Chocolate Babka
A braided yeast bread, that smells and tastes like chocolate heaven in your mouth. It has its origin from the Jewish community. The bread is made with a rich dough that is more like brioche. You can use your choice of filling/ spread for the Babka, chocolate being the most popular.
Though the process is long one, as the dough requires resting in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours upto 12 hours, and then once braided, needs a proofing of 1-2 hours.
It is ideal to start prepping the dough, a day before if you plan to bake babka. With this babka dough you can bake around 4, 7 inch Babkas. Once the babka is baked, brush simple syrup over the babkas, which helps to keep the breads moisture intact.
Once the babka is baked, it is best to consume the same day itself, they can also be kept in room temperature for upto 3 days, in an air tight container or cover tightly using a cling wrap once the babkas have cooled. Covering with cling wrap, helps to keep up the freshness of the bread. I usually store half the dough in the freezer and thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and follow the steps below to bake them.
You are going to love this luscious, buttery, brioche kind of bread and chocolate flavors, which is a match made in heaven. Let's do it! The recipe is adapted from a YouTube channel Munchies.
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
- 4 1/2 Patent flour *
- 1 1/2 tsp Instant Yeast
- 2 Large Eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 Cup full cream milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
- 1/4 Salt
- 8 tbps/ 100 gms unsalted Butter, room temperature
For the filling:
- Nutella
- Bittersweet Chocolate chips
Simple Syrup:
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- A squeeze of lemon juice
Instructions :
- In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, add in your room temperature eggs, full cream milk, vanilla essence, and sugar and salt and give it a whisk.
- Add in your flour, yeast and butter (room temperature , cut into small cubes) and combine well. Knead for around 3-4 minutes, or until the dough comes together.
- Place the dough ball in cling wrap an wrap well and place in the refrigerator and allow to proof slowly for around 4 hours upto 12 hours.**
- Place the chilled dough on a clean counter top that is dusted with flour. Half the dough using a dough scrapper, and set aside, wrap and store in the freezer if you plan to make only 2 babka. Flatten the dough using a roller, into a large rectangle and spread the Nutella and sprinkle the chocolate chips.
- Roll them like a roulade, starting from the end closest to you and outwards.
- Eyeball the middle of the rolled dough and cut into half. Take one half and using a pizza cutter, cut the dough lengthwise and braid the dough, the cut open side facing up.
- Place the braided babka into a parchment lined loaf pan and allow to proof in the oven with a bowl of steaming hot water. Allow to proof for at least 1 and half to 2 hours.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for around 20-25 minutes.
- While the babka bakes, prepare the simple syrup by boiling sugar water and lemon juice for around 5 minutes on simmer.
- Once the babkas are golden and baked, brush the prepared simple syrup over the chocolate babka and enjoy immediately. (Best served hot from the oven)
Notes:
- You may use half the quantity all purpose flour and half the quantity bread flour.
- **You may use the dough after 4 hours or place in the fridge overnight and allow to proof upto 12 hours. If you will not be able to use the dough the next day, wrap again using cling film, and put in a freezer bag and freeze the dough and the dough stays fresh upto 2 months.
Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡
