This babka is my birthday present to myself. It has the smell of fresh bread baked in an outdoor oven in the middle of a strawberry field. It’s like crawling into a toast and jam hole with your small bunny family as darkness falls in autumn. It’s tart and luscious without being overly sweet, very soft, and moist while still baking through.
I’ve published babkas here before, and I admit that this a riff on the one I shared last year. It’s not vegan due to the addition of whole milk and malted milk powder, though those aren’t strictly necessary — the milk makes the bread a little richer and the malted milk improves the browning. You can follow that dough recipe with this jam if you want to make it vegan.
Note: The easiest way to assemble this babka (especially given this current heat) is to make the compote and mix the dough the day before you want to bake. You’ll let the dough proof overnight in the fridge, and then you can work on filling and rolling with cold dough and compote. It’ll still be messy, but less so.
Rhubarb Strawberry Compote
Yield: 2 cups compote, 2 cups syrup
Ingredients
16 oz rhubarb, trimmed and roughly chopped
16 oz strawberries, trimmed and roughly chopped
zest and juice of one big orange
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
Add the rhubarb, strawberry, orange juice and zest, sugar, apple cider vinegar, and salt to a pot. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 20 minutes, until the compote is fairly thick (if you pour a little on a cold plate, you should be able to run your finger through it and leave a clean trail).
Pour the mixture through a strainer, reserving both the liquid and strained compote (you will fill the babka with the compote and use the liquid as a syrup).
Rhubarb-Strawberry Malted Babka
Yield: 2 loaves
Ingredients
Tangzhong roux
3 tablespoons (23 grams) flour
½ cup (113 grams) whole milk
Dough
3 ½ cups (420 grams) AP or bread flour
½ cup (70 g) malted milk powder
2 teaspoons (25 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup (150 grams) whole milk
⅓ cup (66 grams) neutral oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To assemble
2 cups rhubarb strawberry compote
½ cup reserved syrup
Crunchy salt, for sprinkling
To make the tangzhong roux: In a small pot, combine the 3 tablespoons of flour and ½ cup milk. Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly. After a few minutes, the mixture will begin to thicken up into a paste. Whisk a little more then remove from heat.
In a stand mixer with the dough attachment (or by hand), mix together the flour, malted milk powder, sugar, yeast and salt until combined. Add the milk, oil, vanilla, and the roux and mix well.
Knead for about 5 minutes (with stand mixer) or 10 minutes (by hand). By now, the dough should have formed a soft ball that pulls away from the edges of the bowl (if not, keep kneading).
Sprinkle a little more oil into a medium-sized bowl and put the dough ball into it. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for at least an hour, and up to several hours (you can also let the dough proof overnight in the fridge).
Lightly flour a workspace and take out the dough ball. Use a bench scraper to divide it evenly into two halves. Roll out each half into a similarly sized rectangle — about 8”x12”. Spread each rectangle with the compote, leaving a ½-inch margin on the top and slightly less on the bottom and sides. (See picture below.)
Starting with the long end of each rectangle, roll up into a log. Chill for ~30 minutes (okay to use your freezer if you keep an eye on it to stop it from actually freezing).
With a sharp knife, cut each log in half lengthwise (the more difficult way), leaving one end still connected.
Twist together each log: Twist the strands around each other as many times as you’re able, then seal the bottoms together. Some filling may spill out and things may get messy. Do the same with the other log.
Transfer twists to two greased loaf pans.
Cover the pans with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm, moist place again, this time for another hour and a half up to several.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Put the babka into the oven and immediately lower the heat to 350°F.
Bake the babka for about 35-40 minutes. It should be browned on top, and a thermometer inserted into the center should read 190°F.
Once the babkas are baked, place them (still in their pans) on a cooling rack. Stab all over with a knife and run a knife around the edges to detach from the pan. Pour over about half a cup of syrup split between the two loaves. Sprinkle crunchy salt on top.
Let the babkas cool completely in their pans before gently sliding them out and slicing.