In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, gently mix together water, granulated sugar and yeast. Let stand several minutes until the yeast proofs and looks foamy.

Add vanilla bean paste or vanilla sugar, eggs, yolk, oil or margarine/butter, four cups flour and salt.

Knead on low speed, gradually increasing to medium until a smooth dough forms. It should retain a slight stickiness. If needed, add flour, one tablespoon at a time, until it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

Once the dough comes together, stop kneading and allow it to rest for three to four minutes. This is called autolysing the dough and helps you gauge whether it needs more flour. (If it’s humid, rainy or you’re working in a warm kitchen, you will likely need extra. In such cases, it’s okay to even go beyond five cups.)

Divide the dough into two or three (one-pound) portions and place in zip-top bags, removing air from the bags as you seal them.

Let dough rise in the fridge for up to 24 hours or freeze before rising. To defrost, transfer bag to the fridge for about six hours. Alternatively, defrost at room temperature about halfway (for two hours) and then transfer to the fridge to finish defrosting.

Roll the dough into a long, thin rectangle. The longer it is, the thinner the dough will be and the more layers you will have. I highly recommend wearing well-fitted gloves and using a silicone mat and metal rolling pin.

Three layers of filling are better than one! LAYER 1: Spread a wet filling over the dough, such as homemade vanilla, chocolate or cinnamon schmear (recipes below), or store-bought Nutella, halva spread, Lotus cookie butter, chocolate spread, fruit preserves, lemon curd or custard.

LAYER 2: Add something for crunch, like crumbled Lotus cookies, chocolate sprinkles, cinnamon chips, cappuccino chips, sandwich cookie crumbs or maple flakes.

LAYER 3: Complete with a dry, powder-based filling. This will magically keep everything together due to the starch in the pudding mix. (Recipes below.) See image in the gallery above for reference.

For cinnamon filling and the dry vanilla and dry chocolate fillings, combine all ingredients. (The dry chocolate filling yields 8 cups and will last a long time stored in a plastic container or gallon-sized ziptop bag.)

For the wet vanilla filling: In a bowl, combine 1 cup dry vanilla filling with oil and boiling water, mixing to achieve the right consistency. Work quickly, as the filling hardens quickly.

For the wet chocolate filling: In a bowl, combine two cups dry chocolate filling with oil and 1/4 cup boiling water. Add up to an additional 1/4 cup boiling water as needed. Use right away, as the filling thickens as it sits.

The “N”: Roll the dough into a tight log, pulling back and tucking in as you go to ensure that the log holds its shape and the fillings stay inside. If your log is a little short, you can stretch it out by squeezing it slightly from the middle to the ends. Shape into an “N” as pictured or cut the log in half and twist the two pieces together.

Babka-kokosh hybrid: Fold one long side of the rectangle in towards the middle, followed by the second long side. Flatten gently to release any air bubbles. Bring the two short sides of the dough towards the center, gently pressing down again. Roll into a relatively thin cylinder shape and repeat the process, spreading wet chocolate filling (layer 1) and sprinkling with crumbs (layer 2) and dry chocolate filling (layer 3). Roll dough into a tight log and stretch it out.

Classic Babka Shape: Roll into a tight log, pulling back and tucking in as you go to ensure that it holds its shape and the fillings stay inside. If your log is a little short, you can stretch it out by squeezing it slightly from the middle to the ends. Cut log in half to create two ropes. Cut each rope to make 2 more. Place 2 ropes side by side and make a cut down the center of each one, making sure not to cut all the way through. (See image for reference.) Twist the two halves of the rope together.

In a bowl, combine ingredients with your hands until the mixture feels like wet sand. You can incorporate some crumbs/crunch from layer two of the filling for a hint of what’s inside so you can identify them later.

No need for an egg wash with these beauties! Just sprinkle them with crumble topping. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes (in the summer, as little as 10 minutes is okay).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line loaf pans and a metal baking sheet with Gefen Parchment Paper.

Place unbaked babkas in pans and set them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the pans and bake an additional 15–20 minutes, until loaves are golden brown and tops are firm to the touch.

Allow to cool completely before slicing.