I admit, this is a controversial pick for #1 because most babka out there tastes like a loaf of bread that fell behind your counter onto a pile of years-old chocolate chips and then stayed there for another few years. But a fresh babka—such as the one at Breads Bakery or the one that this recipe yields—is such a profoundly delicious thing that it makes up for every bad babka's shortcomings. It combines two of life's greatest pleasures—bread and chocolate—and it gives you license to eat them together. I would take it over coffee cake, croissants, a crumble, or an amazing boule any day, because babka is the ultimate synthesis of all of these. I have eaten a whole loaf in one sitting, and I consider myself ready at any moment to do so again.