Brownie Babka

🧂 Ingredients

• 7 g. active dry or instant yeast

  (2¼ tsp. or 1 envelope)
• 245 g. milk*

  (1 cup )
• 75 g. granulated sugar, divided if using active dry yeast

  (⅓ cup plus 2 tsp.)
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 480 g. all purpose flour

  (4 cups)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 113 g. unsalted butter, at cool room temperature, cut into 8 pieces

  (8 tbsp. or ½ cup)
• 57 g. unsalted butter

  (4 tbsp.)
• 57 g. unsweetened chocolate

  (2 oz.)
• 50 g. sugar

  (¼ cup)
• 55 g. light brown sugar

  (¼ cup)
• 1 large egg

  (beaten)
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 30 g. rye or all purpose flour

  (2 tbsp.)
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• 45 g. water

  (3 tbsp.)
• 50 g. sugar

  (¼ cup)
• ½ tsp. vanilla

Instructions

• 1 Prepare Dough. [If using instant yeast, skip to Step 3 and add the yeast and the
  milk (can be cold) with the rest of the ingredients.] In microwave at 20 second
  intervals, stirring after each interval, warm milk to body temperature,
  generally between 105°F and 110°F. Alternatively, you can heat the milk in a
  saucepan on a low flame, stirring constantly. Either way, do not let the milk
  get above 115°F. (If you do, just let it sit out at room temperature for a
  couple of minutes constantly checking it until it cools to body temperature.)
• 2 Place warmed milk into bowl of electric mixer. Sprinkle yeast and approximately
  1 tsp. of the sugar over the milk. Using a fork, stir the mixture to distribute
  the sugar and hydrate the yeast granules. Allow to sit for approximately 3-5
  minutes until the mixture gets foamy.
• 3 Add the room temperature egg, the room temperature egg yolk, and the vanilla to
  the mixture. Using the dough hook, turn the mixer on at a low speed and add the
  rest of the sugar. With the mixer running at the lowest speed, add the flour. As
  the flour starts to get absorbed by the liquid mixture, raise the mixer to a
  medium speed. You may need to turn the mixer off once or twice to wipe down the
  sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Allow to knead for approximately 3
  minutes. The dough should clean the sides of the bowl and be tacky, even a bit
  sticky. If it is too wet (sticking to the sides and bottom of the bowl), add
  some flour, no more than 1 tbsp. at a time. If the mixture is too dry, add a
  little milk, 1 tsp. at a time.
• 4 Lower the mixer speed to low (1 or 2 on the KitchenAid) and slowly add the salt,
  allowing it to knead into the dough, an additional 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and
  take a small piece (approximately 1 tsp.) of dough and stretch it between your
  fingers. It should form a “window pane”, meaning it should get thin enough that
  it is translucent without it ripping. If it is not at that point yet, continue
  kneading in the machine at 1 minute intervals. (It may just need an additional
  minute or two to reach the window pane stage. If it still isn’t there yet, check
  to see if the dough is too dry. If it is, add ½ tsp. water and knead another
  minute.)
• 5 With the mixer running at medium speed, add the butter. It is best to add it one
  piece at a time, waiting until it is fully integrated into the dough before
  adding the next piece. You may need to turn off the mixer from time to time to
  push the slab of butter back into the range of the dough and the hook. This
  process will take approximately 5 minutes. Once all the butter is incorporated,
  the dough will look shiny and be slightly sticky. (If, after approximately ten
  minutes, the butter is still not fully incorporated, do not panic. Just move to
  the next step – having some unincorporated butter is not problematic in this
  recipe. That said, the key to incorporating the butter is nothing more than
  patience.)
• 6 Lightly grease a bowl with a little butter or nonstick cooking spray. Form dough
  into a ball and place it in the bowl. Turn the dough over to coat it in the
  butter or nonstick cooking spray and cover tightly with plastic wrap.** Let the
  dough sit in a warm area on the counter until doubled in size, approximately one
  hour.
• 7 Brownie Filling. In a 2 quart saucepan over the lowest heat, melt the butter and
  chocolate. Stir occasionally until fully melted. Remove from heat. Stir in the
  sugar and brown sugar. Set aside for a couple of minutes to make sure the
  mixture cools completely. Add the beaten egg and vanilla. Mix in the flour and
  salt just until all the flour is fully absorbed. Cover pot (plastic wrap will
  do) and refrigerate.
• 8 Prepare two loaf pans, 8 or 9 inches long, and 3 to 5 inches wide, by coating
  with nonstick cooking spray or butter. (Using butter imparts more flavor on the
  edges of your babkas.) For an even easier pan removal, use parchment paper on
  the bottom and/or sides of the pan, but be sure to coat the parchment with
  nonstick cooking spray or butter.
• 9 Once dough has doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and de-gas it by folding
  it over onto itself and knead it a few times by hand. Divide it in half,
  preferably by weight. Cover one half with plastic wrap until you are ready to
  work with it.
• 10 Roll dough out to three inches longer than the length of your pan. (If you are
  using a 9 inch long pan, roll it out to 12 inches, to form a rectangle of 12
  inches by approximately 16-18 inches. The dough should be approximately ⅛ inch
  thick.
• 11 Remove brownie filling from the refrigerator. Leaving a border of ½ an inch on
  every side, spread ½ of the brownie filling on the dough. (There should be
  approximately 300 g. of brownie batter, so use approximately 150 g. for each
  babka.)
• 12 Have the dough facing you the long way so that the side of the dough that is
  three inches longer than the length of your pan is facing you. For example, if
  your pan is 9 inches long, the side of the dough that is 12 inches long should
  be in front of you. Roll the dough upward so that you have a 12 inch long log.
  Trim ½ inch to an inch from both sides of the log. (Tip: Save these trimmings
  and bake in a separate greased pan with trimmings from second log. This is the
  “mini babka” you get to taste so you can present the two babkas to your guests
  and already know how good it tastes!)
• 13 Slice the log down the middle in half, exposing the layers of filling. Form an X
  with the two pieces, and cross the two over each other starting from the middle
  going down towards you. Repeat from the middle going up. Place dough in prepared
  pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to sit until doubled in size,
  approximately one hour.
• 14 Repeat steps 10-13 with second portion of dough from step 9.
• 15 Approximately 30 minutes into the second rise, preheat oven to 350°F.
• 16 Once the babkas have doubled in size, bake for 30-35 minutes.
• 17 Towards the end of the baking time, in a small pot bring the water and sugar to
  a boil, stirring to ensure the sugar is fully melted. Stir in the vanilla.
• 18 The babka is done once the top is golden brown. (Best to take the babka’s
  temperature. It is done when the internal temperature reaches 205°F).
• 19 Immediately after removing the babkas from the oven, brush the tops with the hot
  syrup glaze. Return to the oven for 2 additional minutes.
• 20 Cool babkas in pans for 10-15 minutes and then remove them from their pans onto
  a wire rack. (Use a metal spatula or flat knife against the sides of the pans
  before turning the pans over.)
• 21 Once at room temperature, if not eating immediately, cover in plastic wrap. If
  they actually last so long, they stay fresh for several days wrapped in plastic
  and stored at room temperature. They also freeze beautifully, wrapped in plastic
  wrap, for up to 3 months.

Nutrition Info