AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Challah Revisited: Babka DATE: 11/10/2008 10:39:00 AM ----- BODY:
My first few attempts at challah were surprisingly easy and successful. The recipe yields two loaves. And while I could easily eat both before they go stale, I decided to experiment with the dough. Babka seemed the natural successor to challah… the sweet, yeasty dough with chocolate swirls in the middle. Martha Stewart has a recipe that uses butter and milk. I made it once and for such a complicated recipe it was disappointing. Zabaar’s makes the best babka I’ve eaten and it’s dairy free. It seems like a logical step that challah enriched with eggs and oil would be as suitable substitute for sweet dough enriched with butter and milk.

I switched out the recipe for the dough, but otherwise used Martha’s technique.

I blended bittersweet chocolate with butter, sugar and flour. I rolled out the dough to ½ inch thick rectangle and sprinkled the chocolate mix on top. I rolled up the dough like a jelly-roll and folded it until it fit into a loaf pan.

I sprinkled the dough with a streusel topping of flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon.


Voila! Babka!

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----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Melissa DATE:11/10/2008 06:59:00 PM NICE JOB! Seriously, that looks flawless. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger PG DATE:11/11/2008 09:09:00 AM Oh yum. Now THIS is a jelly roll shape that I could handle (and not screw up). Starred! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Julia DATE:11/14/2008 10:14:00 PM Melissa, Thanks! I don't think of myself as a baker, so I was quite pleased.

Psychgrad, I'm glad you're ready to try jelly rolls again! :) ----- --------