Easter Babka
Source: Lorac
Servings: 12
A cake-like fruit and nut bread that is a tradition of a Polish Easter. The rest of the year, my grandmother would make a similar bread with just raisins and no frosting. Note the prep time includes rising times. Recipe by request
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
2 compressed yeast cakes (or 2 pkgs. dried)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
15 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup chopped citron
1/3 cup chopped orange rind
1/3 cup chopped lemons, rind of
1/2 cup melted butter
breadcrumbs
Lucre (topping/glaze):
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon rum or lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
Scald 1 cup milk and slowly add 3/4 cup flour and beat thoroughly.
Cool.
Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm milk, mix in 1 tbls sugar.
Add to the cooled flour mixture and beat well.
Let rise until double in bulk (30 minutes).
Add salt to eggs yolks and beat untill thick and lemon colored.
Add sugar, vanilla and almond extract and continue to beat.
Add to sponge (flour-yeast mixture), add remaining flower.
Knead for ten mins.
Add buter and knead 10 mins or until dough no longer sticks to your fingers.
Add fruit and nuts mix into dough, cover and let rise until double in bulk (60 mins).
Punch down and let rise again (60 minutes).
Punch down.
Butter a fluted tube pan and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Fill with dough to cover 1/3 of the pan.
Let rise 1 hour* and bake@ 350° for 50 minutes.
Cool and decorate with lucre.
Lucre:
Mix ingredients and spread over top of cake, letting it drip down the sides.
*Note:
Rising times are approximate.
Keep dough covered in a warm place free from drafts.
Easy Baking Powder Babka
Source: Lorac
Makes 1 loaf
Posted by request. I have always made a yeast version, which can be very time consuming. I think I will give this one a try.
1 cup butter, plus
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract or rum extract or almond extract or lemon extract
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour a babka, bundt or angel food cake pan.
Cream butter and sugar together.
Combine flour and baking powder.
Resume beating while gradually the eggs alternating with the flour mixture.
Add salt, extract and raisins and mix well.
Place dough in prepared pan and bake 50-60 minutes (cooking time depends on the type of pan you use).
Remove from pan when cool and dust with confectioner's sugar or glaze with lucre (see first recipe listed #1 "Babka").
Ukrainian Country BABKA
Source: Traditional Ukrainian Cookery by S. Stechishin.
Makes 2 babkas
Babka or baba is a rich yeast-raised cake bread traditionally served at Easter. It is one of the most distinctive Ukrainian breads. A successful babka--rich, tender, fine textured, spongy, and very light--is a great triumph of a Ukrainian homemaker.
FOR THE SPONGE:
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 packages dry yeast
1 cup scalded milk, lukewarm
1 cup flour
BREAD:
6 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons grated fresh lemon rind
5 1/2 cups sifted flour, about
1 cup raisins (or more)
Dissolve the sugar in the lukewarm water, sprinkle the yeast over it, and let stand until softened.
FOR THE SPONGE:
Combine dissolved yeast with the lukewarm milk and 1 cup of flour.
Beat well, cover, and allow the sponge to rise in a warm place until light and bubbly.
Bread Dough:
Beat the eggs with the salt, add the sugar gradually, and continue beating.
Beat in the butter and lemon rind.
Combine this mixture with the sponge.
Stir in the flour and KNEAD IN THE BOWL for about 10 minutes.
This dough should be slightly thicker than for the usual babka mixture.
Knead in the raisins.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk.
Punch down, knead a few times, and let it rise again.
Butter tall, round baking pans (or coffee cans) with soft butter sprinkling them lightly with fine bread crumbs and fill them ONE-THIRD FULL.
I like to use greased parchment paper on the bottom and sides of pan.
For this recipe you will need about 2 or 3 large coffee cans.
If you are going to use smaller cans, you will need more of them and use your judgment to how many you will need.
Adjust baking time for the smaller cans.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until the dough reaches the brim of the pan.
Brush the loaves with a beaten egg diluted with 2 Tablespoons of milk or water.
Bake in a moderately hot oven (400º F) for about 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350º F.
,and continue baking for 40 minutes longer, or until done.
Avoid browning the top too deeply.
If necessary, cover with aluminum foil.
Remove the baked loaves from the oven and let them stand in the pans for 5 to 10 minutes.
Tip each loaf very gently from the pan onto a cloth-covered pillow.
Do not cool the loaves on a hard surface.
This is extremely important.
Careless handling of the baked babka may cause it to fall or settle.
As the loaves are cooling, change their position very gently a few times to prevent settling.
If desired, the cooled loaves may be iced or glazed and decorated with bakers' confetti.
This is the custom in the old country.
Babka is always sliced in rounds across the loaf.
The sliced bottom crust serves as a protective cover, and it is put back to prevent the loaf from drying.
BABKA WITH PUMPKIN: This is a very old recipe, but it is worth preserving. Mashed pumpkin imparts a mellow, yellow color to babka and keeps it fresh and soft for days.
A fewer number of eggs is required when pumpkin is used.
Follow the preceding recipe for Country Babka using 1/2 to 2/3 cup of cooked, mashed pumpkin, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 1/2 cup of orange juice and about 4 eggs.
Add enough flour to give a soft dough.
Babka
Source: Lorac
Servings: 12
An easier and quicker version of Easter Babka. Denser more cake-like and less complicated if you haven't made bread without a machine. Add the Lucre from the Easter version for a sweeter presentation. Posted by request.
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cups milk, scalded
2 compressed yeast cakes or 2 (1/16 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange rind
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon rind
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1 cup raisins
breadcrumbs
Scald milk and pour over sugar and butter, Cool.
Dissolve yeast in a little of the milk mixture and add back to the rest of the milk mixture Add 1/2 of the flour and beat well.
Add salt to the eggs and beat until thick.
Add eggs to the flour mixture and mix well.
Add remaining ingredients and knead for 15 minutes.
Cover and let rise in a warm place free from drafts until doubled in bulk (about 60 minutes.)
Place in a well greased tube pan, sprinkled with readcrumbs and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
Chocolate Babka
Source: Sugar Pea
3 loaves
This yeast bread tastes heavenly and looks fantastic. Everyone will wonder how you got the chocolate filling into such an elaborate pattern. But the best part is how great a slice tastes when warmed in the microwave. Recipe makes three loaves so you can give one as a gift, freeze one for later baking and still have one to eat now. Rising and resting times are included in cook time.
Bread Dough:
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (two 1/4 ounce packages)
1 1/2 cups warm milk (110°)
1 pinch sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
butter, for oiling bowl and loaf pans
Filling:
36 ounces semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup unsalted butter
Egg Wash:
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 egg
Streusel Topping:
1 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
Bread Dough:
Proof yeast in milk with a pinch of sugar for 5-10 minutes until foamy; whisk sugar, eggs and egg yolks together; add to yeast and whisk.
Combine flour and salt and stir in egg mixture, mixing thoroughly; cut butter into 1" pieces and beat into flour mixture until dough is smooth and sticky and butter is completely incorporated.
Scrape dough onto floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes; place in buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to double, about 1 hour.
Filling:
Stir chocolate, sugar and cinnamon together; cut butter in; set aside.
Egg Wash:
Whisk egg and cream together and set aside.
Streusel Topping: Stir sugar and flour together; cut butter in until clumps range in size from crumbs to 1"; set aside.
Butter three 9"x5"x2 3/4" loaf pans and line with parchment paper; punch dough down and let rest 5 minutes; cut into 3 equal pieces; keep 2 pieces covered with plastic wrap while working on the third.
On a floured surface, roll the dough out 16" square by 1/8" thick; brush edges with egg wash; crumble 1/3 of the Filling (reserving 2 T) evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/4" border.
Refresh egg wash if needed; roll dough up tightly, jelly roll fashion; pinch ends together to seal; twist dough evenly throughout the length of the roll a full five or 6 turns; brush top of roll with egg wash.
Sprinkle the reserved 2 T Filling over the egg-washed top and press in gently so that it doesn't slide off; fold right half of the roll over onto the coated left half; fold ends under and pinch to seal; twist roll two turns and fit into prepared pan; (Loaves may be frozen at this point for up to a month).
Repeat with the remaining dough and filling; preheat oven to 350°.
Brush the top of each loaf with egg wash and crumble 1/3 of the Streusel Topping over each.
Loosely cover with plastc wrap and rest loaves 30 minutes.
Bake loaves 30 minutes; rotate and bake another 25 minutes until golden; lower heat to 325° and bake another 15-20 minutes or until deep golden.
Ccool in pans on wire rack; remove from pans and serve.
Baked loaves may be frozen up to one month; if frozen unbaked, let stand at room temperature 5 hours and bake
Hope this is what you're looking for.
Lee
Editor's note:
More Babka Recipes (click here)
