It wasn't until I came to the East Coast that I ever tried babka, and I can't believe I'd missed out for so many years! I knew after tasting the rich, brioche like bread, swirled with delicious bittersweet chocolate that I had to learn how to make it. Luckily, my favorite bread cookbook, Bread Illustrated, has a great and easy to follow recipe! I highly recommend buying the book and using their recipe, which I've riffed off of for this one! When I first made this for my friend Lynne, she told me she had given a slice to her mom, who always has a critique about the food she's eating, but after trying this babka, she had no remarks, just a smile. I take that as the highest form of compliment, and I hope this babka also brings some happiness to your day! Happy World Chocolate Day!
Makes one 9x5 inch loaf
For the dough:
2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 and 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup whole milk (warm)
1 whole egg, and 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
egg wash to brush the loaf with
For the filling:
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, chunks, disks or shards (My favorites are Valrhona or Scharffen Berger)
4 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 egg white
A pinch of salt
Step 1: Warm the milk in the microwave for about 15 seconds, until it's just warm. If you've got a stand mixer with a dough hook, add the milk to the bowl of the mixer. Then add the sugar and yeast. Let the yeast bloom for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Mix together flour and salt. Once the yeast is bloomed, add the dry ingredients to the wet. Once the flour is a little bit incorporated, add your eggs one at a time and then the softened butter, and knead (medium low speed if you're using your mixer) for 10 minutes. You want the dough to be smooth and a tiny bit sticky.
Step 3: Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and let it proof in a warm place until it's doubled in size (at least an hour).
Step 4: While the dough is proofing ( about 45 minutes in), make the filling. Melt the chocolate and butter together, then add the sugar and orange zest if you're using it. Once you've fully melted the chocolate, add in the vanilla and the egg yolk and remove from heat, whisking constantly until the chocolate thickens to a spreadable consistency.
Step 5: Once your dough has proofed, roll it into a 18x14 inch rectangle. Spread the filling on ( reserve about 1 tablespoon of the filling. Then roll the rectangle up like a cinnamon roll, and spread the remaining 1 tablespoon of filling on the roll.
Step 6: Preheat the oven to 350F. Fold the roll in half on itself then twist the two ropes together to make it swirled. Pop this into a greased 9x5 loaf tin and let it proof so it's a little puffy, for an additional 15-20 minutes while the oven heats up.
Step 7: Brush the loaf with egg wash, and pop it in the oven for 40-45 minutes until deep golden in color. Allow the loaf to cool for at least 25 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing. Enjoy!
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