Mrs Kostyras Babkas Recipes

BABKA WITH MRS. KOSTYRA

Steps:

• Butter three 8-inch kugelhopf molds. In a small saucepan, heat lowfat milk till just below the boiling point. Add in 2 sticks butter, and stir till melted. Remove from heat, and let cold till lukewarm. Place yeast in a small bowl, and pour 1/2 c. hot water over, stirring with a spoon to break up the yeast and combine. Set aside for 2 to 3 min. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat Large eggs and egg yolks till combined. Add in sugar and salt, and continue to beat till thick and pale. Add in vanilla, orange-flavored liqueur, zests, and yeast mix; combine. Add in 4 c. flour gradually, then add in the lowfat milk mix, alternating with remaining 4 c. flour while beating on medium speed. Up to an additional 1 c. flour may be added if the dough is sticky. Add in currants, raisins, golden brown raisins, and almonds, and mix to combine. Transfer dough to a large bowl, and knead using a large wooden spoon till the dough pulls away and doesn't stick to the spoon, 8 to 10 min. Transfer dough to a large buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a hot place till dough reaches top of bowl, 1 to 2 hrs. Punch the dough down, and let rise again, covered in a hot place till the dough reaches the top of the bowl, 1 to 2 hrs. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine 1 c. flour, 4 Tbsp. butter, light-brown sugar, and cinnamon to create crumb topping, and sprinkle proportionately between the three molds. Punch the dough down again, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 1 minute, and cut into thirds. Transfer dough to prepared molds, covering loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise to top of pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush dough with beaten egg, and bake till golden and hollow sounding when tapped, 30 to 45 min. Turn out onto a cooling rack, and let cold. Makes three 8-inch babkas. Yield: 3 loaves

CHOCOLATE BABKA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Sprinkle the yeast over the milk in a liquid measuring cup; add a pinch of sugar and set aside until bubbly, about 7 minutes. Combine the flour, the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, the eggs, yeast mixture, salt, vanilla, nutmeg and lemon zest in a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until soft and smooth, about 5 minutes. Knead in the butter in three additions, dusting the dough with flour if it's too sticky. Transfer the dough to a large bowl; cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down the dough, re-cover with plastic wrap and let rise in the fridge overnight.
• Make the filling: Heat the sugar, heavy cream and salt in a saucepan until scalding. Pour over the bittersweet chocolate chips, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and shiny. Let cool to room temperature.
• Make the topping: Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a separate bowl; work in the butter with your fingers until the mixture is sandy and chunky. Stir in the mini chocolate chips; set the topping aside.
• Form the loaves: Cut the dough in half with a bench scraper or chef's knife. Using a rolling pin, roll each half into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread the filling on both dough rectangles, all the way to the edges. Starting from a long side, tightly roll each rectangle into a log. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate 15 minutes. Unwrap the logs; cut each in half lengthwise with a bench scraper or chef's knife. Twist the halves together a few times, starting from the middle. Coat two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray and line with parchment, then spray the parchment. Place a dough twist snugly in each pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1 1/2 hours.
• Finish and bake the babka: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush each loaf with butter and sprinkle with the topping. Bake until browned, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, make some simple syrup: Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan; simmer, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Let cool. Pull the loaves out of the oven and immediately poke a bunch of holes in each with a wooden skewer. Pour 1 1/4 cups simple syrup evenly over the loaves.
• Let sit 10 minutes, then remove the babka from the pans, remove the parchment and let cool completely on a rack.

MRS. KOSTYRA'S BORSCHT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place beets on a piece of parchment paper -- lined aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold up edges of foil and parchment to enclose beets. Place on a small baking sheet, and bake until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 1 hour. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel, and coarsely grate; set aside.
• Soak mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving liquid. Coarsely chop mushrooms; set aside.
• In a medium stockpot, combine stock, beets, mushrooms, mushroom liquid, celery leaves, parsley, garlic, sugar, a large pinch of salt, and a large pinch of pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.
• Add lemon juice or citric acid. Taste, and adjust for seasoning. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and flour, stirring until no lumps remain. Whisk in a ladleful of soup, then whisk the sour-cream mixture into the soup. Cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in dill just before serving.

BASIC BABKA

Steps:

• Stir white sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and salt into hot milk in a small bowl until butter is melted and mixture is lukewarm. In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, sprinkle yeast over warm water; stir to dissolve.
• Stir milk mixture into yeast mixture. Add 2 eggs and 2 1/2 cups of the flour; beat on high until combined. With mixer on low, add remaining 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
• Switch to the dough hook; mix until dough leaves sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Set dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, turning dough to coat top. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Prepare walnut filling while dough rises. Lightly beat 3 eggs in a large bowl. Stir in brown sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Fold in walnuts.
• Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a large, lightly floured surface, cover with the bowl, and let rest 10 minutes. Line three 9x5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides.
• Divide dough into thirds; roll each third out to a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Spoon 1/3 of the walnut filling onto each dough square and spread to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll up each square tightly as for a jelly roll. Pinch ends and seams closed to seal. With your palms, roll logs back and forth until uniformly round.
• With a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut 1 log in half lengthwise to form 2 striped strands. Working quickly, twist strands loosely together with cut sides facing out, making 2 or 3 wide, horizontal twists. Fit into one of the prepared pans, patting back any loose filling and tucking ends under, if needed. It might look like a mess now, but it comes out beautifully!
• Repeat with remaining logs and pans. Cover pans with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Loaves should not rise above top edges of pans.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush loaf tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Bake loaves until puffed, well browned, and a thermometer inserted in centers registers 200 degrees F (93 degrees C), 35 to 45 minutes. Tent with foil if tops brown before loaves are done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then use parchment to lift from pans and transfer to a wire rack.
• Cool completely, about 1 hour. Glaze if desired, then slice crosswise to serve.

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.