Braided Blueberry Babka Takes A Back Seat To No Babka

We all know babka from the infamous Seinfeld episode, but have you ever actually tried it? A sweet braided yeast dough loaf usually filled with chocolate or cinnamon – you can't go wrong there! But we're taking it one step further. Jerry and Elaine would be shocked and pleased to hear that the chocolate babka and cinnamon babka can now step aside, because the blueberry babka is finally here!

You'll Need:

For the dough:

  • 16 oz flour
  • 1 egg
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 3 oz honey
  • 2 oz sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 8 oz soft butter
  • 8 fl oz whole milk, warm
  • 2 tsp dry yeast

For the blueberry filling:

  • 12 oz sugar
  • 24 oz frozen blueberries

Here's How:

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F and prepare the dough. Add the flour, egg, egg yolks, honey, sugar, vanilla extract, and soft butter to a large bowl.

2. Add the yeast to the warm milk in a separate glass and let sit for about 5 minutes. Pour the yeast milk into the bowl with the other dough ingredients and mix everything together with a hand mixer with dough hook attachments. Cover the bowl with a towel and let sit for 30 minutes. 

3. Spread some flour on a work surface and knead the dough until smooth. Put the dough ball back in the bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the blueberry filling. Caramelize the sugar in a pot, add the frozen blueberries, and cook until the liquid is almost completely absorbed. Let the filling cool completely before spreading on the dough.

5. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll each one out in a rectangle.

6. Spread the blueberry filling over the dough rectangles, roll each one up in a long roll, and cut each roll in half.

7. Cross the four pieces of dough on a sheet pan and begin to intertwine the strands, as shown in the video. Brush the dough with an egg wash and bake for 45 minutes.

The blueberry filling not only adds to the look of this sweet babka, but it takes the flavor to a whole new level. Now that is one good looking babka!

You can find the recipe for the Blueberry Danish Roll featured in the bonus video here.

Comments

Also hefty