This is always our holiday breakfast. I make a babka the night before and the next morning I get up and scramble 1 to 1-1/2 dozen eggs and set them in a casserole dish. When people get up they dish some eggs out onto a plate along with a hunk of babka and zap it in the microwave. Easy for everyone and I’m free to start our holiday meal.
Cinnamon Bun Babka
Dough
2 heaping tablespoons white sugar
1/3-cup honey
1/2 stick butter (chopped)
1-teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups scalded milk
2/3-cup cool water
2 large eggs beaten
5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (If you can find bread flour you can use that and skip the gluten)
3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
1 tablespoon instant yeast
***Put the first 5 ingredients into the bread machine in the order listed. Stir with a rubber spatula until the butter is melted.
***Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed and select the dough cycle. When the machine first starts you will need to use the rubber spatula to help mix the flour and the liquid or it won’t mix well. Just stir with the rubber spatula until all the flour is moistened.
***Or you can mix and knead the dough in a heavy duty mixer. Or you can mix and knead by hand.
***While you wait for the dough cycle to finish, make your filling and preheat the oven to 325°. Spray a sheet pan with spray-oil, cover with wax paper or parchment paper and spray again.
Filling
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2-cup flour
1-tablespoon cinnamon
1/2-cup butter (I use real butter here-I’ve never tried margarine)
***Mix dry ingredients together, cut in butter. Place in refrigerator until needed.
***Once the dough has doubled in size, clean your kitchen counter well and spray it with cooking spray or spread with cooking oil. Turn the dough out onto the counter and turn to lightly coat the dough with oil. Roll the dough into a large rectangle, 12x24 inches. Spread the filling evenly over the dough and roll up jelly roll style so that you end up with a 24-inch long roll. Pinch the edges to seal.
***Starting at one end and working your way down the dough a little at a time, twist the dough as though you were wringing out a dishtowel; the roll will get longer as you twist it. Do this gently as not to tear the dough but well enough that it is well twisted and almost doubled in length. (Do Not Skip This Step)
***Then coil the dough around like a pinwheel creating a super large cinnamon roll, tucking the loose end of the dough under so it doesn’t unravel. Brush dough very well with melted butter to prevent a skin from forming and let dough rest for 10 minutes, then bake at 325° for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the Babka is golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees.
***Make a glaze out of powdered sugar, water and a little vanilla. Drizzle this over the Babka and let it cool.
