While helping with a baking group at Congregation Beth Torah last fall, Michael Crane was handed a set of handwritten recipe notes by his friend Marcia Rittmaster.
The notes had belonged to her beloved relative, Ben “Baker Ben” Hellman (z”l), remembered for his generosity — and his cinnamon babka.
“The notes appeared to be written in what bakers call ‘baker’s percentages’ — a professional way of expressing recipes by weight,” Crane said. “I’m not a professional baker, but curiosity got the better of me. I researched numerous babka recipes to better understand the numbers in Ben’s notes.”
Using those notes as his foundation, Crane developed a version of Hellman’s babka.
Marcia Rittmaster shared fond memories of her relative’s baking legacy. In the early days of Congregation Beth Torah, Hellman and his wife, Shirley, led babka sales to benefit the youth group. Twice a year, they baked 50 loaves, sold only on Sunday mornings starting at 9 a.m. sharp — no pre-sales, not even to the rabbi — with a limit of three per person. They were sold out by 9:15 a.m..
Rittmaster also recalled when her son Aaron took two babkas to Colorado as a camp director. The babkas were auctioned at the end of staff training and brought in $100 — the highest bid of the night.
The updated babka will be available at a special sale on Saturday, Aug. 23, at Olive Tree (7044 W. 105th St, Overland Park, KS 66212) beginning at 10 a.m. Proceeds from the babka sales will fund baking supplies at Congregation Beth Torah.
In addition to babka, there will be a variety of fresh sourdough loaves and other baked goods available for purchase at the pop-up sale.
More information about Crane’s baking is available by contacting , and more information about Olive Tree is available at olivetreekc.com.
