It might be time to restart the 1994 debate from the hit TV show, “Seinfeld.”
“They got the last (chocolate) babka!” Jerry Seinfeld famously proclaimed on “The Dinner Party” episode.
And when Jerry suggested to Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) that they settle for the cinnamon babka, Elaine insisted she wouldn’t show up to a dinner party with a “lesser babka.”
“Cinnamon takes a back seat to no babka!” Seinfeld said. “A lesser babka? I think not!”
Seinfeld will have to try King Arthur Baking Company’s newest babka recipe, “The Most Chocolatey Babka.”
Featuring a half-cup of chocolate chips, a third-cup of cocoa powder and a tablespoon of chocolate liqueur, this babka aims to give a mouthful of chocolate in every bite.
The recipe comes from “The King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Bread: 125+ Recipes for Every Baker,” by Jessica Battilana, Martin Philip, and Melanie Wanders (Simon Element, $30), which was released Oct. 22.
Philip sat down recently to share some bread-baking tips and discuss his path from Opera San Jose to King Arthur Bread Company.
Among the recipes in this book are some classic holiday treats, including a caramelized apple and honey challah, the “most-chocolaty” babka and King Arthur’s twist on a traditional German stollen.
Philip offered his advice for anyone making these breads at home: “This is important: the dough must be well mixed. That’s going to be really helpful. Give it a good long mix in the mixer.”
For the babka, specifically, he suggests using a stand mixer to “develop good strength for that dough.”
In the cookbook, the authors write: “This yeasted bread has its origins in Eastern Europe and is typically filled with cinnamon, fruit, or, as in this version, chocolate. Oursis a decadent, moreish babka, containing both cocoa powder and chopped semisweet chocolate, so every bite is extra chocolatey. After the babka comes out of the oven it’s brushed with a rich simple syrup, which gives the bread a bit of shine and keeps it moist for days (if it lasts that long).”
The Most Chocolatey Babka
Makes one 12-inch round babka
INGREDIENTS
Dough:
375 grams (3 cups plus 2 tablespoons) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
50 grams (1⁄4 cup) sugar
9 grams (1 tablespoon) instant yeast
7.5 grams (1¼ teaspoons) fine salt
71 grams (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg (50 grams)
172 grams (3⁄4 cup) warm milk, whole preferred
7.5 grams (1½ teaspoons) pure vanilla extract
Syrup
75 grams (1⁄4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) sugar
45 grams (3 tablespoons) water
15 grams (1 tablespoon) chocolate liqueur (optional)
Filling
99 grams (1⁄2 cup) sugar
28 grams (1⁄3 cup) cocoa powder
Pinch of fine salt
57 grams (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
85 grams (1⁄2 cup) finely chopped semisweet chocolate
DIRECTIONS
Make the dough: In a stand mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, egg, milk and vanilla. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on medium-low speed until a shaggy dough forms, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, then increase the speed to medium-high and continue mixing until a slightly tacky, soft, springy dough forms, about 5 minutes. The dough will not be smooth, though it should mostly clear the sides of the bowl (some additional scraping may be necessary).
Cover and let rise in a warm place until very puffy though not necessarily doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Make the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water and heat over low, gently moving a heatproof spatula along the bottom of the pan in a back-and-forth motion (as if using a paintbrush) until the sugar is completely dissolved. Increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a low simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the liqueur, if using. Let cool to room temperature.
Make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the melted butter, stirring to form a thick, granular paste with a matte finish; don’t overmix, or the filling can separate. Set aside.
Shape the babka: Lightly flour a work surface, then use a plastic bowl scraper to ease the dough out of the bowl onto the work surface. Gently press on the dough to deflate it; then, using a rolling pin, roll it out into a 16 by 12-inch rectangle. Position the dough so that a long side is facing you. Dollop the filling in small mounds over the dough, then use a small offset spatula or a knife to spread the filling in an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border of dough free from filling on the long side farthest away from you. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate over the filling in an even layer. Beginning with the long side closest to you, begin rolling up the dough into a log. Pinch the far edge to seal the log.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set nearby. Arrange the log perpendicularly in front of you on the work surface with the seam facing up. Use a bench knife or a knife to cut the log in half lengthwise along the seam. With the cut sides facing up, make an “X” with the two pieces of dough, then twist the two pieces of dough together.
Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Bring the ends of the twist together to form a round wreath shape, pinching the ends to seal. Cover and let rise until the dough is puffy and when pressed with a floured finger, a small indentation remains, 1 to 1½ hours.
Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the babka until golden brown and fragrant and the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove the babka from the oven, then brush all the syrup over the loaf. Cool completely on the baking sheet before slicing and serving. Store leftover babka in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days or wrap tightly and freeze for longer storage.
— Courtesy “The King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Bread: 125+ Recipes for Every Baker,” by Jessica Battilana, Martin Philip and Melanie Wanders (Simon Element, $30)