A babka is a dense bread that is swirled with chocolate or cinnamon. Until a few years ago, it could only be found in Jewish or Eastern European bakeries, but now they have become hugely popular!
I've wanted to make these little beauties for such a long time - sweet dough filled with chocolate. YUM. Thida Bevington, an absolutely superb baker, uploaded these knots onto her Instagram and after I saw them, I knew I had to make them! Once you figure out the knot, these are very simple to make and look very impressive. It takes no time at all to cook and many of you are bound to have all of the ingredients in your fridge and cupboards.
Makes: 8 knots
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 600g strong white bread flour
- 1 x 7g sachet of instant yeast
- 7g salt
- 70g caster sugar
- 230 ml milk
- 3 large eggs (2 for the dough, one to glaze)
- Nutella / cinnamon-sugar
Method
1) Crumb the butter into the flour, rubbing it in with your fingertips until integrated.
2) Add the yeast, salt and sugar. Heat the milk very gently until it is luke-warm and whisk the eggs into the milk. Pour the liquid into the dry mixture. Use your hands to mix the dough together, it should form a very wet dough.
3) On a very well floured surface, tip the dough out and knead with both hands, stretching it out as you go. Ensure you are rotating the dough after each knead to stop it from sticking. You'll begin to feel the dough gain elasticity.
4) Once kneaded, let the dough rise into a large, greased bowl which has been covered in cling film. In order for the dough to double in size, you must leave it in a warm place for about 2 to 2 and a half hours.
5) Once the dough has risen, role it out into a large rectangle, roughly 30cm in length. Spread Nutella or your chosen filling over the middle third of the rectangle.
TIP: do not make the layer of chocolate too thick, otherwise it will be very messy when knotting.
6) Fold one side third over the middle third. Then, cover the folded dough with a layer of Nutella.
7) Fold the remaining third over the Nutella layer and rotate 90 degrees. Roll the dough out again to form a bigger rectangle. Cut this into 8 strips (about 1.5cm - 2cm in width each). A pizza cutter will make this process easier!
8) Lightly dust the counter in flour so that each strip is less sticky when making the knots. Follow the image below for the knot, once the knot is complete and the two ends are hanging out, tuck both under the knot.
9) Leave the knots to prove at room temperate for about 30 minutes. While they are proving, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees fan.
10) Egg wash the top of each knot and place in the oven for 14 minutes. These are best served warm and eaten on the day.
Credit to: Thida Bevington and Ruby Tandoh