Honey Babka Food

UKRAINIAN EASTER BABKA

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Scald the milk and cool it to 110 F.
• Place 1/3 cup flour in a medium bowl and pour the cooled scalded milk over, beating until smooth. Set aside.
• In a measuring cup or small bowl, dissolve 2 teaspoons sugar in lukewarm water and stir in the yeast.
• Transfer the yeast mixture to the milk-flour paste, mixing well.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until light and bubbly.
• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the egg yolks , whole eggs, and salt.
• Add 1 cup sugar and continue beating until light.
• Beat in the butter, vanilla, and lemon zest .
• Add the sponge to this mixture and mix well.
• Add 6 cups flour and knead 7 minutes by machine or 10 minutes by hand.
• Knead in the optional raisins.
• Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
• Punch down dough, knead a few times, and let it rise again.
• Grease 3 babka cylinders or food-grade coffee tins and fill each pan 1/3 full.
• Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until tripled.
• Brush tops with 1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons of milk or water.
• Heat oven to 375 F.
• Bake babkas 10 minutes.
• Then lower temperature to 325 F and bake 30 minutes.
• Then lower temperature to 275 F and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer. Cover tops with aluminum foil, if they are browning too quickly.
• Remove from the oven and let stand in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Turn loaves out of the pan, running a knife around them, if necessary, and cool completely on a wire rack.
• If desired, the cooled loaves can be iced with a simple confectioners' sugar glaze , letting it drip down the sides for a decorative effect.
• Serve and enjoy!

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.

UKRAINIAN HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 F, and butter and flour a 7" cake pan.
• Beat honey until frothy. Add eggs, flour and baking powder.
• Pour into prepared cake pan. Bake for 15 minutes and check the cake. When done, it will shrink slightly from the pan. Continue baking for 5 minutes if it isn't ready yet. (continue if it needs more time).
• Turn it out of the pan while still hot, and let cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container for a day before serving.

CINNAMON DATE, HONEY & PISTACHIO BABKA BUNS

Steps:

• Put the milk in a small pan over a low heat until it feels slightly warm (not hot). Dissolve the yeast in a small bowl with a tablespoon or two of the milk and a large pinch of the sugar. Set aside for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile mix 265g of the flour, the remaining sugar and ¼ tsp salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and stir to combine. Make a well in the flour and once the yeast has started to foam, pour it in together with the beaten egg and the butter. Add the yeast mixture, then use the remaining milk to rinse all the yeast out of the bowl and add this too.
• Mix to combine the ingredients until they form a ball of dough, then continue to knead it for 5-6 mins until elastic and shiny. (You can do all of this by hand if you do not have a mixer.) If the dough is very sticky you can add more of the flour a tablespoon at a time. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to rise at room temperature, around 45 mins, then put in the fridge to rise for at least 6 hrs or overnight.
• To make the filling, chop the dates if they are whole, then put them in a heatproof bowl with 90ml boiling water and leave to soften for 30 mins. Blitz to a paste in a food processor, adding more water, a tablespoon at a time if it is too thick. Don't add too much - you want a spreadable paste and not a liquid. Once the consistency is right, add the cinnamon and stir to combine.
• Lightly oil a 23cm loose bottom cake tin and line with baking parchment. Put the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 40cm x 30cm rectangle. Spread with the date paste and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios. Roll up from one of the shorter sides to make a log. If the dough has become soft, lift onto a baking sheet and chill for 20 mins in the fridge until firm. (If the log is too large for the fridge, carefully slice it in half using a sharp serrated knife.)
• Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the log into slices 5cm thick. You should have about seven slices. Arrange them in the prepared tin, with the spiral facing upwards, beginning with one in the centre and the others around it. Leave space between them so they can spread as they rise. Cover and leave in a warm space to prove until they have doubled in size (about 1 hr-1 hr 30 mins).
• About 20 mins before the end of proving, heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Lightly brush the dough with the beaten egg. Bake for 20 mins.
• Meanwhile, make the sugar syrup by dissolving the sugar and honey in 2 tbsp water in a small pan over a low heat. As soon as the babka buns come out of the oven, brush generously with the honey syrup and leave to cool in the tin. Serve warm or at room temperature. Will keep for up to three days covered in an airtight container.