Chocolate Babka

Yield: 2 babkas

Babka Dough

Ingredients:

• 3 ¾ cups (450g) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (99g) granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (240g) whole milk, lukewarm (110–115°F)
• 1 large egg, room temp
• 1 large egg yolk, room temp
• 10 Tbsp (141g) unsalted butter, cubed & room temp

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
2. In your mixer bowl, add milk, egg, and egg yolk. Add dry ingredients.
3. Attach dough hook, then mix on low until the dough starts to come together, about 3 minutes.
4. Increase speed to medium and knead dough until it’s smooth and completely cleans the sides of the bowl, 5–10 minutes.
5. Add butter to bowl a cube or two at a time, allowing buttery addition to be fully incorporated before adding the next.
   NOTE: This will take a few minutes to properly add the butter.
6. Cover bowl with beeswax wrap or cling film and place in a warm, dry spot for about 2 hours. After 1 hour, you’ll need to turn the dough. To do so, use a wet hand to fold the top edge of the dough down ⅔ of the way. Then fold bottom edge up to meet top edge (a letter-esque fold). Then repeat with the side edges. Cover bowl and place back in its warm, dry spot for another hour.
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and give it a good dousing of baking spray.
8. After the dough has proofed, lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Tip dough out onto surface and divide in half (roughly 500g each).
9. Transfer dough to prepared baking sheet. Use your hands to gently pat dough blobs into two even squares.
10. Cover dough and baking sheet with lightly greased cling film. Place in fridge for at least 2 hours. (Overnight—which we did—is a-okay, too.)

Chocolate Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups (140g) chocolate wafer cookie crumbs*
• 3 ounces (85g) Nói Síríus 56% Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
• 5 ½ ounces (156g) milk chocolate, chopped
• 9 Tbsp (127g) unsalted butter, cubed
• ⅓ cup (105g) wildflower, clover, or other mild honey

*This is about 22 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers.

Directions:

1. Blitz chocolate wafer cookies in food processor until they become fine crumbs. Set aside.
2. Make a double boiler by setting a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. (Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water.) Add chopped chocolates and butter, stirring as they melt.
   NOTE: Make sure to scrape down chocolate on sides of bowl so that it doesn’t burn.
3. Remove bowl from heat, then mix in cookie crumbs and honey, stirring to combine.
4. Allow filling to cool a little. You want it to thicken up a smidge but still be spreadable.

Assembly & Baking

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• large pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Grease two 9" x 5" loaf pans and line with parchment paper; set aside.
2. Pour half of filling (about 300g) into a different bowl. (This will make it easier to use even amounts of filling for each babka.)
3. Flour your work surface and rolling pin. Retrieve one square of dough from fridge, place on your well-floured surface, and sprinkle top with a little bit of flour.
   NOTE: Save the cling film, as you’ll reuse it in a few steps!
4. Roll out the dough into a 14-inch square.
5. Using an offset spatula, spread ⅔ of filling from one bowl (about 200g) over dough, leaving a ¼- to ½-inch bare border.
6. Starting with the edge closest to you, gently—yet tightly—roll dough up into a log.
7. With a sharp knife, cut in half to create two logs. Carefully tug on ends until log is 9–10 inches long. Repeat with second log.
8. With an offset spatula, spread remaining ⅓ of filling from one bowl (about 100g) over one dough log.
9. Place plain log perpendicular over covered log (like a plus sign +). Twist ‘em a little so that the logs are snuggling more closely.
   NOTE: See this video for exactly what we’re talking about.
10. Using both hands, transfer babka to prepared pan. Cover with cling film (hopefully reused from the dough chill step).
11. Repeat process with second dough square to form your second babka.
12. Place covered babkas in a warm, dry spot for 2–3 hours until they have grown and gotten a little puffy. (They may not double in bulk.)
13. Towards the end of the babkas’ rising time, heat oven to 350°F.
14. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and large pinch of salt. Before placing in oven, brush babkas with egg wash.
15. Bake for 40–50 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Babkas are done when they’re deep golden brown and their internal temperature is around 190°F.
16. Transfer pans to wire rack. Allow babkas to cool for 10–15 minutes, then remove from pans and place babkas on wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces (113g) Nói Síríus 56% Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
• 4 ounces (113g) milk chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 Tbsp (20g) wildflower, clover, or other mild honey

Directions:

1. When the babkas are almost cool, make the chocolate glaze. Create a double boiler by setting a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. (Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water.) Add chopped chocolates and allow to melt somewhat whilst stirring. Add butter and honey, stirring until everything is melted and fully combined.
   NOTE: Make sure to scrape down chocolate on sides of bowl so that it doesn’t burn.
2. Remove bowl from heat. Let glaze cool somewhat; you want it to thicken up some but still be easily pourable.
3. Pour glaze over completely cool babkas. Allow glaze to set before cutting and serving babkas (20–30 minutes).

Did you try this recipe? Tag @fikabrodbox or #fikabrödbox!

Slightly adapted from: Melissa Weller (via Cherry Bombe)