. Skip to main content

Babkas filled with chocolate or fresh blueberries

I've wanted to post this recipe for a while because babkas are such a comfort food.  However, posting bread or babka recipes can be tricky because it can take a few tries to get the dough right.  But these pointers should help you get there.
These are the most important things I've learned about bread and babka baking :
    - It takes time (several hours), this is why I use a breadmaker, using the pizza dough setting (no baking). I leave it to mix and then allow the dough to proof once (rest and rise).  I'm often doing something else, leave the house, etc., even leave it to proof several hours, that's the best part about a breadmaker, you can forget the dough and it's ok, it's in a warm place and needs to rise. Of course there's no need for a breakmaker, you can mix all the ingredients, knead and proof in a warm place and also forget about it – but do set a timer.  You can even leave the bowl covered with plastic wrap overnight in the refrigerator after first proof, first kneading to remove air.
    - Make sure your active dry yeast is fresh and still active (putting it warm water - a bit warmer than room temp, not too hot or it will kill off the yeast) and seeing if it is active is best : does it foam, double in size, etc. If it stays the same, it is no longer active and your bread will remain dense or won’t double in size.
     - Proofing twice is essential, so prepare to wait 1-2 hours + 1 hour + baking time.
     - After the first proof, you know the dough is ready when 1) it isn't sticky 2) you can hold it up and it's elastic enough to make a "curtain", or a sheet you can hold up that’s almost transparent.
    - I won't get too much into altitude and whether or not you live in a dry or humid climate but those are things to take into consideration! You'll need to adjust your dough in order for it to rise well in the oven and stay soft, and the best way I've been able to do this is 1) after 1st proof, check the dough while kneading, flattening and rolling : is it sticky to the touch, does it stick to the rolling pin or surface?  Then add a sprinkle of flour and knead until it doesn't stick. 2) If the dough is too hard or dry, start by adding a teaspoon of cream and fold several times until it's well incorporated, if it's still hard, repeat.

So here's the recipe that hasn't failed me yet :

300 g flour (sometimes I can actually go up to +50 g to get the right consistency)

7.5 g of active dry yeast in 1/8 cup warm water
120 g butter
2 tablespoons cream
2 eggs (whisked with a fork)
50 g sugar
Dash of salt

Your choice of filling : 1/2 cup of chocolate hazelnut cream, blueberries, raspberries, brown sugar-cinnamon + butter +nuts, salted carmel, fruit preserves (preserves or caramel tend to melt or run during baking, but are still good)

Butter a loaf pan, round pan or ramekins and dust with flour.  Put the yeast in warm water for about 15 minutes. (I will proceed to explain the recipe without a breadmaker. If you use a breadmaker, add wet ingredients, then dry, then butter.)
Mix in a bowl : eggs, sugar, cream, prepared yeast, then fold in dry ingredients and knead with a kneading hook or hands about 3 minutes. Add softened butter and knead for another 10-12 minutes.  Dough should be elastic and not sticky to the touch.  Cover and set aside to rise at least 2 hours or until almost doubled in volume. 

It looks somewhat like this: 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cp2x6sRI4Zq/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Remove dough from bowl then poke and knead to remove air.  Make 3 balls of equal weight from the dough. Roll a ball out flat with a rolling pin to about 1/2" thickness and about 3-1/2" x 8" rectangle or the length of your loaf pan.  Spread a thin layer of filling on top of this surface.  Starting from the long side, roll into a log, then place on parchment paper.  Do the same with the other balls of dough and fill with your choice of filling.  Place the logs into the freezer for about 15 minutes or until just set, they're easier to work with this way. 
Remove from freezer.  For the ramekin size, cut the logs in length in half, almost to the end, leaving an inch uncut, then turn the slice with the filling facing up so the filling or fruit don't run onto your working surface, start braiding starting from that uncut inch.  For a loaf or circular pan : cut log in 3 lengths almost to the end, leaving an inch, then braid the three lengths, tucking in the ends.

After you braid the dough, either create a circle and place on a baking dish, or cut in half to make two logs, stretch and curl in to make individual ramekin servings.  You can also take three braided logs with the same filling and put them on top of each other in a loaf pan.  Put in a warm place and allow to rise another hour.
Preheat oven to 180° C / 350° F.  Use an egg wash (1 egg yolk + 2 tablespoons of water) and brush the surface before baking to get that golden color. Bake for 20-35 minutes (depending on indivual size or loaf) or until risen and toothpick test comes out clean.

Tell me how it turns out.  Enjoy !

Selected gift ideas :

If you would like to buy a breakmaker : Breadmaker 14 settings
or a Kitchenaid mixer with a hook attachement : Stand mixer

Little heart ramekins : Ramekins heart shaped 3.5 inch

*This site contains ads and affiliate links*

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Victoria Sponge cake revisited (gluten-free)

Here's a version of a Victoria sponge cake that kind of evolved on its own. This is a fairly straightforward layer cake. It involves 2 cake disks, buttercream and strawberry jam, decorated thereafter with some powdered sugar, or more cream and strawberries. I did, however, take liberties... Well, first of all, I didn't have any jam but I did have strawberries so made a quick jam by simmering about a dozen diced strawberries, a couple tablespoons of sugar and a star anise which I love adding lately to all jams (try it with fig jam, awesome combination).  But I digress... use some jam if you have some at home!  I also swirled one of the disks with raspberry reduction, mixed with a bit of the batter to add some color.  (Also, no need to do this except for a bit of fun or if you're always experimenting like me). Here's the rest of the recipe made with 2 eggs, a sign of the times : Batter: 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine 1 cup of sugar 2 eggs 1/2 cup of milk or juice...

Checkerboard cake

This was actually another accidental cake!  I had been wanting to make one of these checkerboard cakes for a while, and one day, I realized I had all the ingredients ready to go in my freezer, so in essence it went pretty quickly.  I often make cake disks and use them for cakes I'm making, and freeze extra disks for later use. So I had 2 chocolate cake disks and 2 vanilla cake disks in the freezer.  All that was needed was the cream and that went pretty easily since I also had some chocolate mousse frosting I had made previously. This was my first attempt, and although it was far from perfect (leaning to one side, lol), it turned out much better and easier than I expected. For tips, I would say 1) have some good cake cutters (I used glass cups and it's not ideal) 2) spread the frosting fairly thinly in between the layers in order to see the checkboard pattern 3) if you freeze cake disks or frosting ahead of time, it is a time saver, in a delulu kind of way 4) the wow fact...

Clafoutis with cherries

Clafoutis is one of my favorite French words because it can make me feel like I’m cursing or insulting someone, "You club-foot-id i o t. » Ok, only me ?! Never mind... It’s also the most delicious flan, so that’s double the fun, and the best part is it's quite easy to make. I often make different kinds depending on the fruits of the season and here you have pictures of an all cherry version, because our tree was so abundant with cherries just ready to harvest. Here's the recipe : 3 eggs 1/2 cup sugar (100 g) 3/4 cup flour (110 g) 1 cup milk (250 ml) 1 teaspoon vanilla or half teaspoon vanilla bean 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons melted butter 1/2 pound of cherries (300 g) Preheat oven to 350° F / 180° C.  Butter a deep dish, pan or ramekin. In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until you get a smooth batter. Add milk, flour, vanilla, salt, melted butter. Place the cherries (remove stems, but no need to remove pits) in the pan or ramekin. Pour the batter over the cherries. Bak...