Savoury sourdough babka
Servings: 2 525g loaves
Ingredients
- 3.5 c (420 g) bread flour I used 510 g (250g T65 wheat, 160g T65 spelt, 50g T110 wheat, 50g rye)
- 1/4 c (45 g) sugar I used 28 g (3 T) coconut sugar dissolved in the milk
- 1/2 c (113 g) whole raw milk
- 1.5 tsp (10 g) salt
- 4 eggs I used 4 egg whites (135 g)
- 8 T (1/2 c or 113 g) softened unsalted butter Original recipe calls for 10 T. I used 40 g butter. If I had included egg yolks too I would have reduced to 30 g
- 1 c (227-241 g) bubbly sourdough starter I used 220 g discard
FILLING
- butter
- rosemary
- fresh herbs (chives, spring onions)
- ricotta, cream cheese
- grated garlic
- pesto
Instructions
- Use cold ingredients so dough doesn't overheat, apart from butter which is softened to room temp and cubed.
- Mix all ingredients apart from the butter and eggs in stand mixer on low speed for 10 minutes.
- Add eggs, mix for another 10 minutes.
- Add the butter gradually until it's all absorbed and mix for another 10 minutes. Check that the dough is not overheating.
- Leave covered at room temperature for up to 8 hours to ferment.
- Transfer to the fridge for up to 3 days.
- NOTE: I found mine was probably overproofed as the texture after taking out of the fridge was a little spongy and needed loads of flour to roll out and kept tearing. Also noticed minimal rise before baking.Try to ferment for a shorter time at room temp and leave in the fridge up to 2 days.That said, the taste and texture of the baked babka was incredible (albeit the interior reamined doughy and a little wet, which I personally enjoy). Dough taste was noticeably on the tangier side due to the extended fermentation.
- Take out of the fridge and divide the dough in two equal pieces.
- On a well floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle with one size equal to the length of the bread tin it will be baked in.
- Spread the filling. I did cream cheese/homemade ricotta, calabrese (red pepper) pesto, scallions (green parts) and chives.
- Roll tightly into a log shape with the seam on the underside and slice halfway down the middle into two strands, leaving the top of the dough uncut so the two strands remain attached. Braid the two strands twisting them around each other. Transfer into a bread/ pound cake tin.
- Let rest until it grows in volume, while the oven is preheating at 220℃ (fan assisted).
- Just before baking, top with a bit of milk or cream or egg wash, sesame seeds and nigella seeds.
- Bake for about 25 minutes.
- Let cool before slicing.
Notes
Sourdough herb and garlic twist loaf
Bread Dough 100 g Sourdough Starter 500 g Bread Flour 8 g Salt 50 g Butter (melted – can be salted or unsalted) 200 g Milk (slightly warm, around 37C) 50 g Water (warm) Garlic & Herb Filling 3 cloves Garlic (finely diced) 50 g Parmesan Cheese (grated) 100 g Salted Butter (softened at room temp) 1 bunch Fresh Herbs (thyme, basil, parsley, sage etc)Savoury sourdough babka
Dough
- 275g flour, see notes for flour options (2 cups)
- 200g sourdough starter (3/4 cup stirred down)
- 125g milk (1/2 cup)
- 75g plain yogurt (1/4 cup)
- 5g salt (1 tsp)
- splash of milk to brush on loaf before baking
Filling 1
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 42g softened butter (3 Tbsp)
- 1 cup of chopped cilantro (or basil)
- 65g shredded pecorino romano or parmesan (1 cup)
- (For a loaf with more separated layers, add 2 Tbsp of olive oil to this filling.)
Filling 2 (More Cheese and Garlic)
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 28g olive oil (2 Tbsp)
- 170g shredded mozzarella (1 3/4 cup or 6 oz)
- 50g grated parmesan (1/2 cup)
- 1-2 Tbsp additional parmesan to sprinkle on top of the loaf before baking
Filling 3 (Gouda and Scallion)
- 2 large stalks of scallions chopped
- 120g smoked gouda chopped (4 slices)
Filling 4 (Chocolate and Cinnamon)
- 71g softened unsalted butter (5 Tbsp)
- 56g sugar (1/4 cup)
- 20g cocoa powder (1/6 cup)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 85g bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped (heaping 1/2 cup or 3 ounces)
Dough Notes
- I like for some portion of the flour and/or starter to be whole grain flour. One version I made was with whole grain rye starter, and this dough was a little softer and less elastic to handle.
- Your starter does not have to be at peak activity. Somewhat dormant starter will simply cause the dough to rise slower. That said, I never tried the recipe with extremely unfed starter.
- Kefir milk instead of yogurt and milk works well, but requires a little more flour (1-2 Tbsp). Likewise, you might add a little more milk (1-2 Tbsp) if you are using a thick Greek-style yogurt.
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