Have you tried babka and lemon loaf by this home baker in Mumbai?

A year-old home bakery that crafts delicious babka and sweet loaves impressed us in more ways than one

There is something about warm bread loaves that this writer finds comforting. So, when we heard about Babka and More by Inbal’s, which offers a limited menu of Israeli fare, we decided to order some babka and bread loaves. The delicacies, prepared by home baker Inbal Geron Itcher, had to be pre-ordered a day in advance, as Itcher prefers to serve only fresh bakes. We picked chocolate babka (R1,000), cinnamon babka (R1,000), eggless banana chocolate (R800) and lemon loaf (R800); these weigh around 400 to 450 gms.

Banana chocolate loaf

The loaves were warm when they reached our office despite the hour-long commute; full marks for the packaging. We couldn’t dive into the comforting delicacies immediately due to newsroom deadlines. We tried it after a few hours of their arrival and each bite tasted delicious. For the uninitiated, a babka is thick, sweet and braided bread that’s made with yeast and butter. We started with babkas, as this writer had never tried one, opting for the chocolate and cinnamon versions.

Chocolate babka

The chocolate one was a delight — a perfect balance of sweet with the slight bitterness of cocoa; it was greasy enough for a work-hour guilt trip. The cinnamon babka, however, is a saccharine feast — it is sweetness wrapped in a blanket of sugar. There’s a whole lot of gooey sweetness at the centre of the babka, which has a fine crust of cinnamon. We recommend trying this one with some coffee to balance it out.

Lemon loaf

When we ordered the eggless banana chocolate loaf, we were a tad hesitant, as a dessert with banana may taste cloyingly sweet. But we were proved wrong, as each bite was a perfect balance of bitter and sweet. At no point was there an aftertaste that felt like a sugary overdose. The winner though, for this writer, was the lemon loaf, which was the goodness of buttery, mild sweetness and tangy. The extra crustiness on the loaf made it tangier, and though it has a bold flavour profile, even if you are not a fan of citrus-y taste, we highly recommend this pick from the menu. 

Call: 8291339211
Log on to: @babkaandmorebyinbal

Get your babka fix

Sweet and savoury
Relish some good old delicious cinnamon, chocolate, nutella babka; and also, something with a twist — jalapeno and cheese babka.
At: 55 Baker Street, 55 Ganga Vihar, Marine Drive. 
Call: 9820569990 (to pre-order)
Log on to: 55bakerstreet.in  

The Goan way
Adding a Goan flavour to the preparation, this place serves choriz, a savoury babka that’s made of pork.  
At: Veronica’s, Ranwar, Waroda Road, near Hill Road, Bandra West. 
Call: 9372981697
Log on to: Zomato

Chocolate-y affair
Devour this popular dark chocolate babka that’s sinfully delicious.
At: Twentyseven Bakehouse, shop 3, Videocon Icon Building, Glamour Glen Housing Society, Dr Ambedkar Road, Pali Hill, Bandra West. 
Call: 9372515271
Log on to: @twentysevenbakehouse; Zomato

Europe calling
If you like Belgium chocolates, try this rich and decadent Belgian chocolate babka that’s made with chocolate-filled dough.   
At: Bluebop Bakes, 318, ground floor, Satyam Building, Linking Road, Khar West.  
Call: 9372202586 
Log on to: Zomato

Sinful fusion
Imagine coffee, hazelnuts, hazelnut butter and chocolate, all rolled up in a spiralled bread and voilà, there’s hazepresso babka (slice and loaf).
At: Subko-The Cacao Mill, Second Pasta Lane Market, Badhwar Park, Colaba. 
Call: 7021215817 
Log on to: @subkocacao

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