I love babka. There’s something about a loaf swirled with chocolate that just makes my heart sing. This particular recipe is inspired by my beloved fairy godmother. She passed away a few months ago, and a hazelnut babka recipe was one of the last recipes she gave me.
In the year that I knew her, we became fast friends. A 54-year age difference had nothing on us. I greatly looked forward to seeing her at work, and her sweet husband always wheeled her to my station so we could chat and she could pass me a couple of sneaky chocolates. She always greeted me with a big smile, no matter how much pain she was in or how much energy it took to do it. Each time I saw her, she asked how my knee was and constantly told me she was praying for it to get better. This, from a woman who was courageously fighting her own health battle.
One of my favourite memories of my time with her was when she was getting ready to leave and her husband was wheeling her down our long hallway. I was walking up the hallway and as we got closer she put her arms out wide for a hug. That was when she told me she was my fairy godmother.
During our last conversation together, she stroked me on the cheek and told me how much she loved me and what I meant to her. I tried to tell how how much she meant to me, but I don’t know if she ever knew the true impact she had on my life. I got to visit her in hospital just a few hours before she died. Even though she was sleeping, I’m so thankful for the time I got to spend with her and her family.
I was looking through the giant pile of recipes she gave me and this last one she gave me really stuck out. I put my own twist on it (hellooooooo, lots of hazelnuts), but this recipe is 100% inspired by this sweet soul.
We’ve got a lovely, soft, pillowy dough. Once the dough is nicely risen and rolled out, we’re spreading lots of chocolate hazelnut spread all over and topping with chopped hazelnuts. You know, Oregon’s nut! Then we roll it up, slice, and twist, before placing it in a loaf pan and leaving it to rise. Once it’s all puffed up, we’ll put it in the oven and wait.
Wait very impatiently if you’re like me.
We need it to cool before we slice it. Sit on your hands if you have to, you’ll want to reach out and just consume the whole thing. When you’re getting really antsy, make yourself a cup of coffee. It’s the perfect thing to pair with your slice of babka, ya hear me?
Just be patient, I promise it’s worth the wait. Anything inspired by my fairy godmother is something worth waiting for.
Ingredients
Bread:
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 2 eggs
- 6 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
- 2 tbsp. instant yeast
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 ½ tsp. salt
- 10 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste
Filling:
- Nutella, or your favourite chocolate hazelnut spread
- 1 cup chopped hazelnuts (optional, but HIGHLY recommended)
Instructions
- Combine the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer until the dough begins to come together. If more water is needed, add 1 tbsp. at a time. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes. Once rested, use the dough hook attachment on the mixer and knead until dough is soft and smooth. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow to rise for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size and is nice and puffy.
- Once dough is risen, deflate it and divide in half.
- Working with one half of dough at a time, shape into a rectangle approximately 10” x 20”. Spread half of the chocolate hazelnut spread over the dough, leaving a ½ -1 inch border. Sprinkle half of the chopped hazelnuts over the spread.
- Starting with the short side of the dough, roll dough tightly into a log, sealing the seam. Use a knife or bench scraper to slice the dough in half lengthwise, then twist the strands over each other. Repeat with the other half of dough and place each loaf into a greased 9” x 5” pan lined with parchment paper.
- Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap and let loaves rise for 1 ½ - 2 hours. You want them to be nice and puffy, with the top of each loaf being about ½ - 1 inch above the top of the pan.
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Bake the loaves for 35 minutes, then tent with foil and bake for 15-30 more minutes, until the loaves are a nice golden brown on top and fully baked in the middle.
- Remove loaves from oven and allow to cool for 7-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
