Cheese and Garlic Babka
Hello from San Diego, friends!
It’s day 39 of our stay-at-home order here, and I’ve started to go a little stir crazy. So I decided to tackle a slightly more complicated bread: Babka. What is babka, you ask?
Wikipedia defines it like this: Babka (in Polish babka means old lady or grandmother) is either a sweet braided bread or cake of Central European Ashkenazi Jewish origin, popular in Poland, United States, and Israel (among other countries with a significant Polish and Jewish population) - or the traditional enriched easter bread of Roman Catholic Poland. It is filled with a variety of sweet fillings such as chocolate, cinnamon sugar, apples, sweet cheese, Nutella, or raisins, and is topped with a sugar syrup in order to preserve freshness and make the cake more moist. It is often topped with a streusel topping, especially by Jewish people in the Northeastern United States. It has been called New York City’s most iconic dessert.
Usually babka is a sweet concoction, made with a challah, or brioche style dough, and filled with a chocolate and nut filling, but there is no hard rule as to a babka’s filling. So occasionally I go “off-script” and make a savory babka. I know I’m going to get some serious hate mail about this, but it’s a fun alternative to a dessert bread, and my family and friends love this version. So I hope you enjoy it too.
Cheese and Garlic Babka
For the bread:
1/3 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp. Yeast (one packet)
2 cups+ 2Tbs. All Purpose flour (divided in half)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
6 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) UNSALTED butter)cut into 6 pieces At room temperature
Whisk the water and yeast together In the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix in one half of the flour, eggs, salt, and sugar. Mix on medium speed until a smooth batter forms. Mix in the rest of the flour until you have a smooth even dough. Switch to the dough hook. Scrape the dough to the center of the bowl. Push two Pieces of the butter into the center of the dough.
Mix at speed 4 until all the butter has been incorporated and the dough is smooth and uniform.
Add the next two pieces of butter and repeat the process of incorporating the butter. Add the final two princes and repeat the process again.
Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and rise the dough for 60-90 minutes until doubled. Punch the dough down (it will be very soft and wet). Cover and place in the fridge 4-24 hours.
When you’re ready; roll the dough to a 12x16” rectangle. Make the filling.
For the filling:
1egg and 2 Tbs. milk or water whisked together
2 oz. salted butter, melted
2 Tbs. minced fresh garlic
8 oz. sharp cheese (such as cheddar or manchego), shredded
2 oz. Parmesan, shredded
Brush the entire piece of dough with egg wash . Mix the butter, garlic, and cheese together. Spread the cheese mixture over the dough leaving a 1-2 inch lip along one long side.
Roll the dough up jelly-roll style.
With a VERY sharp knife, cut the loaf lengthwise, leaving the top inch or two intact.
With the cheese ribbons side up, carefully braid the pieces.
Roll the loaf into a loose spiral and place in a buttered 8” baking pan.
Let rise for about an hour. Preheat your oven to 375F.
Bake the babka for 45-55minutes, or until the internal temperature at the center is 190-200F. Cool slightly and serve just warm. Enjoy!
It’s day 39 of our stay-at-home order here, and I’ve started to go a little stir crazy. So I decided to tackle a slightly more complicated bread: Babka. What is babka, you ask?
Wikipedia defines it like this: Babka (in Polish babka means old lady or grandmother) is either a sweet braided bread or cake of Central European Ashkenazi Jewish origin, popular in Poland, United States, and Israel (among other countries with a significant Polish and Jewish population) - or the traditional enriched easter bread of Roman Catholic Poland. It is filled with a variety of sweet fillings such as chocolate, cinnamon sugar, apples, sweet cheese, Nutella, or raisins, and is topped with a sugar syrup in order to preserve freshness and make the cake more moist. It is often topped with a streusel topping, especially by Jewish people in the Northeastern United States. It has been called New York City’s most iconic dessert.
Usually babka is a sweet concoction, made with a challah, or brioche style dough, and filled with a chocolate and nut filling, but there is no hard rule as to a babka’s filling. So occasionally I go “off-script” and make a savory babka. I know I’m going to get some serious hate mail about this, but it’s a fun alternative to a dessert bread, and my family and friends love this version. So I hope you enjoy it too.
Cheese and Garlic Babka
For the bread:
1/3 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp. Yeast (one packet)
2 cups+ 2Tbs. All Purpose flour (divided in half)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
6 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) UNSALTED butter)cut into 6 pieces At room temperature
Whisk the water and yeast together In the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix in one half of the flour, eggs, salt, and sugar. Mix on medium speed until a smooth batter forms. Mix in the rest of the flour until you have a smooth even dough. Switch to the dough hook. Scrape the dough to the center of the bowl. Push two Pieces of the butter into the center of the dough.
Mix at speed 4 until all the butter has been incorporated and the dough is smooth and uniform.
Add the next two pieces of butter and repeat the process of incorporating the butter. Add the final two princes and repeat the process again.
Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and rise the dough for 60-90 minutes until doubled. Punch the dough down (it will be very soft and wet). Cover and place in the fridge 4-24 hours.
When you’re ready; roll the dough to a 12x16” rectangle. Make the filling.
For the filling:
1egg and 2 Tbs. milk or water whisked together
2 oz. salted butter, melted
2 Tbs. minced fresh garlic
8 oz. sharp cheese (such as cheddar or manchego), shredded
2 oz. Parmesan, shredded
Brush the entire piece of dough with egg wash . Mix the butter, garlic, and cheese together. Spread the cheese mixture over the dough leaving a 1-2 inch lip along one long side.
Roll the dough up jelly-roll style.
With a VERY sharp knife, cut the loaf lengthwise, leaving the top inch or two intact.
With the cheese ribbons side up, carefully braid the pieces.
Roll the loaf into a loose spiral and place in a buttered 8” baking pan.
Let rise for about an hour. Preheat your oven to 375F.
Bake the babka for 45-55minutes, or until the internal temperature at the center is 190-200F. Cool slightly and serve just warm. Enjoy!
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