Chocolate Babka

Source: NY Times

This recipe does not need any alteration for high altitude.

There are two ways to do this recipe. If you do not have time, it can be done in eleven hours, although your actual time doing stuff is probably less than an hour. Or you could do it over three days which while requiring more planning is preferred. The three day process looks like:

Day 1: make the dough for an overnight rest, make the fudge filling and refrigerate, make the streusel and refrigerate
Day 2: roll out the dough, spread the fudge, make the braids and refrigerate overnight
Day 3: add the streusel, bake, then make and add the syrup.

Notes: I bake by weights. Flour can vary depending on the humidity. For liquid, even heavy cream, I use 1ml equals 1 gram. On the dough I keep adding flour till it is not sticking to the sides of the bowl, it is still a well hydrated dough and will look sticky on the bottom

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DOUGH:

·        ½ cup/118 milliliters whole milk

·        1 package (1/4 ounce/7 grams) active dry yeast

·        ⅓ cup/67 grams granulated sugar, plus a pinch

·        4 ¼ cups/531 grams bread flour, more as needed

·        1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt

·        1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·        1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (optional)

·        ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

·        4 large eggs lightly beaten

·        10 tablespoons/140 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing bowls and pans (note I may try melting the butter which is something I do for my pretzels).

FOR THE FUDGE FILLING:

·        ½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar

·        ¾ cup/177 milliliters heavy cream or half-and-half

·        Pinch kosher salt

·        6 ounces/170 grams extra bittersweet chocolate, preferably between 66 and 74 percent cocoa, coarsely chopped.

o   Last time I made this I used 4 oz of Ghirardelli Bittersweet 60% cocoa and 2 oz Theo Pure 85% Dark Chocolate (based on hitting two supermarkets ) It worked well

·        8 tablespoons/112 grams/1 stick unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature

·        2 teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract

FOR THE CHOCOLATE STREUSEL:

·        ½ cup/60 grams all-purpose flour

·        3 tablespoons/45 grams granulated sugar

·        1 ½ tablespoons/11 grams cocoa powder

·        ½ teaspoon kosher salt

·        4 ½ tablespoons/64 grams unsalted butter, melted

·        ⅓ cup/60 grams semisweet chocolate chips

FOR THE SYRUP:

·        ⅔ cup/135 grams granulated sugar

·        ⅔ cup/158 milliliters water.

 

Steps

Prepare the dough:

    Bread Machine


No bread machine - be careful you do not burn out your mixer

·        In a small saucepan or a bowl in the microwave, warm the milk until it’s lukewarm but not hot (about 110 degrees). Add yeast and a pinch of sugar and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly foamy.

·        In an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, or in a food processor, mix together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, the salt, the vanilla, the lemon zest (if using) and the nutmeg. (If you don't have a mixer or processor, use a large bowl and a wooden spoon.) Beat or process in the yeast mixture and eggs until the dough comes together in a soft mass, about 2 minutes. If the dough sticks to the side of the bowl and doesn’t come together, add a tablespoon more flour at a time until it does, beating very well in between additions.

o   Note for Kitchen-Aid, no higher than 2 for speed. I destroyed mine on the first time I made this. I did not destroy the replacement the second time I made it.

·        Add half the butter and beat or pulse until the dough is smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Beat in the rest of the butter and continue to beat or pulse until the dough is smooth and stretchy, another 5 to 7 minutes. Again, if the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

·        Butter a clean bowl, form the dough into a ball and roll it around in the bowl so all sides are buttered. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place (inside of a turned-off oven with the oven light on is good) until it puffs and rises, about 1 to 2 hours. It may not double in bulk but it should rise.

·        Press the dough down with your hands, re-cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight (or, in a pinch, for at least 4 hours, but the flavor won't be as developed).

o   Last time I did the 4 hours as I was only given 24 hours warning. It was fine.

Prepare the filling:

·        In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cream and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Filling can be made up to a week ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge. Let come to room temperature before using (I wonder if cold will make it thicker for the rolling).

Prepare the streusel:

·        In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Stir in melted butter until it is evenly distributed and forms large, moist crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips. Streusel can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge.

Prepare the syrup (done while baking the loafs):

·        In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 2/3 cup/158 milliliters water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.

Rest of Prep

·        Butter two 9-inch loaf pans, then line with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of paper hanging over on the sides to use as handles later. (I am not sure why the pans need grease as the paper lines the whole pan)

·        Remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half. On a floured surface, roll one piece into a 9-by-17-inch rectangle. Spread with half the filling. Because the filling is very soft, I have found spread to the short edges but on the long edges, on the edge the roll will start, leave a quarter inch to the boarder and leave 1 inch on the other long boarder. The filling will not stay completely in place and when you finish rolling, it is pushed to or past the outside edge. I may start to experiment with making the filling more viscous so that it will not move on the roll. Starting with a long side, roll into a tight coil. Transfer the coil onto a dish towel or piece of plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer (fridge will work if no room in freezer) for 10 minutes. Repeat with the other piece of dough.

·        Slice one of the dough coils in half lengthwise to expose the filling. Twist the halves together as if you were braiding them, then fold the braid in half so it’s about 9 inches long. Place into a prepared pan, letting it curl around itself if it’s a little too long for the pan. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until puffy (it won’t quite double). Alternatively, you can cover the pans with plastic wrap and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight; bring them back to room temperature for an hour before baking.

·        When you're ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Use your fingers to clump streusel together and scatter all over the tops of the cakes. Transfer to oven and bake until a tester goes into the cakes without any rubbery resistance and comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. The cakes will also sound hollow if you unmold them and tap on the bottom. An instant-read thermometer will read between 185 and 210 degrees.

·        As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, use a skewer or paring knife to pierce them all over going all the way to the bottom of the cakes, and then pour the syrup on top of the cakes, making sure to use half the syrup for each cake.  An alternative here is to get the cakes out of the pan after skewering, and onto a cooling rack where you have made an aluminum foil tray with edges, and then pour the syrup on and finish the cooling.

·        Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.


DJ Samuels

Modified 9/14/22