Sunday, January 20, 2013

Sourdough Babka

My wild yeast is very unpredictable. Sometimes I have beautifully risen loaves and other times I wonder if I am just wasting flour and time. This month's Sourdough Surprises challenge was babka. There was no doubt that I was going to make this amazing combination of a brioche-like dough and whatever filling I desired. I made a brioche with commercial yeast recently and I loved it! However, could my wild yeast handle it?


For my babka, I modified two recipes - a sourdough brioche and Smitten Kitchen's babka. I used less eggs than called for in the sourdough brioche because I worried about having an extremely sticky dough that I would be unable to roll. Smitten Kitchen's babka looks so amazing. I didn't use as much chocolate as she did though because I was busy eating all the chocolate before baking time. I only slightly regret that. I also crushed my chocolate a bit too much. Next time I won't. Yes, there will be a next time. I also sprinkled in some rummy raisins.


Apparently, I did not need to worry about my yeast this time. It was by far the most beautifully risen sourdough loaf I have ever made. I don't know what made the difference but I hope to recreate this with my loaf for next week.


It really doesn't look like I have a lot of chocolate in here. But even though I did eat a lot of it, I swear that I did put a decent amount in! You can better see the amount of chocolate when the bread is sliced lengthwise. It was great having this loaf throughout the week and actually with the reduced chocolate, it made it perfect for an everyday bread. And I ate it everyday sometimes several times per day. I managed to save some to make french toast on Saturday morning.



I had this crazy idea to put the french toast in the waffle iron. A quick Google search said I was not alone in this line of thought. So there you have it! My sourdough babka. Thanks Sourdough Surprises for this month's challenge!


14 comments:

  1. The first babka I made, I put in too much chocolate and it didn't turn out very good, so I think yours is actually perfect! I sometimes worry about my wild yeast too when I really don't have to.
    Love how that waffle iron French toast looks!

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  2. Thanks!
    Honestly, I'm not sure if I would have been able to roll it up had I added more chocolate. It felt like it was bursting at the seams so it was really surprising to see it kinda vanish after baking.

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  3. Turning it into French toast? I'll have to try that next time...good job!

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  4. Oh. My. Gosh. Waffled babka French toast is pretty much GENIUS. I may just have to go try that... And may I just say how gorgeous your babka turned out?? Your wild yeast totally came through for you - I bet it knew how yummy this would be :) Thanks so much for baking with us!!

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    1. Thank you so much! Yes, I need not have worried about my yeast. It gave me a wonderful, light loaf.

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  5. Oh man, if I had any babka left I would totally be french toast waffling it! I was also super impressed by how well my starter performed with brioche - who knew?

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    1. Who knew indeed? This was such a fun challenge for me.

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  6. You turned your babka into french toast?!?!?! OH MY!!!! I am in heaven! I bet it was amazing and decadent! That is an awesome idea about putting your french toast in a waffle iron! Your babka looks delicious, too! Thanks for baking along with us again this month!

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    1. It was definitely amazing! Now I want more babka to turn into french toast!
      Thanks!

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  7. I've never thought to waffle french toast. Neat idea!

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    1. Mine stuck just a little so grease your waffle iron just a bit if you think it might stick.

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  8. I have Dorie Greenspan's Waffle cookbook, and she makes all kinds of stuff in a waffle iron. That is a *Great* idea!

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  9. Oh really? I'll have to get my hands on that cookbook.

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