Apple Butter Babka
Babka is a great thing. As most of you probably know, the two main babka variations are chocolate and cinnamon sugar. It’s obvious that chocolate is the superior of the two (the cinnamon sugar is so…dry? bland? boring?). I’m not trying to dispute the chocolate supremacy with this recipe. I’m merely suggesting that there’s an opportunity to make a babka that’s decidedly less rich and better suited to eating as a snack all day long. Apple butter actually has a great sweet-bitter balance (most of the time) since it’s deeply caramelized, so I thought it would be a great autumnal filling for babka. The pecans and raisins definitely take the bread into cinnamon raisin bread territory, but I sort of like that connection.
Tips
The dough is extremely easy to work with, which is great. Just be sure to roll it up somewhat tightly so it doesn’t fall apart when you try to twist it together after cutting it in half. Your dough may inevitably not cooperate during the twisting step, but just keep going, babka is supposed to look rustic.
Feel free to sub out pecans for any other nut and the raisins for other dried fruit like currants or cherries.
Make sure your apple butter is a deep brown and not watery. If it is, you may want to consider cooking it down a little beforehand to make sure it won’t sog out your loaves.
Do NOT underbake your loaves. I recommend checking them with a thermometer to make sure they’re done. If you pull them out too early, the babka will sink in the middle and be doughy (it’s happened to me before and it’s a total bummer).
2 loaves
Adapted from Joshua Weissman
Ingredients
For the dough:
1 tbsp (10g) active dry yeast
3/4 cup (175g) lukewarm water (90 degrees F)
4 1/4 cup (530g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp (3g) kosher salt
10 tbsp (150g) unsalted butter, room temperature
For the filling:
1 1/2 cup (340g) apple butter
1/2 cup (65g) pecans, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup (80g) raisins (optional)
For the simple syrup:
1/3 cup water (80g)
1/3 cup granulated sugar (72g)
2 cinnamon sticks (optional)
Special Equipment Needed
Stand mixer
2 standard bread loaf pans
Directions
Whisk yeast with water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough attachment. Allow to proof for 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast is bubbly and active. Add in the flour, sugar, eggs, and salt. Turn mixer to low and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Increase speed to medium. Add butter to the kneading dough, tablespoon by tablespoon, allowing each piece of butter to incorporate before adding the next piece. After all butter has been added, continuing mixing for another 8 minutes, or until the dough is extremely elastic and smooth. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator overnight.
The next morning, oil and flour the two loaf pans. Remove your dough from the refrigerator. Punch it down to let the air out. Divide in half, and return one half to the refrigerator covered back in the plastic wrap. Lightly flour your work surface. Roll the dough out to about a 12”x12” square, definitely doesn’t need to be perfect. Smear the apple butter evenly over the dough, leaving about a 1/2” border on each side. Scatter half the pecans and half the raisins over the dough, if using. Roll the dough up like you were making cinnamon rolls (make sure to keep the spiral tight and even). Let the dough rest seem side down and orient it vertically. Using a serrated and floured knife, cut the dough in half length-wise, exposing the alternating layers. Pinch the two logs together at the top. Twist the two logs together. Tuck the two ends of the twisted log slightly under itself to keep them from unraveling. Carefully transfer your dough to one of the prepared loaf pans (if it’s longer than the loaf pan, just sort of push it together more). Cover with plastic wrap. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.
Allow loaves to proof at room temperature until the dough just hits the top of the loaf pan, about 40-60 minutes (you can also test by poking the dough lightly and seeing if the dough springs back slightly).
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350F with a rack set in the lower third position. Once the loaves are proofed, bake them side-by-side until the tops are deeply golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean or the dough registers between 185F-200F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45-55 minutes (if your loaves are getting too dark, cover with aluminum foil. While your loaves bake, add the simple syrup ingredients together in a small saucepot and cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. When the loaves are done, remove them from the oven and set them on a wire rack. Brush the syrup onto each loaf. Add a cinnamon stick on top of each loaf as a garnish. Let cool to room temperature. Turn the loaves out. The loaves will last covered at room temperature for about 5 days, or you could freeze them for up to a couple of months.
