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Best Babka

Best Babka

4.8

Prep
45 min
Cook
40 min
Total
295 min

Instructions

  1. 1 Heat milk in a medium saucepan until just below boiling; stir in 2 cups unsalted butter until melted. Cool until lukewarm.
  2. 2 Place ½ cup warm water and yeast in a small bowl; stir with a spoon to break up slightly. Set aside.
  3. 3 Beat 4 eggs and 4 egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until well combined. Add 1 cup sugar and salt; beat until mixture is thick and pale. Stir in orange zest, lemon zest, orange liqueur, vanilla extract, and yeast mixture. Beat in 2 cups flour on low speed until well combined; beat in 2 cups more flour until well combined. Beat in milk-butter mixture on medium-low speed, alternating with 4 cups more flour.
  4. 4 Beat in up to 1 cup more flour if dough is sticky until well combined. Mix in currants, raisins, golden raisins, and almonds.
  5. 5 Transfer dough to a well-floured work surface; knead until shiny and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Knead in up to 1 cup more flour if dough is still sticky. Shape dough into a ball, transfer to a large, greased bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap.
  6. 6 Place dough in a warm place; let rise until doubled in volume, 1 ½ to 2 hours. Punch down dough, cover the bowl, and let rise again, 1 ½ hours more.
  7. 7 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 tube pans.
  8. 8 Combine 1 cup flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; cut in ¼ cup butter until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle streusel in bottom of the prepared pans.
  9. 9 Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 1 minute; divide into 3 even pieces. Roll each piece into a log, pinching seams to seal. Place logs, seam-sides up, in the prepared pans, pinching ends together to form rings. Cover pans loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 minutes.
  10. 10 Beat 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water together; lightly brush over each loaf.
  11. 11 Bake in the preheated oven until golden; bread should sound hollow when tapped, 30 to 45 minutes. Turn loaves out onto a rack while still warm. Cool completely before slicing.

By JJOHN32

Sweet Saffron Buns

Sweet Saffron Buns

5.0

Prep
30 min
Cook
35 min
Total
640 min

Instructions

  1. 1 Combine 1/2 cup boiling water, saffron, and 1 pinch salt in a small bowl; steep for 8 hours to overnight.
  2. 2 Crumble yeast into a small bowl; add 1/4 cup warm water and 1 pinch sugar.
  3. 3 Mix 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
  4. 4 Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; allow to cool for 5 minutes.
  5. 5 Beat saffron water, scalded milk, shortening, lemon extract, and lemon zest together in a bowl. Add eggs; stir to combine.
  6. 6 Pour yeast mixture and milk mixture into sugar mixture; mix well. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time; mix after each addition until incorporated. Stir in raisins and currants. Knead dough well; transfer to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
  7. 7 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x12-inch baking pans.
  8. 8 Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Form each half into 12 equal balls; arrange in prepared baking pans. Allow dough to rise again, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  9. 9 Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 30 minutes.

By LCOADY

Joanna's Nut Roll

Joanna's Nut Roll

5.0

Prep
60 min
Cook
50 min
Total
350 min

Instructions

  1. 1 Heat 2 cups of milk in a saucepan over low heat until the milk just comes to a simmer; remove from heat, and let cool. Mash the cake yeast with the warm water in a bowl, and set aside.
  2. 2 In a bowl, whisk together the flour with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg. In a separate large bowl, mash the butter with 1 cup of sugar and the salt until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Beat in 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. After milk is cooled to a warm temperature, stir the yeast mixture into the scalded milk, and stir the milk mixture to the creamed butter mixture. Beat in 3 cups of flour until completely incorporated, and beat in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the mixture forms a smooth dough that's almost sticky. Dough will be very soft.
  3. 3 Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, and turn the dough over to coat all sides with oil. Cover with a floured kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 2 to 3 hours.
  4. 4 Punch down the dough, cut into 6 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a ball. Cover with floured kitchen towel, and set the balls into a warm place to rise until doubled, 40 minutes to 1 hour.
  5. 5 While dough is rising the second time, make the nut filling: tear toasted bread into a few pieces, and grind toast with walnuts and pecans in a food grinder, or process in the work bowl of a food processor until finely chopped. Place the nuts into a bowl; mix in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 cup of honey, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg until thoroughly combined. Mix in milk, a little at a time, to make a workable mixture.
  6. 6 Beat egg whites to stiff peaks in a bowl with an electric mixer, and gently fold the egg whites into the nut mixture until completely combined.
  7. 7 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  8. 8 Roll out each piece of dough on a floured surface into a 12-inch square; brush with melted butter. Spread 1/6 of the nut mixture onto each square of dough, and roll each into a log; pinch ends and seam tightly together, and tuck the ends underneath the roll. Place filled rolls on the prepared baking sheet, seam sides down.
  9. 9 Beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup of milk together in a small bowl, and brush the rolls with the egg yolk mixture. If desired, allow to rise 30 more minutes (for more puffy rolls). Poke holes in the rolls every 4 inches.
  10. 10 Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 50 to 65 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a roll will come out clean. Brush rolls with melted butter after removing from oven; allow to cool on racks.

By Sheila

Danish Cinnamon Snails

Danish Cinnamon Snails

4.7

Prep
30 min
Cook
10 min
Total
90 min

Instructions

  1. 1 Pour warm milk into a bowl; mash in yeast cakes. Mix in butter, eggs, sugar, cardamom, salt, and 3 1/2 cups flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix dough together. If very sticky, add remaining 1/2 cup flour. Cover the bowl; let dough rise for 30 minutes.
  2. 2 Beat together butter and sugar in a medium bowl until filling is creamy. Stir in cinnamon until combined. Set aside.
  3. 3 Transfer dough to a floured surface; knead until firm, about 3 minutes. Divide dough in half; roll each half into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Spread each rectangle with 1/2 of the filling.
  4. 4 Stack dough rectangles on top each other, filling-side up. Roll dough into a log starting with edge closest to you. Cut log into 1-inch-thick slices.
  5. 5 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Alternatively, grease a baking dish or 2 cake pans if you prefer pull-apart rolls.
  6. 6 Place rolls on the prepared baking sheet about 3 inches apart. If baking pull-apart rolls, arrange in the prepared baking dish or cake pans about 1 inch apart. Let rolls rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
  7. 7 Bake rolls in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Pull-apart rolls will take longer. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking until sides are fully set, about 10 minutes more. Cover rolls with foil if browning too quickly.

By malene_2

Drozdzowka (Polish Yeast Plum Cake)

Drozdzowka (Polish Yeast Plum Cake)

3.8

Prep
60 min
Cook
60 min
Total
140 min

Instructions

  1. 1 In a saucepan over very low heat, warm up 1/2 cup of milk to no more than 100 degrees F (38 degrees C); stir in 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Crumble the cake yeast into the milk mixture, and gently stir until the mixture becomes creamy. Cover the pan with a cloth, and set aside in a warm place until the yeast forms a spongy texture, 20 to 30 minutes.
  2. 2 Melt margarine in a saucepan over low heat; remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm.
  3. 3 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
  4. 4 Place eggs and 1 1/8 cup sugar into a blender, and process until the mixture is yellow and fluffy. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 8 cups of flour with vanilla sugar. Stir in the egg mixture, activated yeast mixture, and lukewarm margarine; start kneading 1 cup milk, or as needed, into the dough, a little at a time, until the dough stops sticking to your fingers and becomes smooth and even. Knead for at least 15 minutes, working to incorporate as much air as possible into the dough as you knead.
  5. 5 Press the dough evenly into the prepared baking sheet, and arrange the plums over the top of the dough. Set aside.
  6. 6 In a bowl, cut together 1 1/2 cup flour, the butter, and 1/2 cup of sugar with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs; sprinkle the streusel mixture over the plums. Dust streusel with cinnamon, if desired.
  7. 7 Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

By Cooking Monster

Poppyseed Stollen (Mohn Stollen)

Poppyseed Stollen (Mohn Stollen)

4.0

Prep
120 min
Cook
40 min
Total
1705 min

Instructions

  1. 1 First, make the fondant. It needs to be refrigerated overnight before using. To make the fondant, you'll need a marble slab or a baking sheet and an offset spatula to fold the candy. If you're using a baking sheet, rinse it with water, leaving a few drops on the pan.
  2. 2 Dissolve the cream of tarter in the water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the sugar and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan occasionally to help dissolve the sugar. Do not stir once the sugar syrup begins to boil. Heat to 240 degrees F (115 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface.
  3. 3 Immediately pour the candy onto the baking sheet or marble slab and let cool for 10 minutes. Use a spatula to vigorously knead the candy, folding it over itself. Knead until it begins to look cloudy, 5 to 10 minutes; allow it to cool. Transfer the fondant to a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler. Refrigerate overnight.
  4. 4 To make the sponge, dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/4 cup of the room-temperature milk. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup milk into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1 cup of flour and the yeast mixture. Mix with a fork to combine. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow to rest until bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes.
  5. 5 Stir the remaining 3 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, room-temperature eggs, and zest from 1 lemon into the sponge. Use the dough hook to mix the dough on the lowest setting. Mix the dough for about 5 minutes, occasionally scraping the dough off of the hook and down the sides of the bowl.
  6. 6 Increase the speed to medium-low and add the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated. Allow the dough to mix for an additional 5 minutes, scraping the dough down as needed. Add the ground almonds and turn the mixer on for 1 or 2 turns, mixing just until incorporated. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball. Place the ball in an oiled mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let it rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
  7. 7 While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Heat the milk in a heavy 4-quart saucepan until it begins to boil; stir in the butter and sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and add the poppyseeds, 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon zest, and the cinnamon. Let the mixture stand for 30 minutes to soften the poppyseeds. When the mixture is cool, whisk in the egg.
  8. 8 Punch down the dough and roll it out into a 10 1/2- by 16-inch rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1-inch margin on all sides. Roll the dough up into a log, starting with the long side, and pinch the edges together to form a seam. Place the loaf, seam-side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover it with greased plastic wrap or a well-floured kitchen towel and allow it to rise for an additional 30 to 40 minutes.
  9. 9 Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  10. 10 Bake the stollen until golden brown on the bottom of the loaf, about 40 minutes. Let the bread cool completely before glazing.
  11. 11 To glaze the bread, add the lemon juice to the fondant. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula until soft and glossy. Pour the fondant over the stollen and allow it to cool before slicing.

By Silvia