Raspberry Babka With Orange & Cardamom

We see babka bread everywhere these days as it has become quite the baking trend. Filled with anything from chocolate, jams, and even pesto, the babka has come a long way from its origins in some ways. Originating in Eastern European Jewish cultures, the babka was created as a way for people to use up leftover challah dough. When you make a babka for yourself, it certainly doesn’t feel like you are using up any old dough scraps as you build the bread from the ground up and it truly becomes a pride and joy. I can only assume that back in the day, challah was made so often in a house that once it was divided and braided, there would be some left over bits. Here is where I understand that babka comes into play. Traditionally it was filled with nuts, dried fruit, or cinnamon. I think I can stand by all of fillings still. In the last 50 years, the babka has transformed into a much sweeter dessert, often filled with chocolate, nutella, or fruit preserves. It is such an appealing bread and recipe to do as it allows for so much creativity and because of the unique way it is braided, it is absolutely gorgeous to look at. 

Filled with so much passion and info, you would think I was an avid babka baker. This was actually my first time making the babka. Now, I have made challah bread a few times before, so it wasn’t completely foreign. I am not a big chocolate person, so I decided to go with a raspberry filling spruced up with a few things I had in my pantry- cardamom, orange peel, and turmeric. The most challenging part of this bread was slicing and forming the dough. As I ran my knife down the center of the babka roll, all of my jam filling started oozing out. I figured this would happen, but I wasn’t prepared for the very VERY slippery dough ropes I was meant to be twisting into a beautiful braid. Let’s just say that my hands were covered in jam, the counter was covered in jam, and the whole babka was covered in jam. It seemed right but so wrong all at the same time. I skeptically continued on with the bread, proofing it for the second time and then straight into baking. 

The babka was gorgeous. The turmeric had turned the dough a beautifully rich mustard yellow colour, the excess raspberry jam that ended up all over the place helped to evenly brown the exterior of the bread, and the smell was just devine. Most days we ate the bread toasted with a little butter or coconut oil and at the end of the loaf, we made french toast. Absolutely Magical. 

The following recipe has been adapted from the “Bake from Scratch” blog

Babka Dough w/ Turmeric, Orange, and Cardamom

Ingredients:

• 3 ¾ cup (469 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1package (7 grams) active dry yeast
• ½ cup (120 grams) milk
• ½ cup (120 grams) water
• ⅓ cup (76 grams) unsalted butter
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• ½ an orange, zested
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground turmeric 

Filling:

• ½ cup preserves of your choice (I used an organic raspberry jam)

Method:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together 1 ½ cups (188g) of flour and all of the sugar, salt, and yeast. Place the bowl on the electric mixer, fitted with a dough hook.

In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, warm the milk, water, and butter until it reaches 120 degrees F to 130 degrees F. I like to whisk or stir the mixture constantly during heating as it helps to evenly distribute the heat. Add the warm mixture to the dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until well combined. Add the egg, orange zest, cardamom, and turmeric at this point if you choose to add these flavorings. Beat until combined. 

With the mixer on low, add the remaining flour and beat on medium speed for 7-9 minutes. As the dough is worked by the mixer over the course of the 7-9 minutes, it should form into a beautiful, smooth ball that pulls away from the bowl. If you find that the dough is looking too sticky and is sticking to the sides of the bowl near the end of the timer, gradually add approximately ¼ cup of flour and continue beating until it forms a smooth ball. 

Once your dough is ready, place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. You will want to let the dough rise in a warm, draft free place for 40 minutes- 1 hour. I like to keep an eye on my dough to make sure I do not let it rise too much. 

Once your dough has proofed, turn it out on a clean work surface lightly dusted with flour. Roll the dough into a large rectangle approximately 38cm x 50 cm. Spread the raspberry jam evenly on the surface. Starting on the long side of the dough, roll into a log. Seal the seam of the log by pinching the dough together. Make sure that this seam is very well sealed.

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Using a very sharp knife, slice down the center length of the log, leaving it held together at the top. Twist the two pieces of dough together, pinching the ends. Place the final twist in a round baking pan lined with parchment paper. I used an 8” round spring-form pan, but you certainly could use one that is a couple of inches larger. Cover the dough again and let it rise for 60-90 minutes. 

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Just before baking, you can brush your bread with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, or leave it as is. It is your choice. Bake for 60-90 minutes, or until golden brown. If you are worried about the center of your bread being doughy, you can use a thermometer to read the internal temperature. For an enriched bread like this, the internal temperature should be close to 200 degrees F. Allow the bread to cool before cutting into it. 

Good luck! 🙂