Chocolate Babka Bakealong: Challenge #9

This Chocolate Babka Bakealong Challenge about damn near killed me & I had only myself to blame. Last month I made the Berry Blitz Torte, and it was much easier!

King Arthur Flour’s Bakealong Blog does a fantastic job of outlining their recipes step by step- it’s close to foolproof. I got a little ahead of myself & made the HUGE mistake of not reading the entire recipe before I went all in.

I make the dough, it rises, I knead the dough, it rises. Unless it’s very cold. Then I move the dough, then I cover the dough some more. It’s not working, so I turn the oven on low and put the dough beside the oven. Oh, it’s been 3 hours, I better get a move on because I have plans!

Finally, the dough is puffy, so I make the filling. I’ve got all the ingredients, nope- I don’t. Now on to chop up chocolate chips. I sure hope my hands aren’t too greasy from that melted butter spilling all over the place. I give it a shot & wind up being incredibly close to an ER trip. Buttered hands and a sharp knife don’t mix well so, I asked for help with these damned chocolate chips. Have you ever tried chopping chocolate chips? It’s not very easy.

Whew, the gritty filling is mixed, but it doesn’t spread- at all. So, I add more butter. Then, I think how about I try the harder version of rolling/cutting and assembling the dough because 4 hours of baking isn’t enough for me. I am shaking, looking at the blog & I finally get the babkas in their respective pans. Now, we head to our friend’s house for dinner. Have dough, will travel.

Here comes the fun part, my friends. Baking loaves of bread in an unfamiliar oven. Thank goodness for thermometers because these babies took forever. One they reached 190 deg in the middle, we pulled them out & could hardly wait for them to cool before tearing into them.

Let me tell you, they were amazing. I had no preference in the way they were each assembled. They were sweet, chewy, delicious & perfect for a cold Sunday evening.