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| Girl in a national costume - Adam Setkowicz, 1936 |
Today's post features a 19th century recipe from Poland, Ukraine and Russia. An Easter bread popular among Jewish communites, babka is leavened with yeast, rolled with fruit jam and glazed with icing sugar like kulich. The original version from Eastern Europe was baked in tall fluted cake pans, resembling the skirt of a woman (baba means 'grandmother' in Slavic languages) that was decorated with beautiful patterns of sugar. 20th century versions also used fillings of poppyseed, almond paste, or chocolate and were often shaped in loaves.
The following recipe
is slightly adapted from Polish & Russian: the Classic Cookbook
(2002).
I n g r e d i e n t s
350g all-purpose flour, 1tsp dried yeast, 2tbsp grated orange zest, a pinch of salt, 150ml milk, 115g butter, 50g caster sugar, 4 egg yolks, 115g sultana raisins, 4tbsp warm honey (for glazing)
M e t h o d
Mix
the flour, yeast, orange zest and salt in a bowl. Gently heat the milk,
butter, and sugar until lukewarm. Add the egg, beaten, saving a little
for brushing the dough. Combine solid and liquid ingredients, knead
slightly and leave to rest under a towel for 15 minutes. Knead the dough
for 15 minutes, shape into a ball, cover and leave in a warm place for
an hour or until it's doubled in size. Punch down, incorporate the
raisins and knead for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a well-greased fluted
pan, cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven
to 190oC. Brush the dough with the leftover egg and bake for 45 minutes
or until firm. Upturn on a wire rack, knock the bottom (it should make a
hollow sound). Continue baking for another 5 minutes if needed. Glaze with honey.
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