Savory Sourdough Babka Recipes

SAVORY SOURDOUGH BABKA

Steps:

• Mix all of the dough ingredients together. The dough will be slightly tacky.
• Either let rise slowly in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, or set out at room temperature for 4-6 hours. Any combination of room temperature and cold retarding is fine. For the longer cold fermentation, you might flip the dough after a day or so to prevent a dryer top layer. The dough should grow to be about 150% the original size.
• When your dough is finished with the bulk fermentation, prepare your filling. The savory fillings can be done in a food processor, blender or by hand. The chocolate-cinnamon filling is best done in a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or by hand.
• Scrape the dough onto a floured counter. Flour the top of the dough and press it into a rectangle, roughly 10x13 inches.
• Flour the top of the dough again, and flip it over. Then lightly flour the new top of the dough, gently brushing the flour onto the surface of the dough just so it isn't tacky. This flipping and flouring is to make rolling and cutting the dough easier.
• Spread the filling on the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch empty on one of the short sides. You can dampen this stripe with a wet fingertip to help adhesion.
• Roll from the dry short side, and let the rolled dough rest on the seam for a few minutes.
• Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
• Using kitchen scissors (or a knife), cut down the middle of the roll.
• Make an X with the two strands of dough (see gallery below), then twist the top strand under the bottom strand. Do this both above and below the X. Pinch the ends together.
• Using a bench scraper and/or spatula, scoop up the twisted dough and place it into the parchment-lined loaf pan. Your long twist will scrunch up during this process, allowing it to fit into the loaf pan.
• Cover and let proof for about an hour at room temperature, or 8-10 hours in the coldest part of your refrigerator.
• Preheat your oven to 325F.
• Brush the loaf with milk (or egg) and sprinkle with more cheese if you want.
• Bake uncovered for 60 minutes or until the inside of the loaf is above 190F. Let cool in the pan on a rack for about 30 minutes, then remove from the pan and peel off the parchment paper.
• Instructions for Making Naan
• At the end of the bulk ferment in the instructions above, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured counter.
• Roll the dough into a tube and cut it in 8-10 pieces (~680g total dough weight).
• Start warming up a cast iron frying pan 10" or bigger on your stove at medium heat.
• Roll out a dough piece into a circle (ish) shape about 1/4 inch thick. Flour your rolling pin and counter as needed.
• Brush the top of the rolled-out dough with water.
• Place in the hot frying pan, water side down.
• When the naan has bubbles all over the top and is starting to curl under at the edges, then flip it over.
• Optional: You can brush the naan with butter before flipping, but if you find your brush is popping bubbles, wait until the naan is already cooked for this step or skip it altogether if you want.
• Cook until both sides have dark golden brown areas. You can roll out each naan while cooking the previous naan and be done in about 20 minutes. Keeping the process moving also prevents the pan from overheating. You can also lower the heat if you fall behind. Your first naan might be a little unattractive as you gauge how hot you want your pan to be and when to flip.
• Cool on a rack. You can serve immediately, store loosely wrapped in paper or plastic on the counter, or freeze in a plastic bag with small pieces of parchment paper between each flatbread.