Ukrainian babka and paska are two sweet yeast breads served at Easter. Unlike fluted Polish babka, Ukrainian babka is tall and cylindrical like Italian panettone and Russian kulich. It can be iced or left plain.
You will need cylindrical pans for this babka recipe, but 2-pound coffee cans will work. Make sure the cans are food-grade safe when heated and that their interiors do not have a coating inside (usually white) because the plastics and chemicals in this coating can leach into your babka and be unsafe.
Ukrainian babka is sliced in rounds across the loaf beginning at the bottom. The sliced bottom crust is not eaten (until it's the only piece left) and serves as a protection to prevent the rest of the bread from drying out.
Babkas are baked at a high temperature at first so the dough will puff up and form a firm crust and then the temperature is lowered so the exterior dough doesn't scorch before the inside has finished baking.
Ingredients
For the Sponge
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1 cup milk
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1/3 cup all-purpose flour
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2 teaspoons sugar
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1/2 cup lukewarm water
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3 (1/4-ounce) packages active dry yeast
For the Dough
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10 large egg yolks, room temperature
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2 large eggs, room temperature
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1 teaspoon salt
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1 cup sugar
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8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted
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2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
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1 tablespoon lemon zest, grated
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6 cups all-purpose flour
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1 cup raisins, light or dark, optional
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1 large egg, room temperature
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2 tablespoons milk, or water, room temperature
Steps to Make It
Make the Sponge
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Gather the ingredients.
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Scald the milk and cool it to 110 F.
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Place 1/3 cup flour in a medium bowl and pour the cooled scalded milk over, beating until smooth. Set aside.
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In a measuring cup or small bowl, dissolve 2 teaspoons sugar in lukewarm water and stir in the yeast.
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Transfer the yeast mixture to the milk-flour paste, mixing well.
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Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until light and bubbly.
Make the Dough
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Gather the ingredients.
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In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the egg yolks, whole eggs, and salt.
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Add 1 cup sugar and continue beating until light.
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Beat in the butter, vanilla, and lemon zest.
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Add the sponge to this mixture and mix well.
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Add 6 cups flour and knead 7 minutes by machine or 10 minutes by hand.
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Knead in the optional raisins.
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Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
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Punch down dough, knead a few times, and let it rise again.
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Grease 3 babka cylinders or food-grade coffee tins and fill each pan 1/3 full.
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Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until tripled.
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Brush tops with 1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons of milk or water.
Bake the Babkas
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Heat oven to 375 F.
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Bake babkas 10 minutes.
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Then lower temperature to 325 F and bake 30 minutes.
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Then lower temperature to 275 F and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer. Cover tops with aluminum foil, if they are browning too quickly.
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Remove from the oven and let stand in the pan for 10 minutes.
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Turn loaves out of the pan, running a knife around them, if necessary, and cool completely on a wire rack.
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If desired, the cooled loaves can be iced with a simple confectioners' sugar glaze, letting it drip down the sides for a decorative effect.
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Serve and enjoy!
Tip
- Freeze the leftover egg whites from this recipe and save them for recipes calling for a lot of egg whites like angel food cake.
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
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181 | Calories |
7g | Fat |
23g | Carbs |
5g | Protein |
Nutrition Facts | |
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Servings: 36 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 181 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 7g | 9% |
Saturated Fat 4g | 20% |
Cholesterol 86mg | 29% |
Sodium 130mg | 6% |
Total Carbohydrate 23g | 9% |
Dietary Fiber 1g | 3% |
Total Sugars 6g | |
Protein 5g | |
Vitamin C 0mg | 1% |
Calcium 25mg | 2% |
Iron 1mg | 8% |
Potassium 68mg | 1% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
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