Baby Babkas
A couple of years ago, I made my first babka. I was very nervous because it was my first brioche-style dough and my first overnight rise. It was amazing and it worked and I never looked back.
Last year, I went into rehearsals for a challenging workshop, and I knew I'd want some treats. I decided to make some babka, then realized halfway through that I couldn't be trusted with full loaves, so I decided to form the loaves then slice them up before baking them. It worked okay, but this year I was sure I could improve on it.
This is that story.
Planning!
First of all, here's my base recipe from Smitten Kitchen. It's very detailed and thorough, and reading through it teaches you all the basics you'd need to know to make your first babka.
Here's what I decided to do this time: I would form the spirals as directed and slice them in half as directed, but then instead of twisting them and forming them into two loaves, I would slice them crosswise into smaller ropes and twist those into knots! Boom. Solved.
Here's the nutritional breakdown from Fitbit...
Such teeny tiny babkas will make the perfect snack!
Groceries I had on hand...
- AP flour
- granulated sugar
- yeast
- zest of a lemon (leftover from NYE!)
- eggs
- salt
- butter
- powdered sugar
- cocoa powder
Groceries I had to buy...
- dark chocolate (1 bag of chips @ $4.29)
Total monies spent for the entire recipe: $4.29
Total monies spent for each of these 20 portions....
$0.21 per snack.
Cooking!
This is an intimidating bread, but the directions are so clear that if you put your faith in your knowledge and abilities plus the instructions it will, I promise, turn out a-okay.
Don't skip the glazing step. It makes them stunningly gorgeous. The end.
ps: See the tiny scrappy bits that I baked along with the little loaves? Those are mine now. MINE. NOW.
