Step by Step

STEP BY STEP CHOCOLATE

BABKA STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY RENÉE KOHLMAN

If you’re of a certain vintage,

you’ll likely have fond memories of the Babka episode of “Seinfeld”. Elaine and Jerry’s crushing disappointment after not being able to get their chocolate babka of choice seemed a little over the top, but after biting into one you’ve baked yourself; you get it – you really get it.

Chocolate babka is a sweet, braided bread swirled with ribbons of dark chocolate filling. The dough is rich and buttery, thanks to eggs, sugar and the butter. All of this goodness bakes up into a fluffy, tender, chocolatey loaf that is perfect for holiday brunching or dessert. And, as Jerry and Elaine well know, it makes a terrific hostess gift.

Babka looks impressive and maybe a little intimidating to pull off. The honest to goodness truth is that your stand mixer does all of the heavy lifting and you just have to roll out the dough, fill it with the chocolate spread, then twist it into a spiral of sorts. Don’t fret too much about the twist - just do your best and get it into the loaf pan. If the outside doesn’t look like what you see on Pinterest, remember that it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

A couple of notes before you start baking:

• Read through the whole recipe a few times before you start, just to get the lay of the land. • This is a VERY sticky dough, so before you start rolling out, be sure to have your counter heavily dusted with a cup of flour nearby in case you need more. Have a bench scraper handy so you don’t have to go searching for it with your sticky hands. This makes cleaning up your counter a breeze. • Babka takes time - close to 6 hours from start to finish, but a good chunk of this is the dough rising. That being said, you likely won’t want to pull this off on a weeknight. • And finally, be prepared for your house to smell incredible. Chocolate, butter, yeast, with just a touch of magic.

Chocolate Babka

Makes 2 loaves

Dough

¾ cup (175 mL) warm milk (105-115º F)

½ cup (125 mL) plus 2 tsp (10 mL)

granulated sugar 1 Tbs active dry yeast 3¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 2 large whole eggs 1 large egg yolk 1 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract ½ tsp salt ½ cup plus 2 Tbs salted butter, cut into small pieces and softened

Filling

1 cup chopped dark chocolate chunks ½ cup salted butter (cold is fine) ½ cup icing sugar 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ¼ tsp ground cinnamon 1 large egg Splash of water

1. To make the dough, stir together the warm milk and 2 tsp sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the mixture and let stand so it gets foamy, about 5 minutes. (If the yeast doesn’t foam up, discard and start over with new yeast.) 2. Add ½ cup flour to the yeast mixture and beat on medium speed using the paddle attachment until combined. Add the eggs, yolk, vanilla, salt and remaining ½ cup granulated sugar and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low, then continue to add the remaining flour in ½ cup amounts at a time. Increase the speed to medium, then beat in the butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to beat until the dough is shiny and forms strands from the paddle to the bowl, about 4 minutes. The dough will be very soft and sticky. 3. Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours. 4. While the dough is rising, prepare the filling: in a small saucepan over low heat, melt together the chocolate and butter. Stir until smooth, then remove from the heat and stir in the icing sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon. Stir until a smooth paste forms. 5. Lightly grease two 23x15 cm (9x5”) loaf pans and line with parchment paper so that the sides overhand the pan. 6. Lightly grease your hands and punch down the dough. Use your hand to pull half of the dough apart and place it onto a well-floured surface. Roll out the dough using a lightly floured rolling pin into a 30x25 cm (12x10”) rectangle, with the long side facing you. Beat together the egg and water and brush some of this egg wash on the longest side nearest you. Spread half of the chocolate filling (I like to use a soup spoon or offset spatula) over the dough, leaving a 2.5 cm border. Brush the opposite long edge with egg wash. 7. Starting with the long side farthest from you, roll the dough into a snug log, pinching firmly along the seams to seal. Bring the ends of the log together to form a ring, pinching to seal shut. Twist the entire ring twice to form a double figure 8 and fit into one of the prepared loaf pans. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Loosely cover the pans with a damp tea towel and let the loaves rise for 1½ hours in a warm draft-free place. The dough should reach the top of the pans. 8. Place the rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 350º F. 9. Brush the tops with the remaining egg wash and bake until the tops are a deep golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let the loaves cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack and cool to room temperature before slicing.

Note:

Wrap the babka tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for up to 3 weeks.

Renée Kohlman is a busy food writer and recipe developer living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her second cookbook, ‘Vegetables: A Love Story” has just been published.