To my friend who posted on February 19: Your dough is dry because kneading for 16-20 minutes is WAY too long . Babka is delicate, not at all like regular bread dough and should not be kneaded but for maybe 30 seconds to combine the softened butter as the last step (far less than even this recipe recommends).

It can be served room temperature, warm with a scoop of ice cream on top, or even cold right out of the fridge the following day for breakfast . Coffee and tea make for perfect accompaniments.

Why do Jews eat babka?

One theory says Babka is indigenous to the Ukraine, part of an ancient fertility symbol . The story of chocolate and the Jewish community is a bit different in the Mediterranean. There, Jews and chocolate went together like bagels and cream cheese. Don't miss what matters.

How do you make babka less dry?

Brush the warm, just-baked babka with simple syrup . This will help keep it moist. You want to get the sugar on the outer crust and let it drain through the cake, but take care not to drench it. "You should have a good idea of when the babka is absorbing the syrup, and when to stop.

Should babka be refrigerated?

Store your babka at room temperature in the provided packaging using the reseal tab on the back if opened; do not refrigerate . Our babkas are baked daily and, if you can resist eating them, will stay delicious for up to 5 days after purchase.

Is babka served warm or cold?

Slice the babka and serve it at room temperature ; or rewarm individual slices briefly in a toaster, if desired. Store any leftovers, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.

What does babka mean in Yiddish?

borrowed from Yiddish & Polish; Yiddish babke (in sense a), borrowed from Polish babka (in sense b), literally, " old woman, grandmother ," diminutive of baba "grandmother, midwife, old woman"

What to do if pastry is too dry?

If it's too crumbly, add a little more water . Once your pastry has come together, don't then ruin it when rolling it out.

What to do if dough looks dry?

First, try adding more liquid to the dough . This can be milk, water, or even just a little bit of extra oil. If that doesn't work, you can try kneading the dough for a few minutes to help it come together. Lastly, if all else fails, you can always add in a few tablespoons of flour to help bind the dough together.

How do you make dry dough moist?

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix .

Why is my dough dry after baking?

Make sure loaf doesn't rise too long before baking – it should only double in size. If it rises too much, the dough will collapse on itself during baking and will have a dense, coarse or dry texture .

Coconut Custard Babka Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Bake

by: Miss Hangrypants

April11,2016

9 Ratings

Coconut Custard Babka Recipe on Food52 (1)

Makes 2 loaves

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

Marrying traditional Hong Kong pastry filling—buttery coconut custard—with Jewish bread. —Miss Hangrypants

Test Kitchen Notes

This recipe takes a little effort; you need to start the dough the day before you want to bake and then it needs a second rise. But the instructions were clear and straightforward and the dough mixed well and rose nicely. Once baked, I really enjoyed the crunchy exterior and soft pillowy dough inside. I wouldn’t have called the coconut filling a custard, as it bakes into the babka and wasn’t "wet"—but does add a nice sweetness and the coconut gives texture. —Jo Keohane

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

Babka dough
4 ¹/₄ cupsall-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
¹/₂ cupsugar
2 teaspoonsactive dry yeast
³/₄ teaspoonsalt
3 large eggs
¹/₂ cupwarm water
²/₃ cupunsalted butter, softened
Egg wash (1 egg + 1 teaspoon of water)

Coconut custard
4 egg yolks
6 teaspoonsbutter, softened
6 tablespoonssugar
1 ¹/₂ cupsshredded unsweetened coconut

Directions

For the dough: In a mixer bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, yeast, eggs, and water. With a dough hook, turn the mixer on low speed until it starts coming together. Pick up a little more speed and add a little water if necessary (2 to 3 tablespoons). It will look a little dry, but that's okay.
Add butter 1 tablespoon at a time with the mixer on low speed, waiting for it to be incorporated into the dough before adding the next. Mix on low-medium for at least 5 minutes before you see the dough pulling from the side and becoming smooth.
Mix and scrape down the bowl for another 5 minutes. Place rounded dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and stick it in the fridge to rise overnight.
For the filling: Cream butter and sugar and mix in egg yolks. Then stir in coconut.
Grease 2 loaf pans and line with parchment paper. Work with half of the dough from the fridge. Roll out on a floured counter into a 15-x-10-inch rectangle.
Spoon half of the filling evenly over top, leaving a clean 1-inch border around the edges. Start by rolling the shortest side of the dough into a tight log. Using a sharp knife, cut the log in half lengthwise into two arms, leaving 1 inch of the end (where the arms meet) uncut.
Braid the two arms by carefully crisscrossing the strands over each other. Repeat until the end of the log, press together to seal, and tuck the ends under. Swiftly transfer dough to the greased loaf tin. Repeat with other half of dough.
Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hour. Heat oven to 375° F and place loaf on the middle rack of your oven. Make the egg wash and brush over the top. Bake for 30 to 40 mins. Cover the top with foil if it browns too quickly. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then loosen around the edges with a knife and carefully invert onto a cooling rack. Wait until cool before slicing into.

Tags:

Bread
Custard
Coconut
Bake
Breakfast
Brunch

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13 Reviews

Tina January 4, 2019

I found that when I added 4 1/4 cups of flour the dough was very dense. So much so that the dough climbed up the dough hook and remained there as a solid mass. It was not as tacky as some other brioche recipes I tried, but nonetheless I baked it with the coconut custard filling and found the babka very dense. I ended up tossing both loaves :( and studied other recipes. I decided to give it another go this time with just 4 cups of flour and it turned out quite nicely. I opted for a dark chocolate + tahini filling for one loaf, and a kaya (coconut pandan) filling for the other loaf.

sherri August 17, 2021

wonderful additions - dark chocolate and tahini and kaya!

Mona P. December 27, 2016

Do you think this can be frozen after baking?