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Babka
Serves 15 Cakes, Bread and Pastries
For the dough
- 190g bread flour
- 140g white spelt flour or plain flour, plus extra to dust
- 6g instant yeast
- 40g caster sugar
- 180ml whole milk
- 180ml whole milk
- 40g unsalted butter, softened
- zest 1 lemon
- zest 1 lemon
- 1⁄2tsp ground cardamom
For the filling
- 100g dark chocolate (54% or 70% cocoa solids, to taste)
- 60g unsalted butter
- 60g soft light brown sugar
- 2tsp ground cinnamon
- 1⁄2tsp ground cloves
- 30g cocoa powder
- unsalted butter, melted, or apricot jam, to glaze
Method
For the dough, put all the ingredients with a pinch of salt in a bowl and, using your hands or a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the ingredients until evenly distributed. Knead the dough for several minutes until it has a smooth, silky texture. Cover with a clean tea towel or a plastic bag and leave to prove at room temperature for around 1 hour. Poke the dough with your finger, with a quick, deep action – if the hole stays open and the dough does not collapse, it is ready.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Put the chocolate, butter and sugar in a pan and melt over a low heat. Once liquid, take the pan off the heat and add the cinnamon, cloves and cocoa powder – don’t worry if the filling looks grainy. Line a 950g loaf tin with baking paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a rectangle measuring approx. 50x30cm. Spread the chocolate filling over the dough rectangle, leaving 2cm of the far short edge uncovered. Roll up the dough rectangle, starting at the near short edge. Seal the seam by pinching it.
Place the roll on a work surface with the seam facing down and, with a sharp knife, cut the roll lengthways into halves. Twist the halves together to form a rope. You can do this starting at one end and twist this half of the roll, and then do the same for the other half; this way you don’t have to manipulate the whole length at once. Place your hands, palms down, on the ends and, with a scooping movement, bring the ends to meet underneath the middle of your rope. Transfer this into the lined tin, and cover with a tea towel or a plastic bag. Leave to prove for 30 minutes–1 hour until the babka is well risen and the dough starts to feel fragile; a gentle touch with a finger will leave a dent that only slowly recovers.
Preheat the oven to 190C/ 170C F/Gas 5. Bake the babka for 30–40 minutes. Melt the butter for glazing or heat the apricot jam with 1tsp water. Brush the babka with the melted butter or jam as soon as it is out of the oven. Leave to cool for around 15 minutes, then carefully remove from the tin and baking paper. Let the babka cool completely before serving. Stored in an airtight container it will keep for 3 days.
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