A babka has always fascinated me, and that is a weird thing to say, but they always looked so fiddly and intricate, and beautiful. I made my first babka at the end of last year and have wanted to come up with a savoury one ever since. So I did. Here it is...
Ingredients. Makes 1, in a 2lb loaf tin
300g Strong White Bread Flour 8g Dried Yeast Yeast 1tsp Salt 1tsp Caster Sugar
1tbsp Dried Mixed Herbs
70g Milk 60g Salted Butter
2 Large eggs
Filling
200g Cream Cheese
Handful of fresh parley, roughly chopped
1tbsp Dried Mixed Herbs
100g Cheddar Cheese, grated
50g Pickled Jalapeños, roughly chopped
Salt & Pepper
Method
1. Gently warm the milk and butter in a small pan until the butter has just melted but the milk is luke-warm, not hot, and set aside
2. Put your flour, dried yeast, salt, sugar and herbs into a bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer and crack in the eggs. With the dough hook running slowly (or using a spoon to mix) slowly add the milk mixture. Stir to combine then either sit back and watch your machine do the hard work or knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a good 10 minutes
3. When your dough is shiny and elastic, pop back into the bowl, which you have now lightly oiled, cover and place in a warm place to rest for about an hour, until the dough has doubled in size
4. During this first resting you can prepare the filling and tin. Add your cream cheese, chopped and dried herbs to a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Drain the jalapeños and chop roughly. The amount you use really depends on how hot you like it. They will be well dispersed in the loaf so go for it! Grate your cheese. Again, if you like it cheesy, add more. Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper ready for later. I use a reusable tin liner, and they are brilliant
5. After an hour, tip your dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently before rolling out into a square of a about 40cm
6. Spread your cream cheese mixture all over the dough square, right to the edges, and top with the chopped jalapeños and grated cheddar
7. Start rolling the dough from the side closet to you, away from you, as you would a Swiss Roll, keeping it as tight as possible. Turn the now sausage shape 90° and using a sharp knife, cut the whole thing in half, length ways
8. You should now two long half-pipe shaped pieces. Starting in the middle, cross one over the other and repeat at both ends, keeping the cut sides up at all times
9. Tuck in the ends and carefully transfer your delicate little beauty to your prepared tin, making sure it sits neatly and comfortably and has room to grow. Cover lightly and leave to rest again in a warm place again for another hour
10. When the hour is nearly up, preheat your oven to 180° (I don't use the fan, but adjust if you must). Sprinkle the top with a few salt flakes and bake your babka for 35-40 minutes, until golden and beautiful looking. Check after 25 minutes, you might want to cover the top with foil if it's starting to colour too much. It's quite a dense mixture of dough and cheese so will need the full time, you just don't want to burn it (it turns out soft and not dense, fear not)
11. Leave to cool in the tin and slice, smother in butter and enjoy!
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