This week on the blog we have a double chocolate babka. Babka is a yeasted dough rolled out and spread with sweet or savory fillings, rolled up, braided and baked. I have made this recipe several times and tested the variations on my friends. The double chocolate variation has been the biggest hit so far. If you’re short on time, the demi brioche dough can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in the fridge. Similarly, the chocolate ganache can be made several days ahead of time. Nutella is also a good substitute if you don’t have the time or patience to make the ganache. It only takes 10 or so minutes to make but talk more about that later. This recipe is based off of one from the puff school of pastry. Let’s get started.
Recipe Notes
I’ve been finding myself making recipes that I can prepare in stages. Tying to find 5-6 hours to bake a new recipe has been proving difficult. Between work, friends, working out, and trying to find meaning in my own existence, taking an entire afternoon to bake isn’t easy. That being said, cooking and baking is one of the few things that brings me joy these days. I guess I’m spreading it out over the week a bit instead of saving it all for the weekend. It helps that my evenings have been a little less hectic, allowing me to prep a little at a time.
Actual Recipe Notes
The first step to make the babka is the demi brioche. A demi brioche is the same as regular brioche but with less butter so that the flavors can really come through. Demi brioche is also what I used for my hot cross buns recipe in case you were wondering. Take 50 grams of the milk and place in a bowl. Heat to around 105 degrees Fahrenheit, mix in the dry yeast and stir to combine. Let the mixture sit so that the yeast can activate and get nice and bubbly. While the yeast is “blooming” mix the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer and combine by hand with the dough hook attachment. Take the butter out of the fridge and slice into thin pieces and set aside.
Once the yeast is nice and bubbly, add to the flour mixture along with the rest of the milk and the eggs and mix on medium speed for around 10 minutes. Once the mixture starts to pull away from the bowl and stick to the dough hook, you can begin to add the butter. On medium speed, add the butter one piece at a time, letting each piece incorporate before adding the next. The softer the butter is when you add it in, the easier it will incorporate. Once all of the butter has been added, mix on high speed until the dough is extremely shiny and passes the windowpane test. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to proof until doubled in size, around 2 hours.
Multitasking Advice
If making this recipe in steps, the dough can now be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. I find that storing the dough overnight makes it taste better. But with the amount of chocolate we’re using here, I don’t think anyone will notice if you make the recipe straight through.
While the dough is proofing, prepare the chocolate ganache. Mix all of the ingredients together in a double boiler or bain marie. Heat over medium heat and stir to incorporate all ingredients. Once incorporated and smooth, heat for a few more minutes to help thicken. Next, remove from the heat and let cool. The mixture will thicken up even more as it cools.
The syrup glaze for the babka can also be prepped while the dough is proofing. Combine the water and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to ensure all of the sugar melts. Once the mixture has come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 or so minutes to boil off more of the water. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.
Babka Assembly Notes
Once the dough is ready, turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out into a large rectangle, around 1/4″ thick. Make sure that the dough releases easily from your work surface, adding more flour as necessary. Spread the chocolate ganache on top of the dough, making sure to cover the entire surface. Next sprinkle the milk and semisweet chocolate chips on top. The recipe calls for 150 grams of chocolate chips total, but if you want to add more, feel free. Just be warned that the more you add, the harder it will be to tightly roll the dough up.
Once all of the toppings are on the dough, roll it up. Starting from the middle of the long side of the rectangle, begin to tightly roll the dough up. Pick up and pull the dough out towards the edges as you roll to help keep the roll nice and tight. Once the dough is rolled up, using a bench scraper or pizza cutter, slice each log in half to reveal the layers and then twist the two pieces together. Cut the braided piece as necessary to fit in your parchment lined loaf tins.
Babka Baking Notes
Bake the babka at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for around 40 to 50 minutes or until a very golden brown color. If the babka is getting too dark, cover with aluminum foil to prevent burning. With the babka still in the tin, brush generously with the syrup. If the syrup has cooled off and is a bit tough, heat it up a bit so that it runs easily. Leave the babka to cool in the tin so that it absorbs all of the syrup. Remove from the tin and enjoy!
Double Chocolate Babka
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Bench scraper
- 2 Loaf tins a round cake tin will work too.
Ingredients
Demi Brioche Ingredients
- 550 grams bread flour
- 85 grams sugar
- 13 grams salt
- 9 grams dry yeast
- 210 grams whole milk
- 200 grams eggs about 4 large eggs
- 150 grams unsalted butter, soft
Chocolate Ganache
- 40 grams brown sugar
- 65 grams orange juice
- 75 grams milk chocolate
- 75 grams semisweet chocolate
- 90 grams butter, unsalted
- 1 gram salt
Babka Filling
- 150 grams milk chocolate chips
- 150 grams semisweet chocolate chips roughly chopped if they're large discs
Syrup for Brushing
- 100 grams sugar
- 50 grams water
Instructions
Demi Brioche Instructions
- Take the butter out of the fridge and cut pieces 1/2" thick and set aside.
- heat 50 grams of the milk until warm, around 105 degrees. Add the yeast to the milk and stir to combine. Begin prepping your other ingredients while the yeast starts to activate.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix by hand with the dough hook attachment.
- Once yeast is nice and bubbly, add to the dry ingredients along with the remainder of the milk to the flour mixture.
- Mix on medium speed for 8-10 minutes or until the dough begins pulling away from the bowl and sticking to the dough hook
- With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding the butter a tablespoon at a time. Once all of the butter has been incorporated, mix on high speed until the dough is shiny and passes the windowpane test.
- Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with cling film and and leave to proof until doubled in size, 1-2 hours depending on how warm it is in your kitchen.
Chocolate Ganache
- While the dough is proofing, prepare the chocolate ganache filling.
- Combine all ganache ingredients into a double boiler and heat, stirring gently to melt all ingredients.
- Once all ingredients have been incorporated and the mixture has thickened up a bit, remove from heat and let cool before using.
Babka Assembly
- Once the dough has doubled in size, turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out into a long thin rectangle. The dough should be between ⅛ and ¼" thick
- Spread the cooled chocolate ganache on top of the dough.
- Sprinkle the milk and semisweet chips in an even layer on top of the ganache.
- From the long side of the rectangle, starting in the middle and working your way out bit by bit, roll up the dough tightly. You may need to lift up and stretch the dough as you roll to ensure that the dough rolls tightly
- Once the dough is rolled up, cut the log in half to make two loaves. Next, cutdown the center of the log to reveal the layers.
- Twist the two halves together and lay into a parchment lined loaf tin. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Leave the loaves to proof until puffy, around 1.5 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit when it looks like the loaves are looking about ready
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until very golden brown. If the loaf is getting too dark, cover with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
- While the loaves are baking, make the syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar dissolves. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes to allow some of the water to boil off and create a thick syrup. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Remove the babka from the oven when done brush generously with the syrup. Leave in the tin to cool.
