Babka is like a delicious expensive treat, usually costing about $16 a loaf in NYC. I’ve usually had these at event but haven’t taken out a second mortgage to purchase a loaf myself. When the quarantine baking craving hit I found the recipe from Let’s Eat Y’all’s Instagram account and modified slightly.
These were about a 2 day process to make the dough, buns, and the key is to refrigerate overnight and bake the next day. All-in-all one of my favorite bakes this year; both sweet and pretty (very Instagram worthy). Recipes below to make your own babka buns at home. Also the play-by-play below on creating the swirly buns.
Ingredients:
Dough:
1/2 Cup of Whole Milk
1/2 Cup of Buttermilk
4tbsp Butter, Melted
4 Cups Bread Flour
1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar
4 Tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 Egg
1/2 tbsp Salt
Filling:
6 Tbsp Butter, Softened
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
5 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate, Roughly Chopped
Instructions:
Dough:
Warm milk, buttermilk, and butter until it’s lukewarm to the touch.
Place flour, sugar, and yeast in a bowl and mix together.
To the dry ingredients; add milk and the butter mixture, egg, and salt. Mix together in the bowl until the dough begins to come together.
Pour the dough out onto a floured surface and kneed until the dough is smooth and springs back when poked.
Form the dough into a ball and place it onto an oiled bowl lightly cover with a tea towel.
Place bowl in a warm place and let it rise until doubled in Size (usually around 2 hours.)
Tip: To speed this last step up, you can also heat your oven to 200 degrees for 5 minutes then turn it off and then place your cover dough into the warm oven to let it rise faster.
Filing:
While the dough is doubling in size, make the filling
Combine softened butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon into a small bowl, mix until well combined.
Roughly chop the semi-sweet chocolate (bars or chips) and set aside. Should be no larger than a corn kernel.
DO NOT mix them in with the butter mixture.
Assembly:
Once the dough has doubled in size, cut it into 8 equal pieces.
Take one of the pieces and shape it into a rectangular shape.
Spread 1/8 of the cinnamon butter filling on to the dough. Then sprinkle 1/8 of the chopped chocolate on top.
Roll the rectangle up like a jellyroll starting from the log side so it forms a log.
Cut the log in half lengthwise.
Begin to cross the two halves over each other until the entirety of the log is twirled together.
From one end, begin to roll it up into a circular shape until it forms a bun.
Tuck the end in underneath the roll.
Transfer the buns to a prepared baking sheet and cover.
Leave them to rest overnight in the fridge.
Baking:
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Remove from fridge about 30 minutes before baking
Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges, rotating the tray halfway to ensure even browning
Remove from oven, let cool for 10-15 minutes, enjoy!
