The babka is a sweet breadfermented dough, originally from Eastern Europe and typical of the jewish tradition. It is traditionally prepared at Easter, which coincides with the Christian Holy Week, and is characterized by its braided shape and its chocolate or cinnamon filling. To make it this beautiful, it is necessary to use a rectangular mold, the one used in traditional cakes.
The folds of the bun are supposed to resemble those of grandmothers’ skirts, which is precisely what the word means. babka in several Slavic languages. Contrary to what it may seem, the recipe is very simple. Of course, it is also long due to the rise required by the dough of this chocolate babka.
Fortunately, as is the case with this type of recipe, while the dough rises or ferments one can dedicate oneself to doing other things. Always keep the timer running to avoid going over time. The overfermented doughs They don’t give good results, so be careful with it. That being said, let’s get to the recipe!
In a large bowl, add all the dough ingredients except the butter, that is, the strong flour, sugar, water, eggs, baker’s yeast and salt. We mix, initially, and then we knead for 11-12 minutes.
We add the butter (it must be at room temperature, soft) in several batches and knead to integrate it well and obtain a dough. thin and elastic. We make it into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. We cover it with a dry, clean cloth and let it ferment for a couple of hours or until it has doubled in size.
While the dough ferments we prepare the filling. We put the butter in a saucepan and melt it over low heat. When it is melted, add the chopped dark chocolate and give it a couple of minutes to melt. We remove the saucepan from the heat and add the sugar and cocoa powder. We mix well and reserve.
When the dough has doubled, flatten it with your fist to degas it. We sprinkle the countertop and pour the dough on it. Using our hands we give it a rectangular shape of about 35x42cm approximately. If at any point it resists being stretched, we will let it rest for a couple of minutes so that the gluten relaxes before continuing.
Once stretched, we cover it with the filling using a spatula. We leave a small margin in one of the narrow sides and we brush it with water. We roll the dough in the direction of the shortest side until the roll is closed. We pinch the joint so that it is well sealed.
With a sharp knife, cut the roll in half. longitudinal direction. We place the halves with the cut facing up and pass them one over the other in a coil or braid. We place it in a 35 x 12 cm rectangular mold, lined with greaseproof paper.
We cover the mold with plastic wrap and we let the braid ferment again for 30 minutes. Now all that remains is to put the babka in the oven (without the plastic wrap), preheated to 190ºC with heat up and down, and cook it for 35-40 minutes or until we check with a skewer that it is well cooked inside.
Let it cold down the babka on a metal rack before removing it from the mold and, of course, enjoying it. If we do not consume it all in the day, we can cut it into portions, wrap each one in plastic wrap and freeze. Although it lasts in good condition for a couple of days if we store it in a plastic bag.
What to accompany chocolate babka with
He chocolate babka It is perfect to share with friends or family at snack time, which is why a coffee with milk or an infusion seems like the best accompaniments. If you have children, a glass of plain milk, with cocoa or sugar are good alternatives.
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