Babka, Challah, Conchas, Cookies — oh my!

Babka, Challah, Conchas, Cookies — oh my!

Two women wearing aprons in a kitchen, preparing and serving baked goods and desserts at a wooden table.

Our Bakery’s Closed —
But the Door’s Still Open

Hi! We’re Tamar and Elena — longtime friends from Mexico City who share a deep love for dessert. In 2018, missing the flavors of home, we started baking together in our tiny apartment kitchens in Chicago. What began as a side project quickly grew into a full-scale, bake-to-order Mexican Jewish artisanal bakery — blending our Mexican roots with Tamar’s Jewish heritage.

We’ve said goodbye to Chicago and closed the bakery, but Masa Madre is still very much alive — as a space for connection, creativity, classes, and future collaborations.

A person selecting eggs from a basket surrounded by baking ingredients including butter, chocolate chips, flour, cocoa powder, milk, oil, sugar, and a measuring cup on a speckled countertop.

Cooking is better when it’s shared, so let’s make something delicious together.

We’re currently offering private virtual classes — come bake with us!

Customer Love

🩷

Customer Love 🩷

A person pouring syrup onto a twisted pastry with white icing on a pink background.

"This is the best bakery to ever exist.
Full stop. Every babka flavor is incredible and unique! Their cookies are the perfect consistency and delicious. I dare you to not eat an entire challah in one sitting. Do yourself a favor and get the tres leches babka."

Dani Zuchovicki

Person holding a bread roll at a dinner table with plates, glasses, and condiments.

"Insanely delicious. If you have not had a Masa Madre babka, you haven’t lived! Get one, now! Buttery, stretchy, sweet — an absolute slice of heaven. And the Challah is perfect in every way. It’s exactly what Challah should be! "

Annie Hesser

A person pulling apart a cinnamon roll with chocolate swirl, revealing its soft, fluffy interior, on a wooden surface.

"The babka was quite possibly one of the best I’ve tasted. I had high expectations and they far exceeded them. They were responsive, friendly and the product is the best I’ve had since I was young."

Joe Levi

Person holding a large cinnamon bun with chocolate and caramel swirls.

"Amazingly flavorful babka! The dark chocolate used is wonderfully rich and bitter, pairing incredibly well with the buttery bread. We received it on Friday and it stayed fresh throughout its weekend with us. Sadly, it is now gone..."

Ezio Magarotto

Assorted pastries including twisted donuts with colorful sprinkles, a pastry with white sugar pearls, a chocolate-filled twisted pastry, and a pistachio-topped pastry on a pink background.

"Masa Madre is easily one of the best bakeries in the city, you can taste the love infused into the delicious sweets. The babka is heavenly, and the challah divine! "

Nicole Garelick

Pink concha bread buns arranged in a tray.

“I am in love with the filled conchas. The high quality of their products are absolutely worth it. Will not be buying anywhere else. "

Maria Alvarado

Follow our journey

 
Hi there! We would love to invite you to our Round Challah virtual class on Saturday, September 28th! We will be making our all time favorite Guava Amaranth Challah just in time for Rosh Hashanah. 🐝 To join, venmo your ticket fee ($45 to @tfasja),
I don’t mean to tease, 🤤 this year we will not be selling our Flourless Café de Olla cake, but we will sure be making it at home! And you can too, with our recipe on @bonappetitmag https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/flourless-chocolate-c
Last Hamantaschen in-person class this Thursday, March 21st ✨ Join us and you’ll go home with a box of freshly baked cookies made by you and a recipe that you’ll be making over and over again. 🤤 Bring a friend and some wine (we’r
JOIN OUR CLASS!! 03/21 6:30PM 🎭Purim is one of the most joyous celebrations of the Jewish calendar, but hamentaschen can easily be mediocre at best. Come learn how to make the most delicious dough, fill them with some Mexican and classic fillings,
Be our Valentine? Or at least come bake with us! We have spots available for our Vanilla Rose Babka class on 02/15! It will be a sweet way to spend Valentines week with your partner or friends! 💕 We also have spots available for our challah and bab
Quick reminder that you can give the gift of a Masa Madre class to anyone on your holiday list! 🙌 Book a class or buy them a gift card from our site! (They can use it for an in person class, babka kit or virtual class) 🫶 https://www.exploretock.co
👋 we’ve just added a bunch of new classes for the winter! If you’ve ever wanted to know how we make our decadent tres leches babka, this is your chance! We also have challah, vanilla rose for Valentines (!), Pink Conchas, and Hamentasche