Chocolate Babka

What is the syrup for? My bubbe, an immigrant from Minsk, arrived here with a brass mortal and pestle, and 4 brass candlesticks. She was the best babka baker in ny. (no really.) She'd recoil at a chocolate babka, a flavor not indigenous to Eastern Europe. For me, the traditional cinnamon sugar/streusel babka. Meantime, back to my question -- what is the syrup for? Especially since Melissa didn't use it, show it, mention it in the video -- Please enlighten us.

Thank you.

Decadent and good! A few suggestions . . . Do steps 1-4, then do 6, 7 and 8 during the first rising. Then put dough in fridge (Step 5) and finish everything the next day. Also, much easier to add the butter earlier in the mixing process -- I found that the dough didn't want to "accept" the butter when I added it at the end. Tried it again, alternating it with some of the flour, and that was perfect. Finally, I'd skip the sugar in the filling -- it's sweet enough!

Hi Ellen - as others pointed out, the video is a condensed guide to the recipe, not a complete step by step. In this case we did not show the syrup. And you can skip it if you prefer - though it does add moisture and sweetness but is not strictly necessary.

The chocolate mixture IS runny if you just let it cool to room temp. But after that, if you put it in the fridge for a while (or freezer briefly) while you are preparing the streusel and syrup and rolling out the dough, it will firm up to paste consistency.

Excellent choice, going for the chocolate babka! We all know the cinnamon babka to be the lesser babka.

The syrup is brushed on top of finished Babka, just out of the oven, to give it a crispy delicious shine.
I did my own babka trials and one thing I learned from David Lebovitz, master baker and home cook, is to add brownie bits to the chocolate filling. This raises the Babka bar.
And nothing is wrong with a cinnamon babka...it's perfect as well.

I've made this 5 times in the past month! I started making it in a bundt pan too (placing both loaves, stacked in the pan) for big gatherings and it's amazing!

You should specify that you need to cover the bowl with cling film or ensure it's airtight some other way when putting in the fridge to rise overnight... the way the recipe reads now, it sounds like you're advising to re-cover with the towel, which dries out the dough and can prevent it from rising properly in the oven.

I’ve made this several times now. This is what I’ve found: 1) It delicious without the streusel topping and syrup 2) Using Nutella is better than making the fudge filling. I found the fudge filling too liquidly and it made a mess when rolling.

I froze mine after the second rise, right before it would go into the oven. I left it rise and thaw on the counter for around 8 hours, and it baked up just as heavenly as the first loaf. Yum!

Alyson, proofing on the counter overnight instead can actually over prove the dough by giving it too much time in a warm environment. If you shorten the time it will be a much less yeasty flavor which is what we typically associate with breads that are closer to an artisan quality. By placing dough in the fridge for a cold rise you slow the rate at which the yeast works, and it eats through the sugars at that slower rate creating a greater depth of flavor.

I am making this now (half recipe), and have a few questions:
1. When I weighed my yeast, the entire package came out to 1/8 oz (package itself says 1/4 oz). I used the whole package for 1/2 the recipe. Could my yeast be old/dried out to account for this discrepancy? No issues with rise.

2. When braiding, should the exposed filling be tucked into the braid or exposed outward? I exposed outward but am concerned the chocolate paste is going to dry out. Perhaps these instructions can be clarified.

That. Was. Amazing. Yes, it took a lot of time. And yes, (as some people never tire of pointing out) it includes a lot of "richness", like butter, and cream, and sugar, and chocolate. But on a Sunday afternoon, with a cup of tea.....oh my! I was a bit concerned when the loaves did not rise much prior to baking. But they made up for it in the oven, actually breached the loaf pans, but fortunately did not collapse. I might not bother with the streusel next time. But the syrup stays!

It was wonderful!!! Rather than do it all in one day, I took my time. Thurs. I made the dough, and let rise overnight in the fridge. Fri. I shaped the loafs, and let it rise overnight in the fridge. Sat. I let it come to room temp. Added the streusel, and baked. Do NOT over bake. I used an instant read thermometer. The syrup is a must! Next time I would use a regular streusel, I felt the streusel tasted a little burnt, and I tented with foil part of the way through baking.

This recipe is perfect, and absolutely delicious. I altered nothing and will definitely put this into my regular rotation. If followed precisely, the directions result in an easy-to-make, master-baker level treat. A word of advice: Read the directions completely and understand the time frames required for each step. This is not a quick process, but is SO worth it.