Mocha Babka
This Mocha Babka is the softest, fluffiest and most delicious Babka in town! The soft, buttery pillowy crumb, swirled through with chocolatey mocha filling is enough to make your heart cry in joy!
Babka has been quite the rage for a while now and if you have ever made your own Babka before, you know exactly why! And if you’re a novice, just about to pop your Babka virginity, you’ve come to right place. First things first, let’s start off with..
What the hell is a Babka?!
Babka, in strictly technical sense, refers to a sweet yeasted braided bread that finds its humble origins in the Jewish communities in Poland, Ukraine & Israel. It has been wildly popularised since the late 19th century, when immigrants from these and other central/eastern European countries started migrating to the United States, making it a staple in most Jewish bakeries. There are different adaptations of this iconic Jewish part bread/part cake depending on the country you’re in. However, in principle, the main idea remains the same- a yeasted braided bread with some sort of a filling inside.
Now that we have covered what’s a Babka, let’s talk what makes it so special?
It’s a lot that makes it special.
The sweet, buttery crumb with a tinge of tang from the yeast hits all the sweet spots- YAS please!
The soft, pillowy interior, marbled with just the right proportion of that sweet chocolatey mocha filling is to die for!!!
It’s a cross between a cake and a bread so honestly, you could have this for breakfast or dessert or all day, who cares-it’s totally acceptable!
Lastly, the possibilities of your Babka creations? ENDLESS. Chocolate Babka seems to be the most common raging flavour, but honestly, go wild! You can switch up the filling to be anything you like and each time you’d have a different dessert- jackpot!
I mean…would you look at that cool AF crumb?!
How do you make this awesome bread you ask?
Why, I’m glad you asked! So while that may look intimidating (or not for some of you), it’s actually not. Babka is made just like any other bread is made. You knead your dough until you get a window pane, proof, shape, proof and bake.
In my particular recipe, I prefer to chill the bulk dough overnight. This is called ‘retarding’. Like all breads, Babka also benefits from a slower, longer fermentation process. The flavour development is a lot more complex and the final product is a lot easier for your body to digest since the yeast has a chance to break down the carbohydrates properly. The gluten also gets a chance to relax and strengthen, resulting in a softer crumb. Plus, a cold dough is a lot easier to work with while braiding the bread.
Once you have your dough ready and retarded in the fridge overnight, the next step is braiding. Braiding sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. Don’t think complicated twisty knots, or three braids. It’s literally just criss crossing the dough. We’re gonna roll out our dough, spread the filling and roll it up again how you would with a swiss roll. After that, we’re gonna slice the dough right in the middle, all the way down and simply criss cross them. That’s your braid right there. Simple enough right? And don’t worry if it’s get messy. It’s all going to taste delicious regardless so win-win!
I guess you’ll just have to try it for yourself and see how you go. And like I said, don’t worry if it’s not perfect looking. Good thing is- there’s no perfect in breads! Your babka is going to look different every time you make it and that’s kinda the beauty of it. The rustic charm :)
I hope you give this recipe a try and love it as much as I do! Happy baking friends and bon appetite! xx
Recipe adaptation and inspiration: Chocolate Babka, David Lebovitz
Recipe
Serves: 8
Ingredients
For the dough:
8g active dry yeast
50g milk, at 20°C
50g water, at 20°C
15g castor sugar
2 large eggs, cold
5g salt
300-310g strong bread flour (13%)
75g unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
For the mocha filling:
52g unsalted butter, melted
70g brown sugar
45g good quality dark chocolate, melted (60%)
4g espresso powder or instant coffee powder
14g cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
For the sugar syrup:
50g water
50g castor sugar
1 tsp honey
Method
For the dough: make the night before
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the milk, water and sugar together.
Sprinkle the yeast over and mix. Let stand for 10 mins until slightly foamy.
Add the eggs, salt and plain flour and using a dough hook attachment, knead the dough on low-medium speed until it is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl~ roughly 8-10 mins. Alternatively, you can also knead the dough by hand until it is no longer sticking to your hands.
(Note: if your dough is too wet and considerably sticky after a few minutes of kneading, add more flour, 1 tbsp at a time until it is pulls away from the sides.)
Once the dough is pulling away from the sides of your bowl, start adding your butter, one cube at a time until all the butter is incorporated. Continue kneading until all the butter is mixed in and the dough is soft and passes the window pane test~ roughly 8-10 mins. Scrape the sides of the bowl every now and then to make sure there are no butter chunks remaining.
Transfer the dough to a large bowl and cover with cling wrap or beeswax wrap. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
For the filling: the next morning
Melt the butter in a bowl. Add the brown sugar and mix until no lumps remain.
Add the remaining ingredients for the fillings and mix until combined. Keep aside.
Braiding the dough:
Grease a 9” loaf tin with butter/oil spray and line with baking paper. Keep aside.
Roll out the cold babka dough on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle- about 25x40cm. If the dough resists while rolling, let it sit for 5-10 mins and roll again.
Spread the mocha filling all over, up to the edges. Start rolling the dough from the long end as you would a swiss roll so that you end up with a log thats 40cm long.
Use a sharp knife and cut the dough completely in half lengthwise. You now have two long lengths of dough. With the cut side facing up, overlap one dough over the other in a criss cross motion. Continue doing this for the length of the dough, until you have one twisted dough left.
Gently pick up the braided dough and place it in your prepared loaf tin. Push the ends down so that it fits perfectly.
(Note: if your braid is too long, you can fold the dough under to make sure it fits the baking tin.)
Cover the loaf tin with cling wrap and place it in a warm spot. Proof until it’s doubled in size and the dough looks puffy.
Bake the babka:
15 minutes before baking your bread, preheat oven to 190C. Bake the bread for 35-45mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean (poke the part with relatively less filling).
While your babka is baking, make the sugar syrup. Heat together all the ingredients in a small pot and let it come to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool.
Once the babka is done, spoon over the sugar syrup and let it sit in the baking tin until completely cool. Do not try to remove the babka from the tin while it is still hot.
Serve sliced with a cup of coffee or tea. Bon appetite!
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