Bread Baking Babes go Festive

And the Bread Baking Babes end this year with a festive bread with champagne. I am the Kitchen of the month and I’d like us to bake some Baba’s. A syrup drowned brioche-like bread. Well known is the Rum Baba, but to make it even more festive this one is drenched with a champagne-based syrup. You can choose another liquor or dessert wine or flavour with a light coloured fruit juice (like pineapple juice) to your liking.

You can make one large or smaller baba’s. The large one makes a nice centre piece when you’re having it for dessert, but it is a lot harder to get soaked enough. I made some extra soaking syrup in a little jar to pour over when served, to solve this.

I made one large Baba, but also made 12 smaller baba’s and I loved these even more. Easier to drench with syrup and much more festive to plate up as a lovely dessert. You can of course make 1 X-large, 2 large, 12 mini or something in between. Just keep an eye on the baking time time and check the core temperature in the bread if it's done.

They're not difficult to make, so have a go and bake these for Christmas or as a delicious in-between for new years eve. Become our Bread Baking Buddy, mix, bake, post and enjoy this recipe and let us know how they turned out. Send you details to me (notitievanlien (at) gmail (dot) com) and I'll send you the Bread Baking Buddy Badge for your efforts to place with our post, if you like. Please have your entries send in before the end of the year.  

BBBuddies are not very active lately, but if there are any of course I'll make a round up. Happy Baking.... and remember you only need a little champagne for this, so you can party with what's left in the bottle. Happy baking and Happy holidays! 🎄🎄🎄

Champagne Baba

(1 large or 12 small baba’s)

(PRINT recipe)

sponge:

100 g water

1 tsp instant dry yeast

1 TBsp sugar

100 g bread flour

dough:

180 g bread flour

½ tsp fine salt

¼ tsp instant dry yeast

1,5 tsp vanilla sugar

3 large eggs

90 g melted butter

soaking syrup:
150 g sugar

150 g water

120 g champagne (or Asti Spumante or fruitjuice)

200 g apricot jam (or use a sugar glaze)

Mix all the ingredients for the sponge together in a large bowl (the one you’ll be kneading the dough in). Now sprinkle 180 g bread flour over the sponge, so it is covered and leave to rest for about 1 hour.

Now add the salt, ¼ tsp dry yeast, vanilla sugar and eggs. Start to mix this. If using a standmixer, use the paddle attachment. When it comes together after a few minutes, add the melted (and slightly cooled) butter and keep working it. The dough is a bit batterlike, but be sure to get some gluten developed.

For one large Baba:

Place it in the moulds. You can use a loaf tin or a round baking form (I used a paper Panettone mould (Ø13,4 x H 9,5 cm), filled about half way up. Cover with plastic and leave to rise until 2-3 cm under the rim of the mould.

In the meantime don’t forget to preheat the oven to 180ºC (350-360ºF).
While the baba bakes make the soaking syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a small pan and heat until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cool until warm. Add the champagne; set aside.

Bake for about 45-55 minutes, until golden brown on top. If the bread gets too dark too soon, protect the top with a sheet of tin foil. Check the temperature in the bread with a thermometer, it should be about 93ºC.

Take out of the oven and the tin and place on a deep dish. Poke the bread with a long wooden skewer from top to bottom. Brush the syrup all over it, and get as much as possible inside the bread, so take your time. Collect the syrup from the plate and keep pouring and brushing it, until all in absorbed in the bread.

For 12 small baba’s:

Grease a tray with 12 little moulds (containing about 75 ml each) and divide the dough in them. The dough shouldn’t be filling more than half of the shapes. Cover with plastic and let rise until almost to the rim.

In the meantime don’t forget to preheat the oven to 180ºC (350-360ºF). While the baba bakes make the soaking syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a small pan and heat until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cool until warm. Add the champagne; set aside.

Place in the oven and bake for about 18 minutes, The Baba’s should be golden on top. Check the temperature in the bread with a thermometer, it should be about 93ºC.

Take them out of the oven and out of the mould. Place them in a wide shallow dish in one layer. Pour the champagne syrup over the baba’s. Now keep turning the baba’s one by one on all sides, including top and bottom, until all the syrup is absorbed.

Topping and serving:

Now heat the apricot jam in a small pan and let it boil, add a little water if it is too thick. Brush or pour it over the top. You can also opt for a simple sugar glaze. This topping keeps the moisture in. If you eat the baba’s on the baking day, you can also skip the topping

For an extra festive feel, serve with whipped cream and fresh fruit or jam.
The baba is best eaten on the day that it’s baked. But if not, keep in the fridge.

(inspired by a Beth Hensperger recipe)