Sourdough Almond Pear Babka
Sourdough Almond Pear Babka for the Gastrointestinal Society of Canada
Sourdough Almond Pear Babka Recipe:
Ingredients:
Babka Dough:
300g AP Flour
100g levain
42g granulated sugar
5g salt
3g malt
40g butter
20g canola oil
115g milk
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
Pear Jam:
(Makes 1kg of jam - only need 250g for the recipe so if you wish not to have leftovers divide by 4)
34oz pear or 2 cans
35g lemon juice
550g granulated sugar
5g lemon zest
Almond Cream:
(you only need 250g for this recipe however this is the smallest amount that can be easily made in a kitchenaid stand mixer)
115g butter
115g granulated sugar
115g almond flour
1g salt
2 eggs
25g toasted sliced almonds
1 egg white
Procedure:
Babka Dough:
o Feed your levain the night before- or 12 hours before you would like to mix your dough (100g water, 100g flour, 45g starter) and let ferment until reaching its peak.
o Add everything minus the milk to the bowl of a standard kitchen aid or stand mixer. Using the dough hook attachment mix on low while slowly pouring the milk in. Scrape well.
o Once dough comes together increase speed to #4 and mix for 5-7 minutes or until dough has a sufficient gluten window.
o Take dough out and slap and fold until a smooth round ball can be formed.
o Proof at 78ºF for 5 hours.
o Once dough has doubled in size, reshape into a tight ball, knocking out some of the air. Cover and place in the fridge for 8-12 hours
Pear Jam:
o If using canned pears drain out liquid in a colander.
o Dice pears into small cubes.
o Place pears, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a bowl. Cover and leave to sit on the counter for 5-8 hours.
o Place in a pot and bring to a boil until pears are soft. Remove from heat and partially blitz until you have partial chunky partial smooth jam.
o Place back on burner and continue to cook till jam reaches 215ºC
o Immediately place in a container with plastic wrap placed directly on top and leave to set.
Almond Cream:
o Cream butter and sugar together until light.
o Add eggs keeping the emulsification.
o Add almond flour and salt and mix until combined.
Assembly
o Toast sliced almonds in 350ºF oven for 10-15 min, until golden.
o Take your dough out of the fridge to warm up a bit – around 20-30min should do.
o On a lightly floured surface roll dough into a rectangle 1/2cm thick.
o Add 250g of almond cream and spread evenly with a palette knife.
o Add 250g of pear jam and spread evenly with a palette knife.
o Sprinkle 25g of the toasted sliced almonds evenly across filling.
o Roll tightly from the long side closest to you and seal the edge with egg white.
o Turn tube of dough vertically and leaving a small joined bit at the top cut in half.
o Flip each side filling side up and twist the strands all the way down. Pinch and tuck the bottom to seal.
o Slightly compress the sides until your babka is the size of your loaf tin.
o Place in heavily buttered loaf tin and proof for 3 hours at 78ºF.
o Brush with egg white and bake 20 min at 375ºF and then turn the oven down to 350ºF and bake for an additional 20 min or until golden and a knife doesn’t stick in the dough.
o Leave to cool on a wire rack before cutting with a serrated bread knife.
Tips:
- Make pear jam the night before so when its time to spread it’s completely cool.
- Almond cream should be room temperature to make even spreading possible.
- If you are using regular store bought flour don’t add malt. (Regular AP flour has malted barley flour already added in it. If you are using Anita’s, Gold forest grain, or any artisan untreated flour please add malt.)
- If you wish to skip overnight fermentation, reduce malt to 1.5g and proceed straight to final shaping and proofing.
Makes 1 standard bread pan loaf of babka
Link to the Gastrointestinal Society of Canada: https://badgut.org/
Funds raised: $185
