Blueberry Lemon Babka

 

Never had I heard of babka before until I watched that infamous Seinfeld episode where Jerry and Elaine were desperately searching for a chocolate one to take to their friend's dinner party.  Unfortunately for them the bakery they went to only had cinnamon ones left.  Had they only known about Bluberry Lemon Babka they would have forgotten all about chocolate.

 

The recipe for this enriched dough beauty comes from blogger Cinnamon Shtick and it is an absolute winner.   Lemon is infused throughout the bread and the citrus flavor pairs beautifully with the homemade blueberry jam filling.   The addition of a struesel crumb topping takes this bread to the next level.  So good!

 

 

If you've never made bread with an enriched dough before, i.e., a yeasted dough with eggs and butter, then I highly recommend giving this recipe a try.  The dough is a dream to work with and is quite forgiving.     I don't think you can mess it up, but even if things go awry I'm sure it will still taste delicious.

Braided Challah

I don't have much experience braiding bread dough but when I see beautiful loaves twisted in such interesting ways I'm determined to give it a go.  My colleague Inna makes challah every Friday for the sabbath and recently she made a mini loaf so I could try.  Her bread had the deepest, mahogany crust and such a beautiful braid.  As soon as I got home I cut a few slices and enjoyed them toasted with butter.  Delicious!  

Straightaway I asked Inna for the recipe she used and she referred me to this one from Chen Shukron.  The original post is in Hebrew but one click on Google and you can easily get the English translation.  To shape the bread she referred me to this Instagram post, but to be honest it seriously intimidated me!   I needed to start with something more for the beginner.

A few years ago I attempted a challah, but the braiding technique was a "cheat" version because you stacked a simple plait one on top of another.  What I wanted was to make the intricate, multi-strand braids that you see in bakeries, but for a novice.

I remembered seeing a Braided Round Challah from an issue of Cook's Illustrated that looked so appealing because it used the tangzhong technique, or cooked flour paste, and was shaped so beautifully.   In the end, I decided to make Inna's recipe and the Cook's Illustrated version using the braided round technique because two challah are always better than one! 

The aroma of homemade bread permeated throughout my kitchen and it was heavenly!  Both loaves baked up gorgeously, if I do say so myself.  I should definitely practice my braiding more because now it's not as daunting as it used to be.

Shabbat Shalom y'all!  

Raspberry Hamantaschen

Purim is coming soon so it was the perfect excuse to make Raspberry Hamantaschen, one of my favorite cookies.  I love this shortbread cookie filled with the sweet and tart jam.  I used Sarabeth Levine's recipe for mandelbrot for the cookie and homemade raspberry jam for the filling but you can use store bought. 

Shaping the cookies in to the traditional triangles couldn't be simpler.  I cut circles out of the dough using a 3-inch cutter and filled each with one teaspoon of the jam.  Then just pinched three sides together to form the triangle shape.  Happy Purim!

Cinnamon Walnut Babka

My introduction to Babka began with a Seinfeld episode.  The one where Jerry and Elaine are waiting to buy a chocolate babka for a dinner party but end up with a cinnamon one.  According to Elaine the cinnamon variety was the "lesser babka", but I beg to differ.

I liken babka to a Jewish version of brioche.  The yeasted dough is laden with lots and lots of butter for extra richness and filled with brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon.   Since I didn't have a recipe I turned to my friends at Cook's Illustrated for help.  Caution: I don't recommend attempting this babka without a stand mixer because of the amount of mixing and butter required in the dough. 

The rested and chilled dough rolled out beautifully and was super easy to shape.  After a rise at room temperature it baked in the oven for about an hour.  The smell of caramelized sugar, cinnamon and walnuts was hypnotic.  I'll be bringing these loaves to my parents to enjoy for Christmas.  I know they'll love it.

Mandelbrot

I'm a fan of anything that isn't too sweet and these yummy Mandelbrot fit the bill.  These Jewish cookies are the perfect snack and a great accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea.  If you haven't heard of mandelbrot before they are very similar to Italian biscotti, except they're less likely to break your teeth!  

I found the recipe for these cookies on the blog, Goddess of Bakedom, from Sarabeth Levine.  She of her namesake jams, preserves and East Coast restaurants.   The literal translation of mandelbrot is "almond bread", but Sarabeth's version doesn't contain any nuts at all.   Rather, she fills her cookies with jam, which I think is a fantastic interpretation.  The dough can also be used to make another favorite Jewish cookie of mine, hamantaschen.  

I think my sugar-fearing relatives will definitely like these cookies.  They're going to be added to the list of holiday cookies I'm making this year.

Hamantaschen

I kid you not, I've been waiting a year to make these hamantaschen, the traditional cookie served during the Jewish holiday of Purim.   Don't laugh but it was actually Costco that introduced me to these delicious treats.  Gotta love the weekend samples! 

Given my inexperience with the triangular shaped cookies I turned to the internet for help.  There were a few recipes online but none that really caught my eye so I ended up improvising by using a simple shortbread recipe and Solo apricot cake and pastry filling.  My interpretation of hamantaschen may not be as authentic as your Bubbe's but for now I think they're pretty darn good!

Happy Purim!

 

Challah

My quest to become a master bread maker continues in earnest.  The latest endeavor - Challah, a Jewish classic.  What's not to love about this rich, egg-y braided bread?  Can I get a holla for challah?  Sorry, I couldn't help myself...hehehe.

Once again I turned to my friends at Cook Illustrated for a recipe.  The dough was a snap to make and the best part was the actual braiding.  Stay tuned because the challah is going to be a key ingredient in an upcoming post.  Here's a hint...think Sunday brunch staple. 

TWD Rugelach

This week's TWD recipe is rugelach, a Jewish pastry traditionally formed in a crescent shape by rolling a triangle of cream cheese dough around a filling.  Inside you'd typically find cinnamon, nuts, chocolate or fruit.   

I strayed from the published recipe on two fronts: filling and shape.  Personally I'm not really a fan of cinnamon mixed with fruit, the exception being apples, so I skipped the filling recipe and instead used prepared jams: raspberry and mini chocolate chips or apricot and toasted walnuts.  Secondly I shaped my pastry the traditional way, as crescents, rather than rolling and slicing them.  Call me a baking rebel if you must.

I can't honestly say that I fell in love with the rugelach.  My reception to them was lukewarm at best but I did love how flaky the pastry was.  If you'd like to try the recipe for yourself you can find it in the Baking With Julia cookbook or head over to The Urban Hiker or My Baking Heart blogs.