– Ech…
– I co tak babcia ciężko wzdycha? – pytam.
– Że znowu głowa cię boli.
– Boli to boli, nie ma się czym przejmować. – bagatelizuję sytuacje.
Bardziej niepokojące są zimne dreszcze, które po południu zagnały mnie do łóżka, ale o tym babka nie musi nawet wiedzieć.
Minął prawie tydzień, jak wylazłem po grypie (?) z pościeli, a nadal nie czuję się najlepiej.
Ale nic to – jeszcze kilka główek czosnku, kilka litrów herbaty z miodem i stanę na nogi.

Ahhhh….another long day, and another long post. Such is the life of a student at the end of the semester.

I started off my morning a little later than planned, but breakfast was ready and waiting for me.

Leftover waffles from dinner last night. Perfect – all they needed was a little zap in my microwave, and they were good to go.

I topped the waffle with the rest of the caramelized apples, peanut butter, granola, and a wee drizzle of maple syrup.

All with a glass of cranberry pomegranate juice.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to put together a lunch today, as I had a lunch outing planned with a classmate. I did grab a Key Lime Pie Larabar though, for snacking purposes.

After my first (and only class, and some leisurely computer time, I was off to lunch with my classmate. We hit up Solly’s Bagels on her suggestion.

Solly’s is this little Jewish deli not too far from school. They have a basic menu – bagels, soup, sandwiches, and an array of delicious baked goods.

It’s a cute little “hole in the wall” kind of place, with only 4 tables inside, and 2 outside (if you want to brave the rain). Fortunately for us, they do alot of take out business on weekdays, so we were able to score a table to eat at.

I decided on the smoked turkey sandwich on an onion bagel.

It came loaded with sprouts, red onion, and tomato (I passed on that), as well as your choice of mustard (dijon for me). Some crispy ripple chips, and a big ol’ dill pickle spear were served on the side.

The sandwich was great, but a little pricy for an everyday lunch. Mind you, we are talking quality bagels, meats, etc, so maybe it’s not too bad. Plus the pickle was awesome.

Of course, we couldn’t pass up all those tempting baked goods staring at us from across the (tiny) room. I decided to get three little bites: chocolate rugoleh, poppy seed rugoleh, and a chocolate almond meringue cookie.

My favourite was the poppy seed rugoleh. So much so, it deserved it’s own close up.

The chocolate one was good too, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t as moist as the poppy seed one. The meringue was also good, but still didn’t quite compare.

My friend bought a chocolate babka, and O. M. G. She gave me a small piece, and that was some amazing stuff. Let me tell you. I would go back there just to get babka and poppy seed rugoleh. Or maybe I should just learn how to make them? Anyone know of some good babka & rugoleh recipes? I think Jewish baking might be my new calling!

The whole reason we went out for lunch was because we were off to survey one of the schools for our project. Our meeting with the principal went well, and was quicker than expected, so I was able to get home before 5 pm. And on a Tuesday even! Sweet!

There was some chocolate consumption (Zazubean) while we considered our dinner options.

Mom suggested hot dogs, but dad and my sister collaborated to come up with a better dinner idea.

Roasted deli chicken.

Sweet potato fries, with ketchup and garlic mayo.

And some greenery, in the form of a Caesar salad.

Totally trumps hot dogs.

I went back for seconds on the salad – mostly because you can’t keep salad that’s been dressed. The lettuce just gets all wilty and gross.

Some digestion occurred, then I wandered down to the gym for some cardio fun. Another treat – getting to work out on a Tuesday.

I decided to try out this new tea my mom was given by a friend – Stash Organic Loose Leaf Chamomile.

Can you believe I’ve never had chamomile tea before? Check this stuff out – it’s full, intact flowers!

I brewed up a cup, and had some spelt sticks to munch alongside.

I quite enjoyed the chamomile. I’ll have to keep that one in regular rotation – it’s a nice change from the other teas we have around here.

Alas, it is bed time. You know how it goes. Night!

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There was a main dough for making the Babka dough and several variations for presentation. I tried the Babka loaf done in a loaf pan and the Kranz Cake Babka, there is also a variation done in coffee cake style done in a bundt pan. The Kranz Cake Babka was done in a spiral twist which looks really nice. Peter also has great recommendations for many alternate  filling suggestions.

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Kranz Cake Babka with Cinnamon and Chocolate:

The Loaf pan style Chocolate Cinnamon Babka:

There are many good recipes in Peter’s new book – Artisan Breads Every Day, but I can tell you this bread is already a family favorite.

 So we are really celebrating two winners here, Lisa (congratulations) and this terrific bread, Chocolate Cinnamon Babka…. a real winner!

my grandparents arrived in the United States in 1903. Russian immigrants—he from a big city and she from the country—they settled in a section of Boston to begin exciting new lives as Americans. my grandfather opened a wholesale millinery, and my grandmother continued her career as a seamstress. i didn’t come along until more than half a century later, just a few months after my grandfather had passed away. but memories of my grandmother remain vivid and dear.

beginning at the age of four and for the next few years, my mom would drop me off at Nantasket Beach on the Hull Penninsula, where i would gleefully spend a week every summer with my grandmother. just the two of us. she’d rent a room in a giant boarding house, complete with veranda and rocking chairs, right across the street from the beach. she and her friends would dote on me, taking my hands as we crossed the street to spend the morning sunning and swimming on the South Shore. already in her sixties by that time, grandma was still a very strong swimmer, diving headlong into the surf and briskly doing laps along the beach. as she emerged triumphant from the salty water, she’d wave enthusiastically at me, as if she took great pride in the accomplishment. and, indeed, she should have.

grandma and mom, circa 1930

as we both got older, we’d play baseball in my parent’s yard; grandma would pitch the ball to me, i’d hit it with my trusty bat, then i’d run and get the ball, so we could do it all again. our dog would run alongside, thinking this was a very clever game. on Sundays, my parents would drive us to grandma’s apartment in the city for a visit. sometimes she’d make chicken soup, and we’d all sit around her kitchen table slurping down the golden liquid. sometimes we’d bring babka from our local Jewish bakery, so she could have a special treat. what’s babka? a sweet, moist and buttery yeast-based bread, much like brioche, filled with a blend of rich chocolate, sugar and cinnamon, finished off with a streusel topping. as grandma might say in still-broken English, “so, what’s not to like?”

with my grandmother top of mind, i wanted to re-create the babka of my youth. first i tried a recipe from Gourmet, but something about it wasn’t quite right. what was it? hmmm. no cinnamon. no streusel. the dough didn’t seem elastic enough as i worked with it or delicate enough after it had been baked. so, i went in search of an alternative. i turned to the chocolate babka recipe found in Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. and that was it: exactly as i remembered it, exactly as grandma loved it.

rather than making loaves, i cut the recipe by 2/3 and made six individual servings in a popover pan, an idea i borrowed from the Bread Farm in Edison, Washington. this perfect babka kept beautifully for several days, maintaining its rich flavor and texture.

Chocolate Babka
a recipe from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook
makes three loaves

INGREDIENTS

for dough
1 1/2 cups warm milk (110F)
2 envelopes (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
3/4 cups plus a pinch of sugar
2 whole, large eggs, plus 2 large eggs yolks, at room temperature
6 cups organic unbleached flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temperature, plus more for bowl and pans

for filling
2 pounds semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped (i used Scharffen Berger)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temperature

for topping
1 egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/3 cups organic unbleached flour
1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature

DIRECTIONS

1. in a small bowl, sprinkle yeast and a pinch of sugar over the warm milk; stir until dissolved. let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. in a medium bowl, whisk together the 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs and yolks.
3. add to yeast mixture, and whisk to combine.
4. in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour and salt, then add the egg mixture; beat on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated.
5. add the 2 sticks of butter, and beat until completely incorporated, and a smooth soft dough forms, about 10 minutes. (the dough should still be slightly sticky when squeezed.)
6. turn out the dough on a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth.
7. place the dough in a well-buttered bowl, and turn to coat with butter.
8. cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
9. to make the filling, stir together the chocolate, sugar and cinnamon.
10. using a pastry blender, cut in 1 1/2 sticks butter until combined; set aside.
11. to make the streusel topping, in a large bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar and flour.
12. using a pastry blender, cut in the butter, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; leave in some larger pieces (see top photo), then set aside.
13. in a small bowl, beat the egg with the cream to create a wash; set aside.
14. generously butter three 9-by-5-by-2 3/4-inch loaf pans (check out the online version of the recipe for instructions about the parchment paper; i used a non-stick popover pan, and the babka came lifted out beautifully.)
15. punch the dough down, transfer to a well-floured work surface, and let rest for 5 minutes.
16. cut the dough into three equal pieces.
17. roll out one piece of the dough into a 16-inch square, about 1/8-inch thick.
18. brush edges of dough with the egg wash.
19. crumble 1/3 of the filling evenly over the dough, leaving about a 1/2-inch border on the long sides.
20. roll up the dough lengthwise into a tight log (as if you were making cinnamon rolls), pinching ends together to seal. (ok, this is where i went my own way, cutting the roll into 6 individual pieces and placing in the popover pan.)
21. twist dough evenly down the length of the log, a full five or six times.
22. brush the top of the log (or tops of your babka popovers) with egg wash.
23. crumble two tablespoons of the chocolate filling down the center of the log, being careful not to let the mixture fall off (i didn’t have the dexterity for this feat).
24. fold the log in half, into a horseshoe shape.
25. cross the right half over the left.
26. pinch the ends together to seal, and form a figure eight.
27. twist two more times, and fit into prepared pan.
28. repeat with remaining dough and filling.
29. brush the top of each loaf with egg wash.
30. sprinkle 1/3 of the streusel topping on each loaf.
31. loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until dough has expanded and feels pillowy, about 40 minutes.
32. preheat oven to 350F.
33. bake loaves, rotating halfway through until golden, about 55 minute (20 minutes for babka popovers).
34. reduce oven temperature to 325F; bake until loaves are deep golden 20 to 30 minutes more. cover loaves with foil, if they begin to brown too quickly (10 minutes for babka popovers).
35. transfer pans to wire rack to cool completely.

Kuchnia. Przed śniadaniem.
- Nie wiem… – babka przerywa na moment szukanie dzikiej róży na herbatę. – Coś tak w piersi mnie zakłuło…
- Do lekarza! – rzucam, nie odrywając się od krojenia chleba na kanapki.
- Do grabarza raczej. – ripostuje babka

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Pokój. Sprawdzając pocztę, kończę drugi kawałek piernika. Babka nie odrywa wzroku od telewizora i transmisji warszawskich uroczystości z placu Piłsudskiego.
- Chodź popatrz. Jak równo maszerują! – woła pełna zachwytu.
- Nie! – warczę rozeźlony. – Nie interesuje mnie to!
- Ale to tylko raz do roku. Przy komputerze możesz siedzieć codziennie.

Sobota.

Ogródek – godzina kopania.
„Betelgeza” – cały cykl. W nocy po obejrzeniu „Gotowych na wszystko” zaczynam pierwszy album „Aldebarana” (chronologicznie poprzedzający „Betelgezę”)

Niedziela.

„Aldebaran” – kończę cykl.
Pamiętam, że kiedyś widziałem w księgarni na półce dwa pierwsze albumy wydane przez Siedmioróg. Nawet po nie nie sięgnąłem. Nie słyszałem ani o rysowniku, ani o serii, tytuły ukazały się niszowym wydawnictwie, a okładki nie kusiły ciekawym rysunkiem. Pewnie i Blacksada bym wtedy zignorował, gdyby nie kot z papierosem w gębie na okładce.

Poniedziałek.

Rano.
- To wybiera się babcia do Płażewiczów?
- Tak. – przytakuje babka. – Ale przyjdę o pierwszej, muszę przecież kartofle ugotować.
- A ty nigdzie nie idziesz? – pyta po chwili.
- Nigdzie. Przecież czekam na kuriera.
Po południu.
- Kurier przyniósł paczkę?
- Nie.
- To nie wiadomo, czy w ogóle przyniesie. – zauważa babka.
- Nie wiadomo.
- No i co zrobisz?
- Nic.
Pinokio w delegacji, to nawet nie mogę (nie chcę mu zawracać głowy) nasłać go na firmę, której zlecił dostarczenie przesyłki.

- I co tak babcia ciężko wzdycha?
- Bo jest ciężko. Stara jestem to i ciężko.

Od dentysty wracałem spacerem, okrężną drogą nad jeziorkiem, wykorzystując chwilową poprawę aury na pstrykniecie kilku fotek.

Poza tym wydawałem pieniądze, w związku z czym jestem „bogatszy”
- o kolejne filmy, których nie obejrzę.
- o kolejne czasopismo, którego nie przeczytam.
- o kolejną wymienioną plombę, której… A nie, w tym jednym przypadku wydatek był jednak w pełni uzasadniony. Akurat tej strony szczęki używam dość intensywnie w trakcie rozdrabniania i przeżuwania pożywienia, a nie zamierzam się jeszcze przestawiać na kaszkę.

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Po całym dniu spędzonym przy garach babka miała wszystkiego dość.
- Żeby tak jeść tylko raz na miesiąc… – westchnęła rozmarzona. – A tu trzeba codziennie! I to nie raz, ale trzy. I jeszcze to gotowanie…
Cóż – sama chciała. Gołąbki nie były moim pomysłem. Zupy też nie zamawiałem. A już o kotletach to wręcz mówiłem, że ich nie chce.

- Ot tobie! Ważył 20 kilogramów więcej, a nie wygrał!
Głos babki wyrwał mnie z ponurych rozmyślań na temat upływu czasu.
- Co? – spytałem zdziwiony tym komentarzem, bo babka siadając przed telewizorem szykowała się do obejrzenia papieża w transmisji modlitwy Anioł Pański.
- Gołota. W piątej rundzie przegrał. – wyjaśniła babka. – Może coś w Sporcie pokażą.
No ładnie! A mnie cała ta wczorajsza gala boksu obeszła o tyle, że Polsat z jej powodu nie wyemitował kolejnych odcinków „Gotowych na wszystko”.

Mówię babce, że dziś zmieniamy czas z letniego na zimowy.
- To wcześniej będziemy wstawać?
- Później. Śpimy dłużej o godzinę.
- To tobie raj!
- Przecież i tak teraz śpię, ile chcę. – zauważam.

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- Osiem klepsydr przy małym kościele wczoraj wisiało. I wszystkie tak po osiemdziesiąt lat już. A ja pytam Ireny „A moje nazwisko tam nie wisiało?” – rozochocona babka relacjonuje koleżance przez telefon. – „Czytałam, ale twojej nie było” ona na to.
I babka wybucha ciut teatralnym śmiechem.

Składniki:

1 szklanka mąki pszennej,

1/2 szklanki ziemniaczanej,

3/4 szklanki cukru,

4 jajka,

1 kostka margaryny,

3 łyżeczki proszku do pieczenia,

1 łyżka kakao.

Sposób przyrządzenia:

Jajka zmiksować z cukrem, dodać wymieszane mąki (pszenną i ziemniaczaną) i proszek do pieczenia. Margarynę zagotować i zmiksować z resztą do uzyskania jednolitej i napowietrzonej masy. Wyłożyć 2/3 masy do foremki, do 1/3 pozostałej w naczyniu dodać kakao i wymieszać. Dolać ciemną masę do foremki.

Piec ok. 45 minut w 200-220*C.

tek!

Ingredients

One whole bag or 17 cups of flour (can do 9 cups white, 8 whole wheat if you want)

1+ cups sugar (add at least ½ cup more if whole wheat flour is used)

2 packs of dry yeast which is equivalent to around 4 tbsps.

1 cup of oil

4 cups of warm water (if whole wheat flour is used you might need ½ cup more later)

3 eggs

2 tbsp salt

Lots of love

How to:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Pour the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.  Place dry yeast into well.  Add 1 Tbsp of sugar and 1 cup of warm water and 1 tbsp of flour to the center well.  Let it bubble up for 5 minutes. (the kids love watching this – good chance for chemistry lesson)

Add 2 tbsps of salt around the edges of flour (salt shouldn’t mix with the yeast)

Add 1 cup of sugar to the flour

Add 1 cup of oil to the middle

Add 3 beaten eggs to the middle

Add 3 cups warm water to the middle

Mix all together until its desired consistency, I use my hands once they have been thoroughly washed, knead it for ten minutes and let rise for 20-30 mins. While I am kneading it I like to sprinkle in brachot (blessings) for our family and friends, sometimes I include names of those who need healing, to find a mate etc.

Punch down a 2^nd time, knead for another 10 minutes and let rise 20-30 mins.

Take challah with Bracha,  shape into the challah – either braided or round, and let rise again 20-30 mins.  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds or poppyseed.

Bake for 30 -40 mins depending on size of challahs.

For Cinnamon Babka / Rolls

Set aside a part of the dough, use your fingers to shape and stretch it out to an oblong or square shape. Doesn’t matter if it isn’t perfect. Mix a cup of sugar with a decent helping of ground cinnamon. Sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mix over the dough. You can add raisins too if that floats your boat. Roll up tight. Use sharp knife and cut 1.5 inch sections and place one by one in round pan, until the pan is filled. Let rise 30 minutes and bake 30 minutes. When cooled, drizzle with icing.

My picture shows cinnamon on left, chocolate on right, both un-iced.

For Chocolate Babka / Rolls

Same as cinnamon except melt one cup choc chips with ¼ stick of margarine, and spread it out. My kids like me to sprinkle choc chips over it too.

For Pull-apart Challahs

Instead of braiding, section off 6-8-12 (depending how big you want the pieces to be and how big baking tin is) identical pieces of dough. Mold into balls, place in pan next to each other, let rise. Coat with egg wash and seeds. Bake. Alternatively, you can belly button them. This means once all pieces are in pan use forefinger to make indent in each roll, and put choc chip / raisins / cinnamon sugar mix in. Rise. Bake.

We don’t have a T.V. But trust me, it’s better that way. Can you imagine coming home at 4pm after 9 hours of working with screaming 7-year-olds who barely speak English? What do you think you would most likely do? Go for a run? Start on dinner? Sweep and mop? No. You go to the couch and either fall asleep or turn on the T.V. Lucky for me I can’t take naps, so I had no other option but be productive in some way. But I promise you all that if I had a T.V. I would turn to the most mindless show there was and zone out until dinner time…and because I hadn’t been preparing anything it would have been Pollo Campero and I would be wearing sweat pants within a month. I mean…can you imagine a Latino version of General Hospital and the men dressed in mariachi costumes? Its got to be addicting. Or better yet, Jerry Spring in Spanish. Just kidding…

But we do get our fill of T.V. shows. First it was Scrubs. We own all the seasons (all the seasons worth watching anyway…we don’t believe in Scrubs without J.D). We went through those in about 3 months. Then it was the Office Sporadically. I brought it from the U.S. last Christmas. We just had one season, and when it ended we searched in every Blockbuster in the city, and even checked with the street vendors who sell pirate copies. It was not to be found. I guess the average Guatemalan faces enough pain in their daily working lives that they don’t need to relive it at home. Then there were random episodes of Sledge Hammer (shout out to anyone who has actually heard of it!) and Coupling for a while. Then, after our last visit home, we became the proud owners of all 9 seasons os Seinfeld. It has been holding us over quite nicely, but, as we approach the end of season 6, I’m starting to get a little nervous about what we’ll do at the end. We can’t afford any more shows.

We were watching Season 6, Eppisode 77 of Seinfeld, when “The Dinner Party” topic came up. Everyone is familiar with the commonly accepted social convention of bringing a bottle of wine or dessert if you have been invited for dinner to someones home. Elaine is explaining this to a begrudgingly stingy, and unemployed George, however he looses out and goes for the wine while Elaine and Jerry go for the dessert. As they walk to the local bakery, they decide on the Chocolate Babka – the ultimate of ultimate desserts. Upon entering the bakery they dart for the case to admire the pastry which will make them heroes of the party, but caught up in their fantasy they forget to take a number. As they kindly explain to a couple the clearly saw come in after them that it should be their number (logically…right? Because in New York people are that nice). Among negotiations they discover they are attending the very same dinner party. Unfortunately the couple doesn’t concede, proceed to order the last Chocolate Babka, and Elaine and Jerry arrive an hour late to the dinner party with the inferior Cinnamon Babka- with a hair on it nonetheless.

This made me curious about the Babka. I’d never in my life heard of Babka, let alone had I tasted it, so the next day I Googled it. What I encountered was a decadent dessert with amounts of butter, chocolate, and sugar that I would never have the courage to bring into my home. However I really admired the technique of preparing the swirly loaf, and decided I could apply it to my favorite cinnamon rolls using my icebox roll dough recipe. So, in all reality this isn’t a Babka, chocolate or cinnamon. Perhpas it is inferior, as Elaine and her dinner party might judge. But the dough does not differ all that much. I doubled the butter and put 50% more sugar in the dough than my original recipe, to add slightly more richness. However this will remain a lighter dessert than any authentic Babka you will ever try. But thats how we like them here. A little sweet bread with our coffee after a filling meal. Feel free to search a traditional Babka recipe, be it chocolate or cinnamon. But if you want something slightly lighter, I encourage you to try this!

Cinnamon Babka (Makes 1 loaf)

Ingredients:
1/2 a recipe icebox dough, prepared (or another prepared dough you like)
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Grease a bread pan generously with butter and line with parchment if you have it. I never have it so I never use it. Just makes it easier to get out at the end. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. Mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

3. Cut the dough in half. Set one half aside, and roll the other out into a large rectangle, as thin as you can without tearing the dough. Try to get it 1/8th an inch thick. Spread half of the butter on top the rolled out dough, leaving a 1/4 of an inch board on all sides. Sprinkle the 1 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture on top, keeping the boarder.

4. Tightly roll up the dough, squeezing gently. Pinch the end of the roll together, and use some water if need be to keep it sealed.

5. This is the fun part! Twist the roll like you are wringing it out (but gently!) about 8 times around if you can. Press it gently to the workspace to secure it.

6. Now, at this point, notice the last picture I posted of the slice of babka. Notice that the center is rather bare? You don’t want it to have that empty-bready space in there, do you? You want it full of sugar and spice. I didn’t understand this step, so I skipped it, but if you want a really pretty and tasty slice, I recommend you do the following: on top of the left half of the twisted roll, spread some more butter, and sprinkle some more sugar. Fold the right half over it, press gently, then twist a few times around (you’ll probably just get two or three). Place in greased bread pan.

7. Bake at 350ºF for 50 or 60 minutes. If the top browns too quickly, cover with foil for the last 20 minutes or so.

A couple of weeks ago I had some store-bought chocolate babka. It was delicious, and I was inspired to try it out with my sister as our next experiment.

Later on, we were scouring the internet and cookbooks for recipes.

We couldn’t find exactly what we were looking for, so we mixed and matched a few recipes to come up with what we hoped was the best chocolate babka ever.

It took a long time, but it was worth it!

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 3/4 cup warm Rice Dream or your favorite pareve milk substitute
• 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons active dry yeast (or two 1/4-oz packages)
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
• 2 whole large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) Earth Balance, or your favorite pareve butter substitute, cut into pieces and softened

Filling:

• 5 tablespoons softened Earth Balance
• 2 bars bittersweet chocolate,  shaved
• 1/4 cup sugar

Egg wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon Rice Dream

Streusel Topping:

• 3 tablespoons of cold Earth Balance, cubed.
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

To make the dough:

1. First mix the milk with 2 teaspoons of sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, or until it foams.
2. Combine 1/2 cup of flour to the yeast in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and beat at medium speed until combined.
4. Reduce speed to low and slowly mix in the remaining 2 3/4 cups of flour.
5. Increase speed to medium and beat in Earth Balance, a few pieces at a time. Let it beat until the dough is shiny and stringy, about 4 minutes.
6. Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled.

Assemble the babkas, part 1:

1. Grease and flour two loaf pans, or line them with parchment paper.
2. Punch down the dough and cut it in half.
3. Roll out one half onto a floured surface, and roll it out into a 10 x 18-inch rectangle, with a long side facing you.
4. Spread 2 1/2 tablespoons Earth Balance all over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around.
5. Make the egg wash: beat together the egg and the Rice Dream.  Brush it on the long border nearest to you.
6. Sprinkle half of the chocolate (1 bar) over the buttered dough.
7. Sprinkle half of the sugar (2 tablespoons) on top.

Assemble the babkas, part 2:

1. Starting from the long side farthest from you, roll the dough into a tight log. Make sure to pinch the edges to seal.
2. Bring the ends of the log together to form a circle. Pinch to seal.
3. Twist the circle twice to form a double figure-8.
4. Fit into a pan.
5. Repeat to make 2 loaves.
6. Cover both pans loosely with greased plastic wrap.
7. Let rise at room temperature for 2 hours, or until the dough reaches the top of the pan. You can also let them rise in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours, but make sure to bring to room temperature for 3-4 hours before baking.

To make the topping:

1. Use your fingers to mix all of the ingredients together. Lightly press the streusel onto the top of the babka.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

There’s always room for babka dessert after Shabbat dinner – and the leftovers make a great breakfast on Saturday.

Enjoy!

Online dating was a brilliant way to meet new people and explore a new city when I moved to New York. For the most part I was successful with it, but nothing in life is 100% wonderful all of the time.

This guy’s online profile talked about his love for music and the arts, but my hopes for sophisticated conversation about concerts, galleries, and favorite musicians were crushed when I was met by a dude in half-laced tennis shoes, a black concert t-shirt, and a raggedy messenger bag with a babka inside.

Cherry Cheese Babka, photo by smalltowngirl

The only time this smalltowngirl had ever even heard of babka was on the infamous Seinfeld episode during which Elaine waited in a long line for a chocolate babka to take with her to a holiday party.

I was simultaneously amused and appalled that this guy, who incidentally looked not unlike a younger version of George Castanza (he even lived with his mom on Staten Island) brought a messenger-bag-smooshed babka to me on a first date.

Oddly, this wasn’t the first time that a man brought me baked goods on a first date. Babka Boy’s first date with me was also his last, so single men of the world take heed that baked goods are best off kept removed from first dates.

On Saturday night I went to a farewell dinner for two very dear friends, who also happen to be my former housemates. Having lived communally with them for a couple of years we have learnt a lot about what each other eats. This meant that every Friday night I brought home a challah for the house to share. And on Sunday mornings we would have the delicious breakfast of French toast on challah, drenched with maple syrup. This, fairly unsurprisingly, quickly became a staple in the house. (The food sharing also meant that during Pesach they got to try matzah, which they, rather bizarrely, loved.)

We moved house together a couple of times, and each time my mum would supply us with a babka. My housemates had never had a babka before I moved in, and they very very quickly loved it. So when it came time for them to move away—they’re heading overseas for a couple of years—there was a request for a challah and a babka for their farewell dinner, which were gladly supplied.

Needless to say the babka was eaten and enjoyed by all, (it was only the Jewish dinner-goers who complained about it not being chocolate-y enough and inferior to Aviv babkas)…

And so today I was thinking about how sharing food has been a great way to introduce my non-Jewish friends to Jewish cultures. Food is something we can share, it’s nourishing, and delicious. It opens up discussions about how each food has a history, both personal and communal. And, to be a bit soppy, it brings people together, helping us make new histories and presents. Which is why I love the centrality that food has to Jewishness.

That night, I also discovered (thanks to my blogging partner) that one of the few Seinfeld episodes I had not seen is the one about babka. So, in celebration of babka, and in case you missed it too, I thought I’d post it here…

Seinfeld -> The Babka – The best video clips are right here

The Leftover Pantry Dessert 

You have 20 minutes to make an amazing dessert with some leftover wine, 1 pear, cocoa powder and nuts.  What would you make? My creation; spiced pear chocolate cake, toffee walnuts and shiraz syrup.

One Less Easter Egg…

Easter is symbolic of tradition. The cultural traditions that oblige us to eat 10 courses, topped off with an endless array of desserts. It can make anyone jump 2 dress sizes in a day. But, nonetheless, it gives us a great excuse to indulge. In Polish tradition, the blessing of the Easter basket on Saturday can make anyone drool. Hundreds of baskets filled with the standard items; rye bread, sausages, eggs, cakes in the shape of lambs and even a few chocolate Easter eggs. My fascination- snooping in other people’s baskets to see what has been baked, made and even painted…

I must confess my sins and say that the above was my very first attempt at hot cross buns. In terms of tweaking tradition, add double the amount of cinnamon and mixed spice, get a mini scone cutter or an easter egg oval shaped cutter and opt for different shapes…Why not make easter egg decorated buns???