Chocolate Babka — Soft Sweet Bread With Layers of Chocolate

Ingredients

For the dough:

500 g flour
7 g dry yeast (one packet)
80 g sugar
120 ml warm milk
3 eggs at room temperature
100 g soft butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate filling:

200 g dark chocolate, chopped
80 g butter
40 g cocoa powder
60 g powdered sugar
a pinch of salt

For the syrup:

80 g sugar
80 ml water

Preparation

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with a spoonful of sugar and let it sit for 10 minutes until foamy. In a large bowl, mix the flour, the remaining sugar and the salt; add the eggs, vanilla and the activated yeast and work the dough for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Add the soft butter piece by piece, working it in until fully absorbed. Cover with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for 1.5–2 hours, until doubled.

For the filling: melt the chocolate with the butter in a double boiler; add the cocoa, powdered sugar and salt and stir until it becomes a smooth cream; let it cool slightly (spreadable, not hot).

Divide the dough into two parts. Roll each one out with a rolling pin into a rectangle (about 30×40 cm). Spread with half the filling, leaving 2 cm of free edges. Roll up from the long side like a log. Cut the log lengthwise in the middle with a sharp knife and braid the two halves like a plait, with the cut side up. Place in buttered loaf pans or ones lined with parchment paper.

Cover and let rise another 30–45 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30–35 minutes, until the surface takes on a deep golden color.

For the syrup: boil the sugar with the water for 2–3 minutes and brush the hot babkas for shine and softness. Let them cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Prep time: about 30 minutes (plus 2 hours of dough rising). Baking time: 30–35 minutes. Servings: 2 babkas (about 12 slices).