Best 4 Babka I Recipes

BASIC BABKA

Steps:

• Stir white sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and salt into hot milk in a small bowl until butter is melted and mixture is lukewarm. In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, sprinkle yeast over warm water; stir to dissolve.
• Stir milk mixture into yeast mixture. Add 2 eggs and 2 1/2 cups of the flour; beat on high until combined. With mixer on low, add remaining 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
• Switch to the dough hook; mix until dough leaves sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Set dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, turning dough to coat top. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Prepare walnut filling while dough rises. Lightly beat 3 eggs in a large bowl. Stir in brown sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Fold in walnuts.
• Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a large, lightly floured surface, cover with the bowl, and let rest 10 minutes. Line three 9x5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides.
• Divide dough into thirds; roll each third out to a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Spoon 1/3 of the walnut filling onto each dough square and spread to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll up each square tightly as for a jelly roll. Pinch ends and seams closed to seal. With your palms, roll logs back and forth until uniformly round.
• With a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut 1 log in half lengthwise to form 2 striped strands. Working quickly, twist strands loosely together with cut sides facing out, making 2 or 3 wide, horizontal twists. Fit into one of the prepared pans, patting back any loose filling and tucking ends under, if needed. It might look like a mess now, but it comes out beautifully!
• Repeat with remaining logs and pans. Cover pans with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Loaves should not rise above top edges of pans.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush loaf tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Bake loaves until puffed, well browned, and a thermometer inserted in centers registers 200 degrees F (93 degrees C), 35 to 45 minutes. Tent with foil if tops brown before loaves are done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then use parchment to lift from pans and transfer to a wire rack.
• Cool completely, about 1 hour. Glaze if desired, then slice crosswise to serve.

CHOCOLATE BABKA

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: In a small saucepan or a bowl in the microwave, warm the milk until it's lukewarm but not hot (about 110 degrees). Add yeast and a pinch of sugar and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly foamy.
• In an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, or in a food processor, mix together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, the salt, the vanilla, the lemon zest (if using) and the nutmeg. (If you don't have a mixer or processor, use a large bowl and a wooden spoon.) Beat or process in the yeast mixture and eggs until the dough comes together in a soft mass, about 2 minutes. If the dough sticks to the side of the bowl and doesn't come together, add a tablespoon more flour at a time until it does, beating very well in between additions.
• Add half the butter and beat or pulse until the dough is smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Beat in the rest of the butter and continue to beat or pulse until the dough is smooth and stretchy, another 5 to 7 minutes. Again, if the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Butter a clean bowl, form the dough into a ball and roll it around in the bowl so all sides are buttered. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place (inside of a turned-off oven with the oven light on is good) until it puffs and rises, about 1 to 2 hours. It may not double in bulk but it should rise.
• Press the dough down with your hands, re-cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight (or, in a pinch, for at least 4 hours, but the flavor won't be as developed).
• Prepare the filling: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cream and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Filling can be made up to a week ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge. Let come to room temperature before using.
• Prepare the streusel: In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Stir in melted butter until it is evenly distributed and forms large, moist crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips. Streusel can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge.
• Prepare the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 2/3 cup/158 milliliters water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.
• Butter two 9-inch loaf pans, then line with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of paper hanging over on the sides to use as handles later.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half. On a floured surface, roll one piece into a 9-by-17-inch rectangle. Spread with half the filling (there's no need to leave a border). Starting with a long side, roll into a tight coil. Transfer the coil onto a dish towel or piece of plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Repeat with the other piece of dough.
• Slice one of the dough coils in half lengthwise to expose the filling. Twist the halves together as if you were braiding them, then fold the braid in half so it's about 9 inches long. Place into a prepared pan, letting it curl around itself if it's a little too long for the pan. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until puffy (it won't quite double). Alternatively, you can cover the pans with plastic wrap and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight; bring them back to room temperature for an hour before baking.
• When you're ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Use your fingers to clump streusel together and scatter all over the tops of the cakes. Transfer to oven and bake until a tester goes into the cakes without any rubbery resistance and comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. The cakes will also sound hollow if you unmold them and tap on the bottom. An instant-read thermometer will read between 185 and 210 degrees.
• As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, use a skewer or paring knife to pierce them all over going all the way to the bottom of the cakes, and then pour the syrup on top of the cakes, making sure to use half the syrup for each cake.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

BABKA I

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat milk until just below boiling. Add butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat, and let cool until lukewarm.
• Place cake yeast in a small bowl; pour 1/2 cup lukewarm water over the yeast. Stir with a spoon to break up the yeast slightly; set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs and egg yolks with an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Add 1 cup sugar and salt, and continue to beat until mixture is thick and pale. Stir in vanilla, orange liqueur, zests, and yeast mixture. Beat in 2 cups flour on low speed; when incorporated, add 2 more cups of flour and mix until combined. Add cooled milk mixture alternately with an additional 4 cups flour, beating on medium-low speed.
• If the dough is very sticky, add up to 1 cup of flour. Mix in currants, raisins, golden raisins, and almonds.
• Transfer dough to a well-floured work surface and knead about 8 to 10 minutes, adding reserved flour if needed. Shape dough into a ball. Transfer dough to a large greased bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with greased plastic wrap.
• Place in a warm place and allow it to rise until dough has doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch the dough down, re-cover the bowl, and allow to rise again for an additional 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter 3 tube pans.
• In a small bowl, combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in 4 tablespoons butter to form crumb topping. Sprinkle evenly among the 3 pans.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 1 minute. Cut dough into thirds. Flatten each piece of dough into a rectangle and roll it up into a log, pinching the seam to seal. Lay each log seam-side up in the prepared pans, pinching ends together to form rings. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 30 minutes.
• Beat an egg with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash. Before baking, gently brush egg wash over each loaf.
• Bake babkas in preheated oven until until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped, about 30 to 45 minutes. Immediately turn out onto a cooling rack so bread does not stick to the pan. Cool completely before slicing.

CHOCOLATE BABKA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. In a small saucepan, heat water to 120°-130°; stir into dry ingredients. Stir in eggs and yolk, orange zest and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight., Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each half into a 12x10-in. rectangle. For filling, in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Stir in confectioners' sugar, cocoa and salt. Spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam and ends to seal., Using a sharp knife, cut each roll lengthwise in half; carefully turn each half cut side up. Loosely twist strips around each other, keeping cut surfaces facing up; pinch ends together to seal. Place in 2 greased 9x5-in. loaf pans, cut side up. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°., Bake until golden brown, 35-45 minutes, tenting with foil halfway through baking. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Brush over warm babka. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.