Nutella Babka Recipe - Hummingbird High

Day 1: Make the Dough

Whisk together the milk and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Sprinkle the yeast over the mixture and whisk. Set aside for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy and bubbly and smells like yeast.
Once the mixture is foamy, add the flours, eggs, sugar, and salt. Knead on the lowest speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until a shaggy dough forms. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter, one or two cubes at a time. Once all the butter is added, continue kneading on the mixer's lowest speed for 2 minutes, stopping the mixer to use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed, and to pull the dough off the hook. If the dough is very dry, add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time; if the dough looks wet, add more all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.
Lightly dust a counter with flour and scrape the dough out into its center. Lightly dust the top of the dough and the inside of the mixer bowl with flour. Grab the top portion of the dough and stretch it away from you, tearing the dough, then fold it on top of the middle of the dough. Give the dough a quarter turn and repeat the stretching, tearing, and folding. Continue to do this until you can stretch a small piece of dough very thinly without tearing, about 5 minutes.
Once the dough can be stretched very thinly, use your hands to push and pull the dough against the work surface in a circular motion to form a ball with the dough. Place the ball back in the floured stand mixer bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator and chill overnight.

Day 2: Assemble and Bake the Babka

Prepare a 13 x 4-inch pullman pan or two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans by spraying the bottom and sides generously with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the long sides. Spray the parchment, too.
Turn the chilled babka dough out onto the center of a lightly floured counter. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 9 by 24-inch rectangle. Use an offset spatula to brush the rectangle with the melted butter and sprinkle the granulated sugar over the butter. Starting from a short side of the rectangle, fold the dough into thirds like a rectangle (see this link for a visual). Roll the dough out once more—if using a 13 x 4-inch pullman pan, roll the dough into a 13 x 24-inch rectangle; if using two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, roll the dough into a 9 x 24-inch rectangle.
Spread the Nutella in an even layer over the dough, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle the chocolate chips in an even layer over the Nutella. Starting from a short side of the rectangle, roll the dough into a tight cylinder like you would if making cinnamon rolls.
If using two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, use a serrated knife to slice the cylinder in half crosswise. Use a serrated knife to slice the cylinder(s) in half lengthwise so that you have 2 (or 4, if making two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans) long pieces with chocolate layers exposed. Position the pieces so that the exposed layers are facing upwards and are parallel next to each other.
Gently press together one end of each half, and then lift the right half over the left half. Repeat this process, but this time, lift the left half over the right to create a simple, two-pronged plait. Repeat this process until there is no longer any dough left to braid — I think I was only able to cross the dough around 3 times or so since it's fairly thick but and short. Squeeze together the ends. If using two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, you'll need to do this braiding process twice and place each twist in its own pan.
Place the braid(s) in the prepared pan(s) and cover the top of the pan(s) with plastic wrap. Set the loaf pans aside in a warm, draft-free spot until the dough is very sift and jiggly to the touch, 2 to 3 hours.
Once the babka(s) are jiggly and risen, center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350℉. Bake for 40 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the very center of the babka(s) reads 190℉. Check the babka(s) 25 minutes into the bake time—if the top of the babka(s) look like they're getting browned too quickly, tent them loosely with aluminum foil.
While the babka(s) is in the oven, make the simple syrup. Combine the sugar and the water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high-heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Set the syrup on a wire rack to cool as the babka(s) finish baking.
Once the babka(s) are done, place on a wire rack. Immediately use a pastry brush to brush the top of the babka(s) with the cooled syrup, waiting until the babka(s) absorb the syrup before using more syrup—it will seem like there's too much syrup, but the syrup will lock in the moisture of the cake so the babka(s) don't dry out. Allow the babka(s) to cool in their pans on the wire rack for 1 hour. Slice and serve while warm, or cool completely in the pans before unmolding and serving.

Get the Recipe: Nutella Babka Recipe

Ingredients

For the Basic Babka Dough

For the Nutella Babka

For the Simple Syrup

Equipment

Instructions

Day 1: Make the Dough

Day 2: Assemble and Bake the Babka