Sourcreambabka Recipes

SOUR CREAM BABKA

Steps:

• To prepare dough, combine cranberries and amaretto in a small bowl; set aside. Heat milk over medium-high heat in a small, heavy saucepan to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in sour cream. Cool to room temperature.
• Dissolve yeast in warm water, and let stand 5 minutes. Place 1/2 cup granulated sugar, eggs, and egg yolks in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until thick and pale (about 2 minutes). Add milk mixture, yeast mixture, 1 teaspoon almond extract, and salt; beat until well blended.
• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 5 1/2 cups flour to egg mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).
• Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 10 minutes.
• Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Knead cranberry mixture, raisins, and almonds into dough. With floured hands, pat dough into an 8-inch circle. Form a 2-inch hole in center of dough; place dough in prepared pan, allowing center of Bundt pan to emerge through hole in dough. Gently press the dough into pan. Lightly coat top of dough with cooking spray; cover and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Uncover dough. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until loaf is browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack.
• To prepare icing, combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup milk, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, stirring with a whisk. Remove babka from pan, and place on a serving platter. Drizzle with icing; cool completely.

RHUBARB SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; mix well. , In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream. Fold in rhubarb. Spread into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. , For topping, in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle over the top. , Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

SOUR CREAM RHUBARB COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl. Beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a separate large bowl until smooth, and stir in sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract, mixing well. Stir flour mixture into sour cream mixture just until incorporated; pour batter into prepared baking dish. Spread rhubarb over batter. Mix white sugar with cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the rhubarb.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.

SAVORY BABKA WITH RICOTTA AND HERBS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan on the stovetop, or in a bowl in the microwave, warm the milk until lukewarm, but not hot (about 110 degrees). Add yeast and pinch of sugar, and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes until slightly foamy.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, a food processor, or using a large bowl and a wooden spoon, mix the flour and salt. Beat or process in the yeast mixture and eggs until the dough comes together in a soft mass, about 2 minutes. It's OK if a little flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.
• Add half the butter and beat until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Beat in the rest of the butter and continue to beat until dough is stretchy, another 5 to 7 minutes. At this point, all the flour should be worked into the dough. If not, add a teaspoon or two of water, and beat for another minute or so.
• Butter a clean bowl. Form the dough into a ball and roll it around in the bowl so all sides are buttered. Cover the bowl with a plate or dish towel, and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place, like the inside of a turned-off oven with the oven light on, until it puffs and rises, anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 hours. It may not double in bulk, but it should rise.
• Press the dough down with your hands to expel the air, cover the bowl again and refrigerate overnight. (In a pinch, you could chill the dough for 4 hours, but it won't develop as much flavor.)
• Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients until smooth. Taste and add more salt and black pepper, if needed. (If you used ham or olives, you probably won't need more salt.) Filling can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead and refrigerated.
• Butter a 9-inch loaf pan, then line with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of overhang for pulling the babka out later.
• Put the dough on a floured surface and roll it into a 9-by-17-inch rectangle. Spread the filling evenly onto the dough, going all the way to the edge. Starting with a long side, roll into a tightly coiled log. Bring one end of the log to meet the other, then twist the dough, pinching together the ends to seal.
• Place dough into the prepared pan. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until puffy. (It won't quite double.)
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the top of the babka with more softened butter and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until the top is deeply golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes. The babka should sound hollow if you tap it on the bottom once it's unmolded. An instant-read thermometer inserted in the center will read 185 degrees. Transfer to a wire rack. Babka is best served still a little warm.

POLISH BABKA, ROBERT STRYBEL, NO-KNEAD, EASY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mash the yeast cake with the sugar (note: the compressed yeast cake can be substituted with a package of active dry yeast; to activate, follow the directions on the package).
• Beat the 3 eggs and add to the yeast mixture.
• Heat the milk to very warm and dissolve the butter in it. Let cool slightly. Add to the yeast/egg mixture and add the flour, salt, grated lemon rind, vanilla extract and the dried fruit (I like cranberries, raisins, walnuts.) Mix well to blend all ingredients, but do not knead.
• Grease (here's where Kittencal's pan coating comes in handy, #78579) a 9-1/2 inch Babka pan, brioche mold, Bundt pan, or other tube pan and fill with the dough to about 1/3 full. (I use two 8" fluted babka pans.) Cover with cloth and let stand in warm place for about 2 hours (until the Babka dough has doubled in size.).
• Towards the end of the rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When risen, place the Babka inside and bake it for about 40-45 minutes. (Note, if you use bakeware that is dark or colored on the outside, set the oven at 325 deg Fahrenheit.) It is fully baked when a wooden pick comes out clean. Should be a medium brown. If too light it will be underdone and damp.
• After baking, remove the Babka from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Carefully remove from pan and dust it with confectioner's sugar or glaze with icing.
• For the icing, combine the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, and boiling water in a small bowl and mix together.
• If you glaze the Babka with the icing, sprinkle it with chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, raisins or finely chopped candied orange rind, before the icing sets.
• Let it cool completely before serving. Wrap leftovers tightly with plastic wrap for storage at room temperature. For longer storage, you can freeze the Babka, tightly sealed in a plastic bag.
• Cooking Tips: Soak dried fruits in brandy or Grand Marnier before using.

SAVORY SOURDOUGH BABKA

Steps:

• Mix all of the dough ingredients together. The dough will be slightly tacky.
• Either let rise slowly in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, or set out at room temperature for 4-6 hours. Any combination of room temperature and cold retarding is fine. For the longer cold fermentation, you might flip the dough after a day or so to prevent a dryer top layer. The dough should grow to be about 150% the original size.
• When your dough is finished with the bulk fermentation, prepare your filling. The savory fillings can be done in a food processor, blender or by hand. The chocolate-cinnamon filling is best done in a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or by hand.
• Scrape the dough onto a floured counter. Flour the top of the dough and press it into a rectangle, roughly 10x13 inches.
• Flour the top of the dough again, and flip it over. Then lightly flour the new top of the dough, gently brushing the flour onto the surface of the dough just so it isn't tacky. This flipping and flouring is to make rolling and cutting the dough easier.
• Spread the filling on the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch empty on one of the short sides. You can dampen this stripe with a wet fingertip to help adhesion.
• Roll from the dry short side, and let the rolled dough rest on the seam for a few minutes.
• Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
• Using kitchen scissors (or a knife), cut down the middle of the roll.
• Make an X with the two strands of dough (see gallery below), then twist the top strand under the bottom strand. Do this both above and below the X. Pinch the ends together.
• Using a bench scraper and/or spatula, scoop up the twisted dough and place it into the parchment-lined loaf pan. Your long twist will scrunch up during this process, allowing it to fit into the loaf pan.
• Cover and let proof for about an hour at room temperature, or 8-10 hours in the coldest part of your refrigerator.
• Preheat your oven to 325F.
• Brush the loaf with milk (or egg) and sprinkle with more cheese if you want.
• Bake uncovered for 60 minutes or until the inside of the loaf is above 190F. Let cool in the pan on a rack for about 30 minutes, then remove from the pan and peel off the parchment paper.
• Instructions for Making Naan
• At the end of the bulk ferment in the instructions above, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured counter.
• Roll the dough into a tube and cut it in 8-10 pieces (~680g total dough weight).
• Start warming up a cast iron frying pan 10" or bigger on your stove at medium heat.
• Roll out a dough piece into a circle (ish) shape about 1/4 inch thick. Flour your rolling pin and counter as needed.
• Brush the top of the rolled-out dough with water.
• Place in the hot frying pan, water side down.
• When the naan has bubbles all over the top and is starting to curl under at the edges, then flip it over.
• Optional: You can brush the naan with butter before flipping, but if you find your brush is popping bubbles, wait until the naan is already cooked for this step or skip it altogether if you want.
• Cook until both sides have dark golden brown areas. You can roll out each naan while cooking the previous naan and be done in about 20 minutes. Keeping the process moving also prevents the pan from overheating. You can also lower the heat if you fall behind. Your first naan might be a little unattractive as you gauge how hot you want your pan to be and when to flip.
• Cool on a rack. You can serve immediately, store loosely wrapped in paper or plastic on the counter, or freeze in a plastic bag with small pieces of parchment paper between each flatbread.

CHOCOLATE BABKA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. In a small saucepan, heat water to 120°-130°; stir into dry ingredients. Stir in eggs and yolk, orange zest and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight., Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each half into a 12x10-in. rectangle. For filling, in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Stir in confectioners' sugar, cocoa and salt. Spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam and ends to seal., Using a sharp knife, cut each roll lengthwise in half; carefully turn each half cut side up. Loosely twist strips around each other, keeping cut surfaces facing up; pinch ends together to seal. Place in 2 greased 9x5-in. loaf pans, cut side up. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°., Bake until golden brown, 35-45 minutes, tenting with foil halfway through baking. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Brush over warm babka. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.