Cinnamon (The Lesser) Babka

My friend Max and his roommates hosted a Russian-themed party at their house last weekend, and this prompted me to finally try baking babka. (Kindly overlook that babka is actually kind of a pan-Eastern European/Jewish thing, by the by.) I meant to take better pictures - I really did - but the bread was reduced to a fist-sized chunk over a bed of crumbs within the 2 or 3 minutes it took to say hello. Inebriated ingrates.


I faced this recipe with some trepidation given a recent series of bread-making endeavors where about 2 in 5 ended in utter failure. I've had a lot of trouble getting breads to rise, and all I can say that it is insanely frustrating to peek into the bowl hour after hour to find the same sad, heavy brick pasted to the bottom.


The babka did initially take a long time to rise, and because of resulting time constraints I skipped on proofing. But I let the dough sit for longer than the recipe states - 2 hours, 45 minutes - then heated in the oven for about 20 minutes at 150ºF, and this did the job well enough.


The "twist," which adds a really nice aesthetic touch, also looked intimidating. In reality braiding the dough was very easy following a good visual demo. I only regret that I didn't slice down to the very end of the loaf before braiding, which resulted in the "mutant bump" (so articulately dubbed by my friend Brian) jutting out of the side. But it's a great lesson for future reference.


In any case I do highly recommend this recipe, a brown sugar-cinammon spin-off of Peter Reinhart’s chocolate-cinammon babka printed in Artisan Breads Everyday. (Okay I adapted the directions from The Purple Foodie, but the book looks like a worthwhile investment.) The bread came out with a deep, buttery flavor looking like rigorous preparation went into it, when in fact it only required a lot of waiting.


I will definitely give this a retry, given that it's a "running errands, in and out" kind of day since - if I can just mention one more time - the rising process really tries my patience. Nutella-banana, I believe you are next...


Recipe:


Dough

2 tbsp instant yeast (1 package)

3/4 cup warm milk

6 tbsp butter

6 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 egg yolks

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

Filling

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter


Directions:

1. Warm the milk in the microwave until tepid, about 35 seconds.
2. Whisk the yeast into the milk and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until smooth.
4. Add the yolks to the bowl one at a time, mixing constantly for 30 seconds between each addition. Add the vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.
5. Add the flour and salt and continue to mix until it comes together.
6. Add the milk/yeast concoction and let it mix until it forms a soft dough.
7. Knead by hand for 2-3 minutes, yielding a soft, supple dough.
8. Let the dough rise for about 2 hours.
9. For the filling: mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
10. Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a sheet with a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. Make sure to keep it dusted well with flour at all times to avoid unnecessary sticking.
11. Spread the cinammon filling over the dough.
12. Roll the sheet of dough and then pinch the seams to seal it. Roll it to a length of about 24 inches.
13. For the twist shape, cut the log down the middle lengthwise, making sure to keep the top end attached. (Don't be like me - cut it to the end!) Twist the two pieces over each other to form braids.
14. Let the bread proof for 2 more hours. (As I mentioned, it's okay to skip this.)
15. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove when golden brown.