Sweet success with the Babka baking! Thank goodness, I needed a culinary ego boost after the disaster of January.
Babka is a Jewish/Polish/Ukrainian (depending on what you read) sweet bread. Don’t care where it’s from, it’s delicious! There are many recipes on the web, we used this one: https://www.bakefromscratch.com/babka-like-a-boss-2/ . Three filling choices are included, we did the chocolate and the cinnamon and left the pistachio for next time. Oh, yeah, there will be a next time.
The orange zest in the rich dense dough comes through every bite like a little burst of sunshine. I think it would be nice with dried cranberries mixed in the dough, but not sure what type of filling to do with that….maybe some kind of cinnamon mix and then put an orange glaze over the warm loaf when it comes out of the oven? Excuse me, had to wipe the drool off the keyboard. My general rule is to follow the recipe the first time around, then experiment to my hearts content!
Back to what I actually did, not what I want to do next time!
Dough was soft and easy to work with. My first brioche type dough and it turned out very soft and smooth. I really have to control myself with dough, I get so impatient and end up not kneading it long enough resulting in a tough, low-rise dough. But I had it covered this time, amazing what a little competition will do.
Babka looks complicated, but it’s not, just roll it like a cinnamon roll, but then cut it in half lengthwise and braid the two pieces together. Easy peasy.
Keep in mind that the recipe makes two loafs and each filling recipe is also for two loafs. If you are making two different fillings you need to cut the filling recipe in half. Then remember that when you are making the bread. Don’t be like me. I was making the chocolate loaf. the directions said to spread half the filling on the rolled out dough, then roll up from long end. I did that, then wondered what I was supposed to do with the other half of the filling. Light bulb! Since I only made half , I needed to spread all my filling. So I unrolled, spread and re-rolled….what a mess.
Nice clean cinnamon dough 
Messy chocolate dough 
Start in the middle, then work out to each end. 
Ready to go in the pan
Now both my loafs were filled, cut and braided but I could only find one bread pan, so I made my second one from foil. Not too bad if I do say so myself! Tasted wonderful, but damn, I think Eric wins on looks again!
Make your own bread pan 
Before rise 
Risen and ready to bake 
Cinnamon much wider due to foil pan 
Flaky, tender yumminess! 
Eric’s dough. Yes, I was supposed to use parchment paper too. 
Eric’s beautiful loaf.
So what are you doing for March?
Chocolate Souffle’, making it Sunday.
Oh yum! That is one of my favorites!
Yummy!! I bet yours tasted good though, never mind how it looks. Although I don’t think it looks bad, but Eric’s does look very good! :0)
The cinnamon one was very very tasty. I like the chocolate, but not sure I would make it again.
I like cinnamon better than chocolate anyway.