This was Grandmom Z’s recipe to the best of our knowledge. Aunt Mary and I decided it was time to watch and learn how to master making babka, although Grandmom’s dementia had already progressed. We guessed a lot especially since she didn’t measure anything. It took at least 3 batches of adding and subtracting ingredients to feel like we nailed it.
Make sure to use a big bowl for this.
Ingredients:
3 pkgs of Yeast
1-3/4 cups of whole Milk
1/4 cup water.
10+ Cups of flower (more or less)
6 whole eggs
1-1/2 cups of sugar
2 sticks (1 cup total) unsalted butter – melted
1 1/2 boxes of white raisins. (About 20 oz’s). Adjust to your liking.
3 tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla
4 tsp nutmeg
4 tsp Cinnamon
For an eggwhite wash
2 egg whites
2 Tbsp on sugar +/-
Procedure:
To 3 pkgs. of yeast add 1-3/4 cup of whole milk plus 1/4 cup of water heated to around 110′-115′. Dissolve the yeast for about 10 minutes. I swish it around with my finger to feel how dissolved it is. Mix in the 3 cups of flour, reserving the remainder for later . Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled.
While waiting for the dough to rise, beat the 6 eggs. Add the 1-1/2 cups of sugar, 2 sticks of melted butter, 3 tsp.of salt, 3 tsp. of vanilla, 4 tsp. of nutmeg, 4 tsp. of cinnamon. Stir in 1-1/2 boxes of white raisins. I like a lot of raisins. You can add less if you prefer less raisins.
Mix this into the risen dough start mixture. Add the remaining flour (6-6-1/2 cups) of flour. I first add 6 cups and gradually add more flour as needed. It will be a sticky , wet blob of a mess when you first start kneading. Knead at least 10 minutes. When kneading, I sprinkle more flour as needed to the dough and especially to my kneading surface. You’ll know as it will stick to your surface. It’s all about feel . I then kind of round it up and cut it into 4 pieces. Put each piece in a greased 9″x5″ loaf pan. I role my knuckles to push it down and into the corners. Sometimes you have to repeat , as it has a mind of its own and springs back sometimes. Cover and let rise until doubled.
Bake at 350′ for about 35-40 minutes. Test doneness with the toothpick method. At the very end, brush loaves with an egg white and sugar mix. 2 egg whites should do it. Let it cook just long enough for the glaze to set.
Your kitchen will smell heavenly as your taste buds await that first bite . Make sure to have a stick of butter ready.
Enjoy!
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