Chocolate-Cinnamon "Babkallah"
A delicious hybrid of babka and challah bread featuring a rich, braided dough filled with chocolate, cinnamon, and brown sugar. This impressive bread combines the best of Jewish baking traditions into one spectacular loaf.
Ingredients
- •½ cup whole milk
- •1¼ ounces active dry yeast
- •4 large egg yolks
- •1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- •½ cup unsalted butter
- •⅓ cup granulated sugar
- •1 teaspoon kosher salt
- •3 cups all-purpose flour
- •6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- •⅓ cup light brown sugar
- •1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- •¼ cup all-purpose flour
- •¼ cup unsalted butter
- •1 large egg yolk
- •2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Heat milk in a small saucepan until warm. Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in yeast; let sit until foamy, 5-10 minutes.
10 min
- 2.
Whisk in egg yolks, vanilla, and 1/2 cup butter. Add sugar, salt, and 3 cups flour; mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until supple, smooth, and no longer shiny, 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a large buttered bowl. Cover and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours.
150 min
- 3.
Mix chocolate, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide into three portions. Shape each into a 12"-long rope. Roll out each rope to a 12x6" rectangle about 1/8" thick. Brush with butter and top with chocolate mixture, pressing gently. Roll up to form a log; pinch seam to seal.
20 min
- 4.
Place logs, seam side down, side by side on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pinch logs together at one end; braid, then pinch ends together and tuck under. Cover loosely and let sit in a warm place until 1 1/2 times larger, 1-2 hours.
120 min
- 5.
Preheat oven to 350°. Beat egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Brush dough with egg wash; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until top is golden brown and "Babkallah" sounds hollow when bottom is tapped, 35-45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
45 min
