Triple Citrus Babka With Cream Cheese, Poppy Seeds, and Cranberries

No ratings yet

Triple Citrus Babka With Cream Cheese, Poppy Seeds, and Cranberries

Triple citrus babka with cream cheese, poppy seeds, and cranberries is a soft, aromatic, and festive holiday babka that you will want to have at any time of the year.

Prep Time50

Cook Time35

Fermentation19 30

Total Time20 55

Servings 3 babkas (10 slices each)

Calories: 196.8 kcal

Equipment & Tools

Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
Large mixing bowl
3x loaf pans plus parchment paper
Kitchen scale
Pizza Cutter
Kitchen ruler (optional)

INGREDIENTS

Metric - US Customary

SOURODUGH LEVAIN

15 g sourdough starter
100 g water (non chlorinated, room temperature)
100 g T00 (bread) flour (Mulino Marino)

WET INGREDIENTS

200 g sourdough levain (100% hydration)
85 g clementine juice (freshly squeezed)
190 g orange juice (freshly squeezed)
92 g granulated sugar
1 tsp dark rum (good quality)
1 tsp vanilla extract (pure)
2 eggs (~105g, room temperature)
1 lemon, zest (unwaxed, organic)
1 lime, zest (unwaxed, organic)
3 clementine, zest (unwaxed, organic)
150 g butter (unsalted, room temperature, plus more for the bowl and pans)

DRY INGREDIENTS

550 g T00 flour (Marino Mulino)
1 tsp salt (Himalayan)

FILLING

350 g cream cheese
⅔ c poppy seeds
130 g powdered sugar
1 tsp vanila extract (pure)
1 egg yolk
130 g dried cranberries (coarsley chopped)

EGG WASH

1 egg
¼ date syrup (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

MAKE THE SOURDOUGH LEVAIN

Mix all the ingredients well, cover, and let it rise at least double to triple in size - Note 1.

MIX THE DOUGH

Add all the wet ingredients, except the butter, into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and mix until everything is evenly incorporated.
Add the flour and mix on the low speed until no dry bits of flour are visible about 1.5 minutes - Note 2.
Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Mix the dough on medium speed for about 10 minutes. The sides of the bowl should be clean, and the dough should cling onto the hook.
While mixing, start adding butter, one tablespoon at a time. It should take about 5 minutes. The dough should be shiny, very extensible, and passing the window-pane test.
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly buttered bowl. Fold the dough couple of times using the coil method to form a ball.

BULK FERMENTATION

Cover and rest for 1 hour.
Fold the dough twice using the coil method.
Cover and rest for 1 hour.
Fold the dough twice using the coil method.
Cover and rest for 2 hours.
Place the dough into the refrigerator for overnight cold fermentation.

PREPARE THE FILLING

Add all the ingredients except the cranberries to a food processor. Pulse until everything is uniformly mixed.

PREPARE THE BAKING PANS

Using a small brush, add a light butter coating to the baking tins. Place and tuck the parchment paper inside and let the extra flaps on the side of the pans. Set aside.

SHAPE THE BABKA

Dust the clean working surface with some flour. Take the dough from the fridge, scrape it from the bowl, and place it top-down on the working surface.
Roll out the dough to measure approximately 48cm/19in by 75cm/30in.
Spread the filling evenly onto the dough, leaving about 1cm/0.5in of dough along the long edge. Sprinkle dried cranberries over the filling.
Lightly brush the clean long edge of the dough with some water. This will help to seal the rolled dough. Starting from the long edge that contains the filling, roll the dough tightly into a log.
Using a pizza cutter, cut the rolled dough into three equal pieces.
Take one piece of dough, cut it in half using the pizza cutter. Flip each of the cut sides to face up, exposing the filling and the layers. Gently relax and stretch the dough.
Twist the halves together, interchangeably, as if braiding them. Hold the babka along the long edge and carefully place it in the buttered pan. The edges should naturally fold under slightly. Repeat with the other two pieces of dough.

PROOFING AND BAKING

Cover each babka and place in a warm area (26ºC/79ºF) to prove for about 3 hours or until doubled in size - Note 3.
Halfway through the proofing stage, preheat the oven to 220ºC/430ºF.
Make the egg wash by mixing the egg and date syrup. Gently brush the dough only parts of the babka avoiding the filling.
Place in the oven to bake and immediately lower the temperature to 180ºC/356ºF. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
After about 10 minutes, gently lift the babkas from the baking tin and place them on the cooling rack to cool to room temperature - Note 4.

NOTES

This recipe was adapted from Triple citrus coffee cake published in Martha Stewart Living Magazine, 2004.

The sourdough levain, when mature and ready to use, should be concave (curving downwards), and the levain should be airy and light.
Don't overmix at this stage and start to develop the gluten. Don't worry if there are some small lumps of dough, as these will be incorporated in the second stage of the mixing process.
When fully proofed the dough should be very light to touch. See pictures in the post.
The babkas are very soft, especially while still warm, and you should cool them before cutting in. Else you risk squeezing the dough. Of course, you can always try it by pulling pieces ;)

NUTRITION*

* Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.