Chocolate Cinnamon Babkallah Recipes

CHOCOLATE-CINNAMON "BABKALLAH"

Steps:

• Dough:
• Heat milk in a small saucepan until warm. Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in yeast; let sit until foamy, 5-10 minutes.
• Whisk in egg yolks, vanilla, and 1/2 cup butter. Add sugar, salt, and 3 cups flour; mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until supple, smooth, and no longer shiny, 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a large buttered bowl. Cover and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours.
• Filling and assembly:
• Mix chocolate, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide into three portions. Shape each into a 12"-long rope. Roll out each rope to a 12x6" rectangle about 1/8" thick. Brush with butter and top with chocolate mixture, pressing gently. Roll up to form a log; pinch seam to seal.
• Place logs, seam side down, side by side on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pinch logs together at one end; braid, then pinch ends together and tuck under. Cover loosely and let sit in a warm place until 1 1/2 times larger, 1-2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°. Beat egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Brush dough with egg wash; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until top is golden brown and "Babkallah" sounds hollow when bottom is tapped, 35-45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

CHOCOLATE BABKA

Steps:

• Warm the milk and melt 1/4 cup butter in a glass or ceramic bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, or on the stovetop in a saucepan. Combine the bread flour, 2 cups all-purpose flour, yeast, and 1/4 cup sugar. Add the water, the milk-butter mixture, the egg, and the salt to the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Use the dough hook in a stand mixer on low speed or knead the dough by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add more bread flour, about 2 tablespoonfuls at a time (up to 8 tablespoons) to make a workable dough; too much flour can make the dough dry. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rise until double in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Make the chocolate filling and the streusel while the dough is rising. For the filling, stir together the finely chopped chocolate, the cinnamon, and 1/4 cup sugar. Cut in 1/4 cup chilled butter with a fork. To make the streusel, combine the confectioners' sugar and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; cut in 1/4 cup chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• When the dough has doubled, punch the dough down and cut it into two equal pieces. Loosely shape each piece into a ball. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes.
• Roll out one portion on a lightly floured surface to form a 15x4-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with half the chocolate filling, roll up to form a long log, and seal the seam. Attach the ends to form a circle and place the ring, seam-side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Use a serrated knife or kitchen shears to cut slits at 1-inch intervals around the rings. Cover the rings with damp kitchen towels and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Brush the loaves with the egg wash, if desired. Sprinkle streusel on top. Bake the loaves for about 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets to promote even browning, until the bread is a deep golden brown.

CHOCOLATE-CINNAMON BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• Sift flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together into a bowl. Whisk buttermilk, water, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl.
• Combine butter and sugar in a third, large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until egg is completely incorporated. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk mixture, beating batter briefly after each addition until just blended. Divide batter evenly between the prepared loaf pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool completely.