volume.

Keep your dough at room temperature for 3 to 7 hours for the bulk fermentation or first rise until it doubles. For clarity on when this stage is done, see this post.

Shaping Savory Sourdough Cheese Herb Babka

Prepare the filling ingredients and place in a small bowl. Then, prepare a loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper. See this post on how to easily line your loaf pan with parchment.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough with a rolling pin into an 11-by-18-inch rectangle.

Spread the soft butter over the dough with a spatula until completely covered.

Evenly sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the butter, then sprinkle the chives, rosemary, and parsley evenly over the cheeses.

Starting at the short end, roll the dough up into a log. The final rolled dough will have lots of spiraled layers and will be 11 inches wide.

Use a sharp knife (preferably a bread knife) to cut through the log from end to end, splitting it in half longways. The lines of rolled dough, cheese, and herbs will show inside the cut.

Carefully intertwine the two pieces two or three times, making sure that the layers of dough, cheese, and herbs face up. Handle the dough gently to help prevent the cheese and herbs from falling out.

Carefully transfer the twisted dough into the parchment paper-lined loaf pan with the exposed layers facing up. Add extra mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to the top, if desired.

Note: I use a French Rolling Pin from USA based company Earlywood Designs. It is my favorite one and does a great job on rolling the edges of dough. You can check it out in several colors here: French rolling pin

Proofing Savory Sourdough Cheese Herb Babka

Cover the sourdough cheese herb babka with plastic wrap. Let the covered dough sit at room temperature for the proof or second rise for 1.5 to 3 hours.

Because the rise time range in sourdough is very dependent on room temperature, it may be helpful to read this post on when your dough is finished proofing to learn the signs.

The babka should rise and spread until 1.5 to 2 times larger. The dough should feel soft to touch.

For overnight proofing to bake the next morning or next day, make sure shaped dough is covered well with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight (6-12 hours) after at least 1 to 2 hours of room temperature proofing. See this post about how to time plan your bake for the best results! How to Plan Your Holiday Sourdough Baking Schedule

Baking Savory Sourdough Cheese Herb Babka

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure to use regular bake, not convection.

Place the proofed babka in the preheated oven. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the top of the babka has a golden brown, toasted look.

The internal temperature of the bread should be 190-195 degrees F.

Cooling Savory Sourdough Cheese Herb Babka

Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Take it out of the loaf pan after 5 to 10 minutes of cooling and place on a wire rack.

Can I make it sweet? Other Filling Alternatives

This savory cheese herb babka is so delicious, but since the dough isn’t flavored, you can easily make it sweet or change up the flavor with different fillings. Here are a few ideas to switch it up:

Cinnamon Roll Filling see one of my cinnamon roll or cinnamon twist bread recipes for a recipe
Chocolate filling to make a chocolate babka
Minced nuts, sugar, and spices
Cheddar Cheese and pieces of cooked bacon with chives
Mozzarella cheese and pepperoni pieces, minced

If you try another combination, I’d love to know in the comments!

7 tips for the best bake

This recipe uses a 100% hydration starter. This style of starter is familiar to most sourdough bakers making it easier to attempt this recipe.
You may have noticed I used all-purpose flour in this recipe, not bread flour. All-purpose flour makes this savory babka softer and less chewy than bread flour. It also helps infuse the dough with even more flavor.
Timing in sourdough is key. See this post on time planning or check out my Sourdough Time Planning Workbook & Baking Journal
Dough that has perfectly fermented, should not be sticky after the bulk ferment. Only a very light amount of dusting flour should be needed during shaping.
The fresher your herbs, the better your flavor will come through in your bread.
The salty strong cheeses create incredible flavor, but you can use different types of cheese to enhance or mellow the flavor.
See the different filling ideas section above for inspiration to make your own special creation.

Benefits and Differences of Sourdough in this Babka Recipe

The sourdough version of this savory babka recipe creates incredible flavor and texture, which makes it a treat for knowledgable foodies. Additionally, sourdough recipes and the long fermentation creates more digestible bread.

There are some major differences you will see between this Savory Sourdough Cheese Herb Babka and traditional enriched breads made with conventional yeast. The original version of this recipe was featured in my book Celebrate with Bread Baking with instant yeast added.

The biggest difference is the timing. The timing with using natural yeast from sourdough is about 3 times longer.

Due to the shorter fermentation in conventional yeast recipes, those recipes add more sugar and sometimes butter/fat to create more flavor in the shorter timeframe. Sourdough recipes have the advantage of the long fermentation for incredible flavors to develop without loading our dough with sugar.

Here are the sourdough benefits listed for you:

Sourdough breaks down the gluten proteins into smaller pieces during the long fermentation which means less stomach and digestive irritation. Learn more about sourdough here or get my free sourdough quick start guide.
Sourdough breads begin with a starter or levain which is a mixture of flour, water, and sourdough starter that ferments for 6-12 hours on average to develop an incredible intense flavor that enhances every ingredient in the bread!
Because sourdough breads ferment for a long time, flavor naturally develops as carbohydrates in the bread are broken down into simpler sugars. This means that less sugar is used in the dough formula.
Sourdough timelines are more forgiving than conventional yeast timelines. Breads made with conventional yeast can overproof if a timeline is missed; which happens easily due to the high amount of yeast organisms and sugar that are added to the dough.

Savor and Share

This recipe is soft and full of flavor!

It would be delicious with dinner or as an incredible sandwich.

After you try it, send me a note, leave a review comment, or tag me on facebook or instagram @livingbreadbaker

I love seeing how people connect with people they love through bread.

More great recipes

And here are some other sourdough recipes to inspire your baking:

Just getting started with sourdough?

A competent guide transforms sourdough baking from overwhelming to uncomplicated and fun!

Get My Free Quick Start Sourdough Guide: Learn the key terms and concepts in sourdough baking, including the differences between active sourdough starter and sourdough discard, and how to care for your starter.

Time Planning Help for Sourdough Baking

The #1 need for sourdough bakers is help with time planning, so I created a resource for you.

Sourdough Time Planning Workbook: Perfect for new or experienced bakers, this workbook includes 8 templates ready to fill in and a baking journal. The templates cover 4 different ways to make classic sourdough country breads, 3 time planning worksheets for enriched sourdough bread depending on serving time target, and a blank template. The baking journal goes over baker’s percentages and how to take notes on your sourdough bakes.

Get a free sample of the workbook: Use this sourdough time planning worksheet sample to simplify your baking.

Living Bread Baker posts mentioned

When is sourdough bulk fermentation finished?

When is sourdough finished proofing?

What is a sourdough starter?

Easy Sweet & Soft Sourdough Bread Master Recipe

Sourdough Cinnamon Twist Wreath Bread

Sourdough Kanelbullar

Easy & Soft Savory Sourdough Cheese Twist Rolls

Sourdough Chai Spice Star Bread Recipe

Sourdough Chocolate Orange Babka

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4-qt Cambro container

Earlywood Designs French rolling pin

Food scale

Parchment baking sheets

FREE Sourdough Quick Start Guide

Sourdough Time Planning Workbook & Baking Journal

My Intro. to Sourdough online course

My sourdough starter

Breadtopia live starter

Cultures for Health starter

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