Babka is one of many sweet bread specialty commonly found around the center and east of europe and especially in Poland. I tried babka many times in my life and never thought about making one myself until my dear friend Agnieszka who is originally from poland showed me one of her favorite recipes and gave me few tips on how to make a dreamy fluffy Babka. And so the Babka recipe experiments began.
This recipe is based on the Chocolate Babka Recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi from his Jerusalem Cookbook , with some twists and of course a different filling since i wanted to make something fresh and subtle.So without any further due here is the detailed recipe .
Pistachio and orange Babka
INGREDIENTS
For the dough:
- 175gr flour
- 50 gr white sugar
- 14 gr dry yeast
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 egg
- 100 gr greek yogurt
- 60 gr water
- 80 gr soft butter
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp orange blossom water (optional)
- egg wash : 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp water
For the filling:
- 60 gr roasted pistachios
- 40 gr sugar
- 30 gr soft butter
For the syrup:
- 100 gr sugar
- 50 gr orange juice
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a standing mixer put all the dough ingredients and leave out the butter then mix until gettig a homogenous elastic dough.
- Add the soft butter in the mixer gradually while its on medium speed until its totally integrated and the dough becomes soft and shiny ( mix it for 7 min at least).
- Leave the dough to rise for 2 hours ( ideally over night in the fridge).
- Meanwhile , mix all the ingredients of the filling until getting a soft pistachio butter mixture, set that aside until the dough is puffed and ready.
- Make the syrup and keep if at room temperature for later.
- Now that the dough is ready , punch it down to get rid of the air and roll it out on a flat surface in a rectangular shape , spread the filling over it and roll it to get a long cylinder.
- Cut the cylinder in half longwise and braid it alternating both sides with the filling sides up.
- Brush with the egg wash Bake for 45 min: first 10 min on a 200 C temperature then finish baking at 160 C for the rest of the time to get a fluffy loaf and a shiny crust
- Take you babka out of the oven and brush it with the orange syrup while its still hot .
And voilà...
Note: You can bake your Babka in a rectangular loaf baking tin or you can just bake it on you baking tray.
Amal Nasri
A full time sweet tooth foodie , foodphotographer and recipe developer who is always on the hunt of new flavor combinations and food discoveries to re-create sweet delicacies and fresh dessert recipes .