Careening thru "how to prepare the perfect loaf" like a drunk Carny at the county fair on a Friday night, I parked my bumper car up against a page titled German Kugelhopf, but eventually staggered to the adjacent image of a frosted Polish Babka. The above Seinfeld reference being the sum total of my cultural exposure to the Babka; sooo, with a quick tug from the vodka bottle, I grabbed my bread robot by the scruff of his neck and jumped back into action... (click below to see the recipe)
(For the Bread)
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1 tablespoon of grated orange zest
- 1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest
- 1/2 cup butter, softened (not melted)
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3.5 cups of white flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup dried sour cherries
(For the Icing)
- 1 cup powder sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of hot water
(For the Decoration)
- toasted flake almonds
- pared orange rind or candied orange peel (I didn't have either so went without)
Directions
- Soak the vodka, saffron, and citrus zest together for 30 minutes
- Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy
- Put the saffron mixture, add eggs, and water into bread robot
- Add flour, salt, and yeast (reverse the dry mix vs. wet mix order depending upon your specific bread bot).
- Mix for 5 minutes, then ad the creamed butter and sugar mixture
- Fold in the raisins and dried sour cherries 5 minutes before end of mix/kneading
- Punch the dough down gently, and shape it into a ball
- Set aside in warm place for about 2 hours or until it has risen almost to the pan top
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Bake the babka for 20 mins. Reduce heat to 375 and continue to bake for 15-20mins more until golden.
- For the icing, just mix the juice water and powder sugar and then drizzle the mixter on a cool Babka. For best results let the icing set up to a thick gravy before spooning on. If its too thin is will all pretty much drain to the plate. Still tasty but not as pretty. Finally garnish with almonds.
- Warning if you overcook this pup turns into a brick. Its a tasty doorstop but you could chip a tooth. Enjoy!
You are my kind of cook - ok with the items at hand. I hope to taste some of your cooking soon. xxoo
ReplyDeleteHoly Cow, I didn't even post a picture of the finished product...lame! Re-posting now.
ReplyDeletebeautiful product!!! doesn't look dangerous for dental work.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Looks are deceiving ;-) Nothing a little hot tea couldn't handle.
ReplyDelete