Babka... The Other White Bread.

Babka.

The word can stand on its own, but that wouldn't be fair to you. I will attempt, using words and pictures, to convey just how wonderful this bread really is. What it really boils down to is: You HAVE to make this.

There's a lot of information about the history of babka out there, and I've found that Google can find me about 3 billion different unique recipes that are "just like we used to have when I was a kid."

Rather than regurgitate all of it here, I'll give you a link. But I recommend you make the bread first, and then read the history while you're eating.

A brief history of babka

On Seinfeld, in the episode called "The Dinner Party" Jerry and Elaine are at a bakery, to buy something to bring with them to a party. Elaine chose the bakery because they specialize in babka. More specifically, chocolate babka. But they forget to take a number, and someone else going to the same party buys the last chocolate babka.

JERRY: That was our Babka. We had that Babka!

ELAINE: What's this one?

CLERK: That's cinnamon Babka.

JERRY: Another Babka?

CLERK: There's chocolate and there's cinnamon.

JERRY: Well, we've got to get the cinnamon.

ELAINE: No, but they got the chocolate. We'll be going in with a lesser Babka.

JERRY: I beg your pardon? Cinnamon takes a back seat to no Babka. People love cinnamon. It should be on tables at restaurants along with salt and pepper. Anytime anyone says, "Oh This is so good. What's in it?" The answer invariably comes back, Cinnamon. Cinnamon. Again and again. Lesser Babka - I think not.

ELAINE: I'll have the cinnamon Babka.

So, armed with the information that both cinnamon and chocolate are valid, I was faced with a dilemma. Should I make a chocolate, or a cinnamon babka?

My research uncovered a wonderful compromise. A cinnamon-chocolate babka. A delicious idea? Yes. Twice as good? An understatement.

The babka I made is without a doubt the most decadent thing I have ever made. There is more chocolate filling than the dough that contains it. Chocolate, cinnamon, streusel, butter, this has it all. Here we go!

1/2 C warm milk

1 packet (2 tsp) yeast (I recommend highly active "Rapid Rise" yeast for less waiting time for your babka)

1/4 C sugar plus a pinch extra

1 large egg

1 small egg yolk

2 C all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, cut in 1 inch pieces

1. Pour warm milk into a small bowl. Stir the yeast and a pinch of sugar into the milk, let it stand until bubbly (3-5 minutes)

2. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 C sugar, 1 large egg, and a small egg yolk. Add the yeast mixture and whisk to combine.

3. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour and salt. Add the egg mixture, beat on low speed until the flour is incorporated and it forms a thick batter (30 seconds).

4. Change to the dough hook. Add the 2/3 stick of butter, and knead until the butter is incorporated and a smooth, soft dough that's slightly sticky is formed (about 10 minutes). You may need to add flour a tablespoon at a time to form a dough instead of a batter. Don't add too much flour! It should be very loose - much like the angel biscuit recipe.

5. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead only a few times, form into a ball. Lightly oil a large bowl, coat the dough in the oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

3/4 lbs semisweet chocolate (Use good chocolate!)

1T ground cinnamon

4T unsalted butter, room temperature, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 small egg

1T whipping cream (or whole milk)

6. Roughly chop the chocolate, then process in a food processor until the size of peas or smaller.

7. In a medium bowl, combine the chocolate and cinnamon. Add the butter, and cut it in with a pastry blender until well combined, set filling aside.

8. Prepare a 9x5 loaf pan by greasing the sides, line the bottom with parchment or wax paper (CRITICAL STEP)

9. Beat the egg in a small bowl with the cream to make an egg wash, set aside.

10. Punch the dough down and turn out onto a floured surface. Let it rest for 5 minutes, and then roll out into a 16x16 inch square, about 1/8" thick.

11. Brush the outer inch with the egg wash. Spread the chocolate filling evenly over the dough, leave about a half inch border.

12. Roll the dough up tightly, pinching the ends to seal. Twist the entire roll 5 or 6 times (CAREFULLY!) Brush the top with egg wash, then fold the right side over the left. Twist 2 more times and fit into the prepared pan.

1/2 C powdered sugar

1/4 C + 1T all-purpose flour

4T unsalted butter, room temperature

13. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and butter. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the streusel forms clumps ranging in size up to 1 inch.

14. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top with more egg wash, then sprinkle streusel over the top (lots of streusel!) Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.

15. Bake the babka for 40 minutes, rotating after 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes, until the streusel turns golden.

16. Remove from the oven, and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Carefully remove from the pan and serve.

Happy Baking!

My favorite co-baker	Mixing the dough
Ready to Rise	All rolled out!
Chopped chocolate	Filling is ready
Filled, rolling it up	All rolled up
Trust me, it twists!	One more rise to go!
Ready for the oven	Only minutes from edible!
Amazing. Wonderful. Chocolate.

Angel Biscuits: The recipe

Ultimate success!

There are several keys to getting this recipe right:

1) The dough will be more of a thick batter when you dump it out to knead it. Don't be afraid of this - add too much flour and you will end up with dense hockey pucks.

2) Do not overknead - the dough should just come together - it will still be sticky in spots, and very soft.

3) Do not roll it too thin - the dough will rise before baking, but if you smash it down too hard, it will not recover.

Here is the recipe, courtesy of someone of my Grandmother's generation at the church where I grew up:

1 pkg dry yeast (about 2 tsp)

1/4 cup warm water

2.5 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup buttermilk

1) Stir to dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup warm water, set aside.

2) Mix flour, salt, and baking powder together in a medium mixing bowl.

3) Cut in the shortening to the dry ingredients.

4) Stir in the yeast mixture and the buttermilk just until moistened.

5) Turn out onto a floured countertop and knead lightly - just until the dough holds together.

6) Roll out the dough to about 3/4" thick. Cut circles with cookie cutter or the top of a drinking glass dusted with flour.

*Note - when your rolled dough is "holey" and you need to recombine it to roll out again, work it as little as possible. If you just pull the dough in to the center, filling the holes, it will recombine without needing to be rolled out again.

7) Place biscuits into lightly greased 9 inch pie pans. You should be able to fit 6 or 7 per pan, 2 pans per recipe.

8) Let the biscuits rise until they are touching each other - not quite doubled (about 45 minutes)

9) Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. They may take less time - watch them carefully the last 5 minutes. When they are golden brown on top like the picture below pull them out and let them cool slightly in the pan, then serve them hot with butter.

You can also refrigerate the biscuits after step 7 - just wrap the pans in plastic wrap, and then let them rise for about 75 minutes before baking.

Happy Baking!

I love biscuits - simple ingredients (yeast not shown)	It will be like thick waffle batter - not a stiff dough
I rolled these out to almost 3/4" thick.	They look much more promising - perfect color!
Sooooo good!

Angel Biscuits... Finally? No, not quite yet.

The angel biscuits have been a long time coming. I apologize - it's only the second bread, and I've already had a long hiatus from blogging. These biscuits have taken a couple of tries to get, but I finally got them right. But first... the failed attempt.

These biscuits don't have a long celebrated history like some of the breads I'll be making. They were originally billed as "The biscuit that even a new bride can make." The south is famous for their buttermilk biscuits - these are a northern take on that standard. They are warm and flaky and soft right out of the oven, but when they cool, they become more of a soft yeast roll, unlike their southern counterparts which are best in the first 20 minutes out of the oven.

I grew up on these - my mother made these all the time. I can remember eating them by the panful. So I had to try to master these as well, if for no other reason than I want to eat them.

My main problem the first failed attempt (see pictures below) was rolling the dough out too thin. I rolled it out to slightly more than 1/4" - they never recovered. By the time they had gone through the oven, they were crunchy on the bottom, and dry in the middle.

Never fear though - I tried again, and nailed it. I'll detail the recipe in the next post...

Happy Baking!

I think I rolled it too thin...	Well, maybe I can get it to rise pretty high.
Hmm... not looking good.	Yeah. They're not supposed to do that.

Anadama Bread, Day Two

Well, I finished it. Six hours later, this is the result.

It's pretty good. I made a few "mistakes" along the way, but I've got a good idea of how I'll do it next time. The end result is very hearty - but quite light. It is soft on the inside with a coarse texture, the crust is slightly sweet and a bit crunchy, but thin. Seems like it will make really good sandwich bread - one that will add a good flavor and texture to the sandwich. Probably will make great toast too - I'll find that out in the morning!

On to the recipe...

First, the ingredients:

4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsp instant/rapid rise yeast

1 cup warm water - 90-100 degrees F

1 1/2 tsp salt

6 T molasses

2 T shortening or unsalted butter at room temperature.

Directions:

1) Combine the starter with 1 cup of the flour, the yeast, and the water in a mixing bowl. Wrap and let sit for 1 hour at room temperature until it begins to bubble.

2) Add the remaining flour, salt, molasses, and shortening/butter. Stir or mix with a paddle mixer until the dough forms a ball. Add flour or water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is very soft and sticky.

3) Using a dough hook, or kneading by hand on a floured surface, knead for about 6-10 minutes until the dough ball is tacky, but no longer sticky. Add flour/water as needed.

4) Form the dough into a ball and lightly oil the mixing bowl. Spin the dough ball in the oil to coat and cover the bowl, set aside to rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes or until doubled.

5) When the dough has doubled, remove it from the bowl, cut in half, and shape into two loaves. Place the loaves into two lightly greased loaf pans. Cover and allow to rise for 60-90 more minutes, or until the dough has risen above the top of the pan.

6) Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F. Place the rack in the center position. Uncover the loaves and spray the tops with a light mist of water and then dust them with some extra cornmeal.

7) Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, then rotate the pans 180 degrees and bake another 20 minutes or until the loaf is brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove the loaves from the pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

Happy Baking!

The Sponge - nice and bubbly	Starts out sticky
Forms a nice ball	Oil it to rise
It's risen nicely	Divide and shape loaves
Ready to rise again	Shh! They're rising
Almost ready to bake	Cooling
The first slice	The final product

Anadama Bread, Day One

The recipe that I found for Anadama bread has been adapted from a recipe in Peter Reinhart's "Bread Baker's Apprentice" which is a book I plan to purchase as soon as possible.

The first step in the process is to make a starter, or "soaker" the night before. This allows the flavors of the cornmeal to really permeate the bread. The ingredients here are simple:

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup room temperature water

Photos of the highly complicated process are included below for reference.

1. Place the cornmeal in a small bowl, and pour the room temperature water over it.

2. Stir to combine into what can only be described as a cornmeal "mush."

3. Wrap the bowl and let it sit on the counter overnight.

So far, pretty easy. It looks like some planning is required for making the loaf tomorrow. The entire process will take about 5 hours. I'll need some cooperation from my wife on this one ;)

Happy Baking!

Add the water and cornmeal	Mix them together
Cornmeal mush!	Wrap it up

Anadama Bread

So I have quickly come to realize that one of the most difficult things about this endeavor will be choosing the right recipe. Starting with Anadama bread is no exception - there are many variations out there. I think I've honed in on the right one though - I'll make the starter tomorrow and bake it on Wednesday.

Here's some basic information about the bread:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anadama_bread

I'll post more info as I make the bread, so stay tuned!

A year in the baking

This evening when I was preparing dinner (soup), I decided spur of the moment that we needed to have some bread to go with it. I was able to mix, shape, and bake a small loaf of crusty Italian bread in about an hour. I realized that I have Italian breads mastered - I can bake you anything Italian at the drop of a hat. But I've always wanted to be a master of ALL breads.

So...

I've started this blog to track my progress. I'm going to attempt to bake (and hopefully perfect) every type of bread from around the world that I can find a recipe for. I figure this will take between 1-2 years to complete, just with the list I've already compiled. Some specific breads are listed because I want to make sure to try those (Angel biscuits is a subset of biscuits that I list specifically) and others are more general (I intend to make more than 1 kind of French bread and dinner roll)

Here's the list I have so far...

Anadama Angel biscuits Babka Babovka Bagels Baguette Banana bread Bara brith Bauernbrot Bazlama Beer bread Beigli Beignets Bimini Black bread Bolo Levedo Breadsticks Brioche Brotchen Buttermilk biscuits Buttermilk Challah Chapati Choereg Churros Ciabatta Cinnamon rolls Conchas Cornbread Cottage Bread Cowboy bread Croissants Crumpets Danish Kringle Dinner rolls Doughnuts English Muffins Ensaimadas Farmers bread Fastelavnsboller Foccacia Fougasse French bread Hamburger/Hotdog buns Hawaiian sweet bread Hoska Houska Hot Cross Buns Hum Bao Hunza Injera Italian Julekage Kalacs Knaakkebrod Kolache Ksra Kuchen Kugelhopf Lepinja Limpa Malasadas Molasses Bread Monkey bread Naan Nissua Noni Olie Bollen Olive bread Orange rolls Pain au Chocolat Pan de Muertos Pan de Sal Panettone Pani Popo Parantas Paska Peasant bread Pita bread Pizza dough Ponczki Potato Bread Potica Pulla Pumpkin bread Quick bread Pretzels Pumpernickel Rye San Francisco Sourdough Schnitzbrot Scones Semolina Sigtebrod Skolebrod Soda bread Sourdough Spelt bread Stollen Talamee Taralli Tarradls Toaster biscuits Tortillas Vasilopita Whole wheat bread Zeppoli Zopf Zucchini bread

This should be fun! Hopefully my family really likes bread ;)