Apple-Walnut Milk Bread Babka . . . experimenting with a new technique

Babka recipes abound and are quite popular now. Many are filled with chocolate or a cinnamon sugar mixture. One for Pecan Pie Babka caught my eye and I’ve saved it for future use. However, I wanted to fill today’s fall version with apples and walnuts. I also wanted to use the Milk Bread Honey Bun dough for the base as they dough is so tender and retains it’s freshness once it is baked. This is what I came up with . . .     

Apple-Walnut Milk Bread Babka  Makes 2 loaves

INGREDIENTS

One recipe of Milk Bread Honey Buns dough (risen and cooled in refrigerator) -- note that it can be made and refrigerated overnight if desired

Filling:

2 cups peeled, cored and finely diced fresh apples 

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

2 to 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

4 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

 

DIRECTIONS            

Filling:             

1. Place cut apples in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes to partially cook apples. Drain off any liquid that comes off the apples. Set warm apples aside or in refrigerator and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Combine 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, and 2 to 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. 
   

Assemble the Babka:

1. Use parchment to line two 8 ½ x 5-inch loaf pans so that the paper drapes over the sides of the pan (this prevents the sticky filling from adhering to the pan & makes it easier to lift out the loaf ). . Spray with pan release Set aside.
2. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out to a 13x18-inch rectangle.
3. Spread 4 tablespoons butter evenly over dough.
4. Sprinkle dough with cinnamon sugar & flour mixture. Sprinkle with chopped wanuts and then add apples evenly over dough.
   
   
   
   
5. Starting from the long side, roll the dough up tightly, as if making a jelly roll, then turn the roll seam-side down on the sheet pan. (I rolled dough on a silicon sheet and then transferred to a sheet pan.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes to make dough easier to handle.
   
6. When the roll has chilled, first cut it in half crosswise, so you have two equal rolls. 
   
7. Then cut each roll lengthwise down the center, exposing the layers of filling. 
   
8. For each roll, twist the two halves around each other, keeping the cut sides facing up as much as possible. Note: This is a new technique I tried for the first time. I overlapped the halves at one end and began to twist. However, I later found another recipe that suggests placing one half on top of the other to form an X; start braiding the babka from the middle up and then from the middle down. See Pies & Tacos blog for a visual. Think I’ll try this next time and see if I can get more consistent results.  
9. Tuck the loaves into the prepared pans, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.
   
10. About 15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350°F and set a rack to the middle position. 
11. Bake until nicely browned and cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes. 
12. Transfer the pans to a wire rack to cool, then remove the loaves by lifting the parchment paper. 
    
    
    

    
13. To Freeze: Place loaves in freezer bags, squeezing out excess air, and freeze for up to a month. Or, wrap in foil.

Not that you need it but if you want to make this bread even more decedent, drizzle it with . . .

Maple Glaze:

1 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

 

Combine all glaze ingredients with a whisk in a medium sized  bowl until smooth and pourable. 

Drizzle on warm bread.

 

Origin of Babka? This is what I found at Wikipedia:

Babka developed in the Jewish community in Poland in the early 19th century. Extra challah dough was rolled up with fruit jam or cinnamon and baked as a loaf alongside the challah. Chocolate was not originally used, as it was not generally available; the chocolate babka was likely a mid-20th century American development. It's name (though not necessarily the dish itself) may be related to a type of Easter Cake popular in Poland and western Ukraine known as baba or the diminutive babka, which means "grandmother" in Polish, related to the Yiddish bubbe.

Babka was mostly unheard of outside of the Polish Jewish community until the latter part of the 20th century. European-style bakeries started to offer it in late 1950s Israel and in the US. In addition to chocolate, various fillings including poppy seeds, almond paste, cheese, and others became popular, and some bakers began to top it with streusel.  

Babka can be baked in a loaf pan, a round Bundt pan or on a baking pan arranged in a free-form wreath shape. 

Recipe without photos . . .

Apple-Walnut Milk Bread Babka  Makes 2 loaves

INGREDIENTS

One recipe of Milk Bread Honey Buns dough (risen and cooled in refrigerator) -- note that it can be made and refrigerated overnight if desired

Filling:

2 cups peeled, cored and finely diced fresh apples 

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

2 to 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

4 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

 

DIRECTIONS            

Filling:             

1. Place cut apples in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes to partially cook apples. Drain off any liquid that comes off the apples. Set warm apples aside or in refrigerator and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Combine 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, and 2 to 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. 

Assemble the Babka:

1. Use parchment to line two 8 ½ x 5-inch loaf pans so that the paper drapes over the sides of the pan (this prevents the sticky filling from adhering to the pan & makes it easier to lift out the loaf ). Spray with pan release Set aside.
2. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out to a 13x18-inch rectangle.
3. Spread 4 tablespoons butter evenly over dough.
4. Sprinkle dough with cinnamon sugar & flour mixture. Sprinkle with chopped wanuts and then add apples evenly over dough.
5. Starting from the long side, roll the dough up tightly, as if making a jelly roll, then turn the roll seam-side down on the sheet pan. (I rolled dough on a silicon sheet and then transferred to a sheet pan.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes to make dough easier to handle.
6. When the roll has chilled, first cut it in half crosswise, so you have two equal rolls. 
7. Then cut each roll lengthwise down the center, exposing the layers of filling. 
8. For each roll, twist the two halves around each other, keeping the cut sides facing up as much as possible. Note: This is a new technique I tried for the first time. I overlapped the halves at one end and began to twist. However, I later found another recipe that suggests placing one half on top of the other to form an X; start braiding the babka from the middle up and then from the middle down. See Pies & Tacos blog for a visual. Think I’ll try this next time and see if I can get more consistent results.  
9. Tuck the loaves into the prepared pans, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.
10. About 15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350°F and set a rack to the middle position. 
11. Bake until nicely browned and cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes. 
12. Transfer the pans to a wire rack to cool, then remove the loaves by lifting the parchment paper. 
13. To Freeze: Place loaves in freezer bags, squeezing out excess air, and freeze for up to a month. Or, wrap in foil.

Not that you need it but if you want to make this bread even more decedent, drizzle it with . . .

Maple Glaze:

1 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

 

Combine all glaze ingredients with a whisk in a medium sized  bowl until smooth and pourable. 

Drizzle on warm bread.