Chocolate Crumb Babka

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4.85 from 13 votes

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 45

resting time 2

Total Time 3 15

Servings slices

Calories 244

Fluffy babka dough encases the perfect chocolate filling and is topped off with the most delicious chocolate crumbs.

Ingredients

Dough:

7 grams active dry or instant yeast (2¼ teaspoons or 1 envelope)
245 grams milk* (1 cup)
75 grams granulated sugar, divided if using active dry yeast (⅓ cup plus 2 teaspoons)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
480 grams all purpose flour (4 cups)
1 teaspoons salt
113 grams unsalted butter, at cool room temperature, cut into 8 pieces (8 Tablespoons or ½ cup)

Chocolate Filling:

142 grams milk chocolate, chopped (5 oz.)
85 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (3 oz.)
113 grams butter (8 Tablespoons or ½ cup)
55 grams light brown sugar (¼ cup)
25 grams cocoa powder, Dutch process or natural (¼ cup)
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt

Chocolate Crumb Topping:

92 grams all purpose flour (¾ cup)
21 grams cocoa powder, Dutch process or natural (3 Tablespoons)
74 grams confectioner’s sugar (⅔ cup)
¼ teaspoon salt
57 grams butter, melted (4 Tablespoons or ¼ cup)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg white
½ Tablespoon water (1½ teaspoons)

Instructions

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.)
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.
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 or dough scraper. 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.
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.)
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 5-10 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.)
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.
Chocolate Filling: In a medium saucepan over the lowest heat, melt the chocolates together with the butter, stirring frequently, until both are fully melted. Remove from the heat and mix in the brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Allow to set at room temperature. It should be a spreadable consistency. If it is too runny, cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then give it a stir.
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.
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.
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.
Leaving a border of ½ an inch on the top, spread ½ of the chocolate filling on the dough. (There should be approximately 400 g. of chocolate filling, so use approximately 200 g. for each babka.)
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!)
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.
Repeat steps 10-13 with second portion of dough from step 9.
Crumb topping: Whisk all of the dry ingredients together. Add melted butter and vanilla. Stir with a fork until the mixture resembles crumbs. Cover and store in the refrigerator.
Approximately 30 minutes into the second rise, preheat oven to 350° F.
Once the babkas have doubled in size, beat the egg white with the water. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg white wash on top of the babkas. Spread the chocolate crumbs all over the tops of the babkas. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
The babkas are done once the tops are golden brown. (Best to take the babka’s temperature. It is done when the internal temperature reaches 205° F).
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.)
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.

Notes

*Use whole milk, or if in a pinch, 2% milk. Anything less, and you will lose the benefit from the fats in the milk which add to both the flavor and texture of the babka.

**At this point, you can place the covered bowl, before letting the dough rise, in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, continue with step 7. The dough may not have doubled in size in the refrigerator, but that is not a problem. After you have shaped the babkas and placed them in the pans in step 13, allow them to rise, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 1½ to 2 hours, rather than 1 hour.

You can use Dutch process or natural cocoa powder in this recipe. Recipes that rely on chemical leaveners like baking soda and baking powder generally call for which type of cocoa powder because Dutch process will not react with baking soda. The cocoa in this recipe is simply for flavor, so you can successfully use either. I recommend using (and generally use) Dutch process in this recipe because it renders a deeper, chocolate flavor. Whichever you use, be sure to use a quality cocoa powder.

Author: Rob Finkelstein

Calories: 244kcal

Course: Bread, brunch

Cuisine: American, Jewish

Keyword: babka, chocolate

Nutrition