Chocolate and Poppy Seed Babka
Babka has its roots in the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community, where enriched dough was spread with jam, cheese, or spices before being rolled up and baked. It is commonly made with chocolate, thought to have been an American addition that originated when Jewish communities began baking it in the States. It was there that I ate my first slice of babka: in New York, on the Lower East Side. It was the platonic ideal — the dough soft, the crust as crisp and sweet as that of a glazed doughnut, rich chocolate ribboned all the way through. This recipe is the result of a happy year spent playing around with a number of famous babka recipes in the hope of creating something that lived up to that first slice. I leaned on the famous Breads Bakery, as well as Russ & Daughters in New York, and on Yotam Ottolenghi too. There is butter in the dough and in the filling, and though it’s a bread that really relies on all its various components for tender perfection, it’s the quantity of butter
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