This Eastern European recipe is from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. It was one of my favorite bakery treats growing up. It had an exotic blend of chocolate and cinnamon mixed with the yeastiness of bread that I found addictive. It's great with coffee. Wrap the cooled babka in plastic wrap and it will last a week.

Makes 3 loaves.

Ingredients

Loaf

1 1/2 cups milk, 110 degrees

2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 3/4 cups sugar (divided into 3/4 cup and 1 cup)

3 large eggs, room temperature (divided into 2 eggs and 1 egg)

2 large egg yolks, room temperature

6 cups (26 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature divided into 1 cup [2 sticks] and 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks)

2 pounds semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Topping

1 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

Recipe

1. Pour milk into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast and pinch of sugar over milk; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, and egg yolks.
3. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture, and whisk to combine.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt.
5. Add egg mixture, and beat on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated.
6. Change to the dough hook. Add 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter and beat until flour mixture and butter are completely incorporated and make a smooth, soft dough that’s slightly sticky when squeezed is formed, about 10 minutes.
7. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a few turns until smooth.
8. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray, place dough in bowl and turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
9. Place chocolate, remaining 1 cup sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Using a pastry cutter, cut in remaining 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter until well combined.
10. Spray three 9-by-5-by-2 3/4-inch loaf pans with cooking spray and line them with parchment paper.
11. Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon heavy cream to make an egg wash.
12. Punch down the dough and let rest 5 minutes. Cut into 3 equal pieces. Keep 2 pieces covered with plastic wrap while working with the remaining piece.
13. On a generously floured surface, roll dough out into a 16-inch square; it should be 1/8 inch thick.
14. Crumble 1/3 of the chocolate mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border.
15. Brush edges with reserved egg wash. Roll dough up tightly like a jelly roll. Pinch ends together to seal. Twist several times. Brush top of roll with egg wash. Bend roll in half (like a horseshoe). Fold right half of the roll over onto the left half. Crumble 2 tablespoons of filling over the roll, being careful not to let mixture slide off. Twist roll 2 turns, and fit into prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of dough and remaining filling.
16. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
17. Make topping by mixing the confectioners’ sugar with flour and cutting in the butter with a pastry cutter.
18. Brush the top of each loaf with the egg wash. Crumble 1/3 of the topping over each loaf. Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place for 30 minutes.
19. Bake loaves, rotating halfway through, until golden, about 55 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake until babkas are deep golden, 15 minutes more.
20. Remove from oven, and transfer to wire racks until cool. Remove from pans; serve.   

This recipe is based on a recipe in Martha Stewarts Baking Handbook. I entered it in the San Diego County Fair (formerly the Del Mar Fair) and it was awarded a first place ribbon and Best in the Adult Bread Division.

If you are new to bread baking, this is as close to foolproof as you can get for a yeast bread recipe. Don’t worry if the bread ends up huge. You can always cut it into slices, put the slices on a cookie sheet, freeze them, put them in zip top bags (or vacuum pack them if you have a vacuum sealer) and return them to the freezer. When you want a slice, take it out and toast it until warm, brown and delicious.

Finally, it’s called rustic because that’s a bread baker’s code word for hand formed rather than baked in a pan.

Ingredients

2 C. water (110° - 120°)
24 oz. bread flour
1 package instant yeast
¾ C. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. kosher salt
8 oz. kalamata olives, pitted
Cooking spray
Cornmeal

Recipe

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer stir the water, flour, yeast and olive oil until combined. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the salt and olives. Mix on low speed until combined. Raise the speed to medium and mix until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl but is still sticky (approximately three minutes).
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 1 minute and transfer to a bowl that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise in a warm place until doubled (approximately 1 hour).
4. Return dough to a lightly floured work surface. Fold the bottom third of the dough up, the top third down, and the right and left thirds over. Brush any excess flour off and press down to seal after each fold. Turn the dough over and cover with lightly sprayed plastic wrap. Let rest 15 minutes.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. To form the round loaf, flatten the dough again with your knuckles and then fold the dough in onto itself, like you are shaping something that looks like a jellyfish. Turn the dough over and squeeze the bottom together so that the top surface of the dough is smooth. Place the dough back onto the counter and begin to roll gently between your hands in a circular motion. Continue until the dough forms a tight smooth ball.
6. Sprinkle cornmeal on the bottom of a sheet pan transfer the dough to the pan. Cover with the plastic wrap and let rest until slightly puffed (approximately 30 minutes).
7. Preheat oven to 450°.
8. With a razor or a very sharp knife make four slashes on the top of the bread to form a square. Bake the loaf until the crust is a dark golden brown (approximately 35 minutes). Cool bread on wire rack and cool completely before slicing.