Cinnamon and Walnut Babka

By KitchenGnome

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Ingredients

• For the babka dough:
• 2 tsp dried active yeast
• 100 ml milk
• 330 g wholemeal spelt flour
• 40 g sugar
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 egg
• 90 g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, at room temperature
• For the cinnamon and walnut filling:
• 75 g soft butter
• 100 g sugar
• 100 g walnuts
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• For the syrup:
• 100 ml water
• 60 g sugar
• 40 g honey
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3 cloves

Details

Adapted from realsimplefoodblog.com

Preparation

Step 1

Start with the babka dough. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until hot to the touch. Add the yeast and set aside for 10 minutes or until bubbly.

In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt, egg and the butter. Add the yeast mixture. Using your hands or a mixer, mix until everything comes together in a shaggy and sticky ball of dough. If using a stand mixer, knead for ca. 8-10 minutes or until the dough is perfectly smooth and no longer sticky – alternatively, turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until it is perfectly smooth and no longer sticky, this should take around 15 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and set aside for 30 minutes.

While the babka dough is resting, prepare the filling. Add the butter, sugar, walnuts and cinnamon to the container of a food processor. Pulse until the walnuts are chopped finely and the mixture comes together.

Grease a loaf pan with butter and line with parchment paper.

To assemble the babka, place the dough on a floured surface and roll out to a 30x50cm rectangle (don’t worry if the edges are a bit uneven – no one will be able to tell once the babka is baked!). Brush off any excess flour with a pastry brush, then add the filling and try and distribute it as evenly as possibly – there won’t be enough filling to cover the entire rectangle in a layer of it (I found that much filling overpowering in previous tests) but try and ensure it is evenly spread across the dough.

Carefully roll up the babka starting from the long side. The easiest way to do this is to first fold the edge of the dough in over itself as tightly as possible starting from one end of the dough and slowly working your way to the other end. From then on you should be able to roll up the entire dough using both hands and resting the heels of your hands on the folded dough and gently rolling your hands forward.

Roll the dough so that the seam is facing downwards. With a sharp knife or a pastry cutter, cut the roll in two halves along the long side. Turn the dough slightly to ensure the cut side is facing upwards on both pieces. Pinch the ends together on one side then gently twist the two pieces of dough, pinching the other ends together as well. Carefully push on both ends to compress the twisted strands of dough until they are about the length of your loaf pan. Using both hands, carefully place the babka into the prepared loaf pan. Cover and let proof somewhere warm for ca. 1.5-2h or until risen and puffy and a dent made in the dough with a finger will only slowly disappear.

While the babka is proofing, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Once the babka is proofed, bake for 30-40 minutes until well risen, springy to the touch and golden brown in colour.

While the babka is baking, prepare the syrup. Combine the water, sugar, honey and spices in a small saucepan and bring to a boil on medium heat. Wait for the sugar to be dissolved completely, then continue boiling until the syrup just starts to thicken slightly. Immediately pour the hot syrup over the babka – you may not need all the syrup.

Leave the babka to cool in the pan before turning it out.

The babka should keep 3-4 days at room temperature.