Traditional Easter Babka
Babka is a sweet, rich, dense bread made with dried fruit and is very popular around Easter. Our version has raisins and made using a stand mixer for convenience. After kneading, the dough can be divided into 2 loaves or made into individual babkas.
Storage Time: 2 days on the shelf, 7 days in the refrigerator and up to 2 months in the freezer.
Yield: Makes 2 loaves.
March 29, 2021
Traditional Easter Babka
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk (2%)
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup warm water (100°F – 110°F)
- 1 pkg (8 g) active dry yeast
- 5 – 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 6 large eggs, divided
- 1 1/2 cup raisins
Directions
- Combine milk, butter, 1/2 cup sugar and salt in a saucepan. Place over medium heat until small bubbles form around edge of pan; cool to lukewarm.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater, dissolve 1 tsp sugar in warm water and sprinkle with yeast; stir and let proof for 10 minutes.
- Add 2 1/2 cups flour, milk mixture, egg yolks, 2 egg whites and raisins to yeast mixture. Beat on medium speed until well combined.
- Switch to a dough hook and, using low speed, gradually add remaining 2 1/2 – 3 cups of flour. Beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 – 10 minutes.
- Turn dough into a greased bowl, turn over to grease top, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 – 1 1/2 hours.
- Punch down and divide dough into 2 portions; cover and let rest 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, grease two 6 inch round baking pans. Using parchment paper, create a collar on the inside of the pans with a 2 inch rise above the edge of your pan.
- Shape each portion of dough into a ball and place into prepared pans. Cover and let rise until almost double in bulk, about 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine one of the remaining egg whites with 1 tbsp water to make an egg wash. Brush loaves with egg wash. Keep remaining egg whites for another use.
- Bake until golden brown, about 35 – 40 minutes. Brush with egg wash again 10 minutes before removing bread from oven. Cool in pans on racks for 5 minutes. Invert loaves onto racks and cool completely
Nutritional analysis per slice:
153 calories, 37 g fat, 3.7 g protein, 25.7 g carbohydrate, 0.9 g fibre, 107 mg sodium
Tip: Two 9 x 5 loaf pans can be used in this recipe. Yorkshire pudding pans are great for making individual babkas. These are often found in specialty cooking stores.