Blueberry Babkallah

🧂 Ingredients

• 141 grams warm water

  (½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon)
• 4 grams active dry yeast or instant yeast

  (1½ teaspoon)
• 378 grams bread flour

  (2⅔ cups )
• 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 43 grams oil

  (3 Tablespoon. plus 1 teaspoon)
• 68 grams honey

  (3 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon)
• 30 grams sugar

  (2 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon)
• 4 grams salt

  (¾ teaspoon)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

  (for egg wash)
• ½ pint blueberries, fresh or frozen

  (1 cup)
• 7 grams cornstarch

  (1 Tablespoon or 5 grams (½ Tablespoon) Instant Clear Jel)
• 34 grams sugar

  (3 Tablespoons)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• Small pinch ground cloves
• Pinch salt

Instructions

• 1 Pour water into mixing bowl of electric mixer. Cover with yeast and about ½ tsp.
  of the sugar. Stir gently to hydrate the yeast. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes to
  get foamy. (If using instant yeast, skip this step and mix your yeast and water
  in with everything else in the next step.)
• 2 Add the yolks, oil, honey, sugar, and flour. With the dough hook attachment,
  knead the mixture for about 4-5 minutes.
• 3 With the mixer on low, slowly add the salt. Knead for an additional 2-3 minutes
  until the salt is fully absorbed and the dough passes the windowpane test.
• 4 Place dough in an ungreased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a
  warm area for about 3 hours.
• 5 In the meantime, make the blueberry filling. Pour the berries into a small or
  medium size saucepan. Pour the sugar, cornstarch (or Clear Jel), cinnamon,
  cloves and salt over the blueberries. Over medium heat, stir the mixture and
  cook until the juices on the bottom start to simmer. Reduce the heat to
  medium-low and continue stirring just until the mixture thickens. Remove from
  heat (pour into a heat proof bowl to stop it from cooking further in the pot)
  and allow to cool to room temperature before using. (You can make the filling in
  advance and work with it directly from the refrigerator. Just give it a good
  stir before you spread it on the dough.)
• 6 Gently deflate the dough by pulling a piece from the bottom and folding it over
  itself, turning the bowl so you can do four similar folds.
• 7 Weigh the dough and divide into equal portions. If making two loaves, divide
  into six equal portions. If making one large loaf, divide into three equal
  portions.
• 8 Roll out each portion into a rectangle (like you do for a cinnamon roll or a
  babka). Any dimensions will work, but make sure you use the same dimensions on
  all three strands of each loaf. (For example, I made two loaves -- which meant
  six strands -- and rolled each strand to approximately 11 inches long by 5
  inches wide.) Portion out the blueberry filling to the number of total strands
  you will have. It is best to weigh the amount of filling and divide it by the
  number of strands. (For example, I had approximately 144 grams of filling. I
  therefore spread approximately 24 grams on each rectangle.) The filling should
  be spread thin (less is more here). On each rectangle, you can spread the
  filling to the edge of one of the long sides, but be sure to leave ½ an inch
  border on the other three sides. Starting from the long side with filling that
  reaches the edge, roll up each rectangle like you are rolling up a cinnamon
  roll. Firmly pinch the long edge and the sides so that each roll is fully
  enclosed. You can gently roll it against the counter to even it out and lengthen
  each strand slightly.
• 9 Braid your loaves (or loaf) and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover
  loosely with plastic wrap and let rise 1 to 1½ hours until the dough has doubled
  in size.
• 10 Towards the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 350° F.
• 11 Apply egg wash. Bake 30-40 minutes until golden brown on top and sides. Err on
  the side of over-baking a few minutes, as you do not want to risk the middle
  being unbaked.

Nutrition Info