Easter Babka
Babka is a type of sweet, braided bread originating from Poland. It is known for its marble like textures and unique appearance. This Easter, serve your customers a special babka recipe, made with flour, warm milk, egg, yolk, NESTLÉ Royal chocolates, and vanilla bean paste. Like making any other bread dough, you'll need to prepare with a yeast mixture and allow enough time for your dough to rest. Bear in mind that rolling the dough into the unique babka shape can be quite challenging so make sure to follow the recipe instructions carefully.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (170mL) warm milk
- 2 tsp caster sugar, plus ¼ cup (55g) caster sugar, extra
- 1½ tsp dry yeast
- 1¾ cups (260g) plain flour plus, 1 cup (150g) extra for kneading and dusting
- 1 egg, plus 1 egg extra, separated
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 190g unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened
- 110g NESTLÉ Royal
Preparation
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1Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Grease and line a 22 ½ x 14 ½ cm loaf pan with baking paper.
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2Place milk, sugar and yeast in a small bowl; mixt to combine. Stand in a warm place until foamy.
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3Add 1/2 cup (75g) flour to yeast mixture, place in an electric mixer using a dough hook, beat until combined. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and extra sugar; beat until combined. Gradually adding in remaining flour and butter; continue to beat until dough is shiny. (Dough will be very soft and sticky)
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4Scrape dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, this should take 1- 2 hours.
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5Punch down dough using a lightly oiled rubber spatula. Knead using extra flour, until smooth and not sticky. Between two sheets of baking paper, using a rolling pin; roll into a 40 x 25 cm rectangle.
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6Using the reserved egg white, brush over borders of the dough. Scatter NESTLÉ Royal and extra caster sugar on the longest edge, then using baking paper as a guide, carefully roll dough into a snug log, peeling away the baking paper from the dough as you go, pinching firmly along egg white seam to seal. Bring ends of log together to form a ring, pinching to seal. Twist entire ring to form a figure 8 and fit into loaf pan. Brush with egg white. Bake for 1 hour, or until cooked and golden brown.