14 March 2018 / 22 Comments
Walnut babka
You know these kind of recipes that there is no words for. The kind of recipes that taste SOOOOO GOOD, that you simply can’t describe it. Here is one of them. From my kitchen to yours. Enjoy,Bea x
RECIPE
Makes 2 loaves
Divide the ingredients in half if you wish to only make one.
But I have a feeling you will regret not making two 🙂
INGREDIENTS:
For the dough:
2 teaspoons instant yeast
120 ml lukewarm water
520 grams white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
80 grams caster sugar
4 small eggs
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
150 grams unsalted butter at room temperature + extra for greasing the tins
For the filling:
400 grams walnuts
200 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
70 grams light muscovado sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
PREPARATION
Make the starter: Place yeast, two pinches of sugar, water, couple of tablespoons of flour in a small bowl and mix well. Cover with a tea towel and leave for around 10 minutes until the mixture gets foamy.
Make the dough: In the food processor bowl (fitted with a dough tool) place flour, the rest of sugar, eggs, cinnamon, cardamom, salt and the dough starter. Mix on low until it starts coming together, then add the butter, a spoonful at a time, mixing until it’s all incorporated into the dough. Then, mix on medium speed until the dough is completely smooth. You might need to scrape the bowl down couple of times. The dough should be coming off the sides of the bowl, if it’s too sticky and it doesn’t,add a spoonful or two of flour.
Take the dough from the food processor, form it into a ball, cover lightly with flour and place in a large bowl. Cover with tea towel and leave to proof (raise) in a draught-free room for around 2.5 – 3 hours. It might take less time if you live in a warmer climate (waving to you from cold and rainy England!), so watch the dough!When it doubles in size – it’s perfect.
Make the filling: Place the walnuts in a food processor, attached with a blade, and pulse the nuts until finely chopped. Move the nuts to a difference dish, reserving 2-3 tablespoons on the side. Now place the butter, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom in a food processor, and mix in all on medium speed until well combined, you might have to scrape the mixture down couple of times. It’s absolutely fine if the sugar doesn’t completely dissolve, it will during the baking process. Now add the chopped walnuts to the buttery mixture, except the 2-3 tablespoons left on the side, and mix until combined.
Play time: Grease two 12cm x 22cm loaf tins and line them with baking paper. Then divide the dough into two. Roll out the first one to about 35 cm long and 30 cm wide. Spread half of the filling evenly over the dough, leaving about 1 cm border all around. Roll the dough up with the filling into a long, tight cigar. Repeat with the second dough. Gently cut each log in half, leaving around 1 and 1/2 cm of the dough uncut on the top ( see the step one picture above the recipe). Spread the sides gently and lift one side over the next, forming a twist and trying to keep the cut sides facing up. Pinch the sides together. Don’t worry if it looks messy, squash it together very gently with the palms of your hands on both ends, and transfer the twist into the loaf pan. Sprinkle both loaves with 2-3 tablespoons of chopped walnuts reserved earlier.Cover with a tea towel and rest for another 1 hour-1 1/2 hours at room temperature.
Baking time: Preaheat the oven to 190C. Remove the tea towels and place the loaves in the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Check if ready with a skewer. And if it browns too quickly, you can cover it with foil. When ready take it out of the oven, let it sit in a tin for around 5 minutes, then transfer onto a cooling rack by lifting the sides of the baking paper.
ENJOY!IT’S DELICIOUS!!!!
drukuj
oh I love the step by step in photos! I’ve still never made babka, always looked a little daunting but I think you’ve given me the tools I need to give it a go! Love the new site. It is so perfectly you. Xxx
Hi Kym!!!Awwww!So nice to see you around here! And thank you for the beautiful words – I am so happy how the new site turned out. And babka – you must try it! It’s so much easier that the long preparation might sound 🙂 AND IT’S INSANELY DELICIOUS!
Wyglada fantastycznie😍
Dziekuje Olimpia!!!Fajnie ze wpadlas!Caluje 🙂
The setups are gorgeous and you are pushing me to prepare a babka one very soon!! It looks sooo good! Thank you so much for the recipe sweet Bea ❤️
Thank you so much Massiel! I hope you’ll give it a try because it’s insanely delicious! You’ll love it!
Made babka yesterday, but yours looks really incredible.
Ps. Love your new website
Aaaaaa!Have you posted yours? I am dying to see it! What did you make yours with? I’m always looking for new filling ideas 🙂 And THANK YOUUUU! Big hugs x
Gorgeous photos Bea ! Adding it to my must try list. Good to see you create awesome stuff again. I know that braiding babka is hard, thanks for the details. Need to make it soon.
Hey Suchita! So happy to see you here! Thank you for the encouragement, 8 months of silence was way too long!!!!
Ps. You’ll love the recipe!It’s just impossible not to like it 🙂
Beautiful babka! Beautiful new site! Congratulations my darling!! Xxx
Thank you so much Louise x Sending the warmest hugs your way! It was so lovely talking to you the other day!
I Love that you have a blog now! I’ve been following you on Instagram for a long time and I always love your gorgeous photos and your stories are super informative and fun. Seeing you blog now is such a cherry on top.
The photos are gorgeous, wouldn’t expect anything less from you 🙂 and I totally need to try this babka! I don’t bake with walnuts enough.
Awwww!Thanks Alice! I actually started my photography/food journey with the blog, but somewhere along the way I lost the joy in writing it. I feel so much more energised and motivated now that I did the rebranding and I truly can’t wait to share more 🙂 Makes me so happy to hear that you like it! You’ll love this recipe – it’s just so hard not too 🙂 Sending warm hugs your way!
Absolutely gorgeous Bea. Congratulations on your new site
Thank you so much Louise! Happy to see you here xxx
Hi Bea ! So happy to see you’re blogging again ! It gives me motivation to start again, my blog has been quiet for too long now. Your babka looks absolutely delish !! I have a babka on my blog, but haven’t made one in ages. Now I’m deeply craving one 🙂
Hey Meriem! You have so many great recipes on your blog! It would be lovely if you could share them in English too 🙂 And I am happy that I send some motivation your way-that’s what this beautiful community is for – for supporting each other 🙂 Sending big hugs and a virtual slice of this delicious bake 🙂
Oh I adore babkas and the photos look stunning as per usual!
Thank you so much dear Zita! It’s sooooo LOVELY to see you here! You know how much I adore everything you do xxx
Never made a babka before & was quite daunted by the whole process of it..But after seeing your step by step guide I am gonna try it soon.. fingers crossed 🤞..!!😃.Any substitute for muscovado sugar??
Hey Anusha!It really is easier than the lengthy recipe description sounds!You should definitely give it a go. I am here to help 🙂 You could use normal cane sugar instead of muscovado. I like it because it adds a little bit of colour to the buttery mixture but you can substitute it with any other fine sugar 🙂 Let me know if you have any more questions!