Baking Chocolate Babka With Success

Learn how to make rich, decadent chocolate babka right in your home kitchen!
For more videos and recipes, visit me at www.chefgailsokol.com, and don't forget to subscribe!

[@seektruth7978]

Gail, you are taking me back to my wonderful memories of working at a phenomenal Jewish bakery! First I was lucky enough to see your almond horn recipe, now babka? Your terrific 🎂💜🍥💙🍩💛🎂🍴!

[@mariont.9539]

Hi Gail, after watching your informative video with such clear instructions we will habe chocolate babka tomorrow !! thanks for all the info

[@wandsandwizards]

Wonderful as always. I will try this for sure. You always make things simple and straight forward so I can follow easily. Anyone who could attend live classes with you there as teacher would be the luckiest sever!

[@GailSokol]

So glad you are continuing to enjoy my videos! Best Regards!

[@phyllisbienstock6548]

please, how can I get the written recipe for the Chocolate Babka? I can only see your wonderful video... thanks

[@GailSokol]

Hi there! I'm so glad you're enjoying the videos! This recipe is actually in my new book, Baking With Success, which can be found anywhere books are sold or online. As a policy, I don't give out hard copies of my recipes that can be found in one of my books, but you can get it by watching the video. Happy baking!

[@MichaelaFreeman]

I'm in Eastern Europe and I'd like to see a single Eastern European country that would traditionally have access to chocolate chips and liquid vanilla extract. That really amused me. These products came only in the last few years through fancy supermarkets, particularly the British Marks and Spencer. Here in the Czech Republic, we make this cake with poppy seed filling, but the dough and the twist shape is definitely at home throughout the region with different fillings. I suppose the original version involved elaborate chopping of a cooking "semi-sweet" chocolate bar into chips or melting it to create the filling and, in better cases, scraping out a vanilla bean, or going for the artificially produced vanilla-flavoured sugar. It looks delicious.

[@GailSokol]

Thank you so much for viewing my video and I value your input. I created this recipe for a typical American viewer. I am aware of the poppy seed filling which my family and I call Mun. I really did not think that the audience that views me would appreciate or understand such a filling. PS I love a good poppy seed filling! I hope you subscribe to my channel and look out for future videos. Thank you so much for writing!

[@MichaelaFreeman]

You are absolutely right, American viewers probably wouldn't appreciate something like poppy seeds. For one thing, they require a special grinder that would be hard to get. I'm a happy subscriber already. Good luck with your videos.

[@beecharmer31326]

Thank you Gail so much for this recipe you're a delightful person and your recipe is clear and precise!!! Please tell me what size pan you used is that a bread pan I'm unfamiliar with the size thank you so much looking forward to more recipes I joined your Channel... Baruch Hashem Adonai eloheinu Melech haolam ✡

[@GailSokol]

It is a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan which is a typical bread pan. Any loaf pan at least that size will work. Thanks for listening! Stay tuned for more videos. Best regards, Gail

[@ginageneaux8078]

Is there a written recipe for this or am I missing something?

[@GailSokol]

Here is the link for the recipe, Gina: chefgailsokol.com/yeast-breads/chocolate-babka/ I hope you get to make this incredible Babka!

[@callioscope]

It’s almost time to try a babka. Can you switch to a dough hook instead of kneading at some point? I have hand issues-can pull and fold, but not knead. Btw, your plastic garbage bag tip is brilliant and I can’t wait to try it!

[@GailSokol]

Absolutely. Switching to a dough hook will work well. You may just want to stop the machine and flip the dough over once to get all the ingredients to come together. If you're making a babka it'll come out great! Send me a picture. I would love to see it!!

[@callioscope]

Gail Sokol Will do. It’s on the list.

[@cf4880]

Why didn't she just use the dough hook? Isn't that what it is designed for? I want to make this but I would like to use my dough hook. Now I am questioning it.

[@GailSokol]

That's a great question! I usually begin mixing the ingredients for a rich yeast dough with the paddle since the dough hook sometimes does not do a great job combining all the dry ingredients together. Then I switch to the hook.

[@cf4880]

OH thats right. the dough hook would probably be better at kneading it. But if you know, I have a flex beater, that scrapes the edges of the bowl. I am wondering if there is a danger to over working the dough using the flex beater. I dont know if you have ever used one. But they REALLY MIX IN THE INGREDIENTS. Fast!!! Let me know if you know anything about that. Thank you for the responses!

[@llamov]

Why not use the dough hook?

[@GailSokol]

I prefer to start the mixing process with the paddle. I find the mixture of ingredients comes together faster; then I either switch to the dough hook or knead the dough by hand to get a good idea of how it feels as far as it's moisture content.

[@seektruth7978]

I mean you're, not your, in my previous comment! 😊

[@GailSokol]

I am so glad you are enjoying the videos.