• Add the warm milk and stir in the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.If using active dry yeast, let this mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. To this yeast mixture, add the flour, eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, cinnamon and salt.
• Turn the mixer on medium-low speed and combine it until a thick dough forms. Mix for around 5 minutes to begin developing the gluten.
• Add in the cubed butter a bit at a time. Turn the mixer on medium speed and keep it mixing until the sticky dough strengthens, comes together, and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. This will take around 15 minutes of mixing.
• Proper gluten development will allow you to stretch the dough so thin you can almost see through it. This is called the windowpane test. To test this, let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then grab a piece and stretch it.
• Pull the dough from the bowl onto a bench and form it into a smooth ball. Place the dough ball into a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for around 1.5- 2 hours until the dough doubles.

Filling and Shaping

• Mix softened butter, brown sugar, orange zest and cinnamon in a medium bowl with an electric mixer into a creamy paste.
• Grease and line two 9x5 inch loaf pans with parchment paper.
• Deflate the dough and pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Weigh the dough on kitchen scales and cut it into two equal pieces.
• Take one piece and use a rolling pin to roll it into a rectangle measuring around 11x14 inches (27x35 cm rectangle).
• Dollop half the butter mixture over the rectangle in little pieces. Use an offset spatula to spread it out, leaving a ½ inch (1cm) border around all the sides. Sprinkle over chopped pecans.
• Roll it up, from the long edge of the dough into a log, jelly roll style. Place it in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill. Repeat with the other dough piece and the remaining filling.
• Once chilled, slice a log in half lengthwise with a sharp knife to expose the filling. Take the top two ends and fold them over. Lift the left half over the right half in the middle of the dough, and repeat down and up, to make a braid. When you reach the ends, tuck the dough underneath to compact the loaf.
• Place the braid into a prepared loaf pan. Repeat the process with the second half of the dough.
• Loosely cover and let the babkas undergo a second rise until they nearly double in size, around 1-2 hours. The rising time depends on room temperature.

Baking

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and place a rack in the middle. Bake the risen babka for approximately 40 minutes until deep golden brown. If they are browning too much, loosely cover the tops with foil.
• While baking the babkas, prepare the sugar syrup to glaze them. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer until the sugar dissolves, then remove it from the heat.
• Once the babkas are removed from the oven, brush the top of the babka liberally with the syrup.
• Let them cool in their pans for 20 minutes, then remove them and let them cool further on a wire rack.