Bread or cake? Move over sourdough, babka is here

What do Dalgona coffee and sourdough bread have in common? They are both viral food trends that took off massively during the lockdown. The era of the pandemic and lockdown has been marked by various social media trends - from Clubhouse to the Me At 20 challenge - that have come and gone. Indians have been at the forefront of adapting to global trends and localising them. Case in point is the latest global food sensation, babka - sweet braided bread - that has captured the tongues and Instagram handles of millions across the globe and has seen several bakers across Mumbai experimenting with the traditional recipe. Mid-day.com spoke to hospitality professionals and experts to understand what makes this bread popular.

Dean Rodrigues, Pastry chef and Educator

"Babka is a sweet braided bread which originated in Israel. The bread is prepared by many communities differently based on the ingredients available but the most traditional filling has cinnamon," says Dean Rodrigues, pastry chef and educator at the Academy of Pastry and Culinary Arts India. The Andheri East resident teaches aspiring individuals the art of making pastries and helps them to enhance their skills and techniques.

Elaborating on the origins of the bread, he adds: "Created by Jewish communities in the 19th century, babka was the result of accidental repurposing. A baker rolled out extra dough leftover from making breads and added fruit preserve, cinnamon, and baked it as a loaf. The result was loved by many, and became popular among the locals. The addition of chocolate came in the mid-20th century. An alternate theory suggests that babka is indigenous to Ukraine, where it was part of an ancient fertility symbol used in the matriarchal system once in place in the region. The name ‘babka' comes from the Polish word 'baba' which means grandmother. Some historians also believe that babka came from Italy, brought by Queen Bona Sforza of Poland in the 16th century and developed into a Russified version of the typical Italian panettone."

The world, feels Rodrigues, is going back to basic recipes chiefly because people were at home during the pandemic and wanted to explore simple options to bake. "Babka is a hybrid between cake and bread," he explains. "It is braided and the sweet filling is dispersed evenly making it extremely flavourful. In India, localised variants to suit our distinct palate are popular. If we talk about the authentic babka, not a lot of people would like it, but the one with chocolate is definitely a pleaser.''

Zarna Pobari, Home chef, CrypDough


Fusion vada pav babka by chef Zarna Pobari. Pic/ Payal Pobari

Home chef Zarna Pobari is an Andheri East resident who bakes a healthy version of babka regularly. "The traditional babka is made in maida, and we have come up with a healthier version of it by making it in rajgira flour. This is not only healthy but it can also be consumed when people are fasting," says Zarna Pobari, who --along with her daughter-in-law Payal Pobari--runs CrypDough, a home kitchen specializing in rajgira flour breads, cookies, and cakes.

In an attempt to cater to younger age groups and serve something interesting, babka and its many local variants were added to their menu. "When we started with the regular flavour of babka (nutella), people weren't aware about this kind of bread. In the beginning, we had to introduce everyone to babka. Then we added flavours like pesto and jalapeño cheddar which can be had during fasts. These experimental flavours led to clients requesting for a few more offerings. So we came up with our Mumbaiya touch of vada pav babka and samosa babka which have received a tremendous response," says Pobari.

Rahul Bajaj, Founder, Deli by the Blue

Deli by the Blue is an eatery based out of Khar serving sauces, dips, bread, bakes, desserts, and more. Babka is one of their signature dishes and a best-seller. "I wanted to bring this on the new menu as it's a complete package in itself and you can have it just by itself for a high tea or like a late evening snack. Babka reminds every one of the simple snack, nutella spread on bread. It is a staple that almost everyone has resorted to in order to calm their cravings," shares founder Rahul Bajaj.

Talking about modifications made by his kitchen to the traditional recipe, he explains, "A lot of people in Mumbai make babka, and most of them are dry in general. Keeping that in mind, we wanted to ensure that our bread and bread products are moist and fluffy. We made a few changes to the traditional recipe because we wanted to offer variety to our guests, and 22 trials later, we found our perfect babka bread." Experimenting with fusion is far too common in the city as Mumbaikars are used to endless options even in the case of bread. "We created three variations, two sweet and one savoury, because we make everything from scratch. We even made a special batch of chocolate for the babka. Making everything in house gives us the creative space to play around with ingredients and stick to whatever tastes best. From the moment we introduced it on the menu the response has been amazing. It usually gets sold out," adds Bajaj.

Pesto and Parmesan Babka

Pesto and Parmesan babka by Deli by the Blue. Pic/Deli by the Blue

Ingredients

Butter 60gm, Milk 200ml, Bread flour 450gm, Fresh yeast 10gm, Salt 15gm, Sugar 50gm, Basil pesto 200gm, Olive oil 20ml, Kosher salt 1gm

Method

1. Pour the flour into a mixing bowl then stir in the salt yeast on opposite sides.

2. Mix in the sugar and the wet ingredients to form a dough.

3. Knead until the dough passes the windowpane test. Prove the dough until it has at least double size about 1 hour.

4. Drain the excess oil from the pesto.

5. Punch down the dough it out into a measuring the dough spread the pesto and parmesan cheese on top, and then roll it into a long from one of the short sides.

6. Punch the seam and end to seal and split the log in half lengthwise twist the two pieces together with the pesto filling side facing up.

7. Place the twisted babka inside of a loaf pan and prove until the dough springs to touch about 45 -55 minutes. Bake at 200°c for 15 minutes.

8. Then at 170°c for 10 minutes until it has baked properly.

9. Be sure to let the babka cool for 10 minutes in the pan then remove it and let it cool completely for one hour on a wire rack, slice and serve with salted butter and enjoy.

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