Chocolate (Nutella) Babka

Hello HTS Community

Nothing screams more festive than CHOCOLATE… and what makes it even better is the combination of buttery brioche bread. If you ask what Babka is? It is half bread and half cake with chocolate running in between layers.

Babka is a traditional Jewish bread with a cinnamon or chocolate filling. You can choose to make your own chocolate filling, or use Nutella just like I did to save time.

Ingredients you will need

• Egg- 1
• Lukewarm water- 87g
• Instant yeast- 5g
• Brown sugar- 50g (can use regular sugar)
• All purpose flour- 265g
• Salt- 3g
• Unsalted butter- 75g (softened at room temp)
• Oil for greasing
• Nutella- 100g

Steps:

• In a large bowl, to the lukewarm water, add 2 teaspoons of sugar and stir. Add yeast, stir lightly and leave it to bloom for 5-10 minutes.
• Once the yeast has bloomed, add all ingredients except butter and nutella, to form a dough that just comes together.
• To this start adding your softened room temp butter gradually and knead for 8-10 minutes, till you have a smooth dough. Place the dough in another greased bowl, cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-18 hours.

• Lightly grease a loaf pan around 9*5 inches and dust flour on it. Keep aside.
• Roll out the cold dough in a rough square with 1/2 inch thickness. Spread nutella all over the dough sheet leaving half inch at top.
• Brush the top part with a little water and start rolling the sheet from bottom all the way to the top. You might need to refrigerate the log for 10-15 minutes in case it becomes soft. Cut the log in half lengthwise using a breadknife.

• Place dough in prepared loaf pan and cover with a damp towel and let it rest for 2 hours or until it has doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven at 190 degree Celsius and bake babka for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• While it is baking, combine 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a pot at medium heat until sugar dissolves.
• Remove loaf from pan and brush immediately with sugar syrup.