Polish · dessert

Babka Wielkanocna (Easter Yeast Babka with Saffron and Raisins)

Babka Wielkanocna (Easter Yeast Babka with Saffron and Raisins) reads sweetness 7.3, citrus 6.1 and richness 5.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Polish dessert, about 5 hr 2 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 3.7 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 8.5 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 7.5 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 0.6 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.4 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 1.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 7.3 · Citrus 6.1 · Richness 5.2 · Sourness 4.6 · Fruity 4.0 · Salinity 3.2 · Funk & Ferment 3.1 · Umami 1.7 · Floral 1.4 · Nutty 0.7 · Herbaceous 0.6 · Earthy 0.5

What's in it (12)

• bread flour — 500 g
• yeast — 21 g
• regular milk — 200 g
• egg yolk — 600 g
• caster sugar — 120 g
• unsalted butter — 150 g
• salt — 3 g
• large pinch saffron threads — 100 g
• raisins — 120 g
• orange zest — 15 g
• powdered sugar — 100 g
• lemon juice — 30 g

Time & effort: about 5 hr 2 min (1 hr 22 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 299.1 kcal, 12.4 g protein, 15.7 g fat, 41.3 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (12 steps)

1. Crumble the saffron into 1 tbsp of the hot milk and leave it to steep 10 minutes. It will go the colour of a marigold. Saffron in babka is the old noble-kitchen habit and it does more than colour: it gives the crumb a faint hay-and-honey smell that vanilla cannot.
2. Whisk the yeast into the rest of the warm milk with 2 tbsp of the flour and stand it 30 minutes until frothy.
3. Beat the yolks with the sugar for 8 minutes until pale, thick and falling in a ribbon.
4. Combine the yeast sponge, the yolks, the saffron milk, the remaining flour, the salt and the orange zest and knead 15 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the bowl and slaps.
5. Add the soft butter a spoonful at a time, kneading 5 minutes more after each addition. The dough will look broken and hopeless for several minutes and then come together glossy; keep going.
6. Cover and prove 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled.
7. Knock back, fold in the rum-soaked raisins, and press the dough into a well-buttered and floured 24 cm fluted babka mould.
8. Prove a second time for 1 hour, until the dough reaches 2 cm below the rim.
9. Bake at 175 C for 45 minutes, covering the top with foil after 25 if it is browning fast. A skewer should come out clean and the internal temperature read 93 C.
10. Cool in the tin 10 minutes, turn out and cool completely, about 30 minutes more.
11. Whisk the icing sugar with the lemon juice to a thick pouring glaze and let it run down the flutes.
12. Substitutions: 7 g instant dried can stand in for the fresh yeast.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Babà al Rum — Italian · Naples
• Papanași (Fried Curd Doughnuts with Sour Cream and Bilberry Jam) — Romanian
• Kougelhopf — French · Alsace
• Gâteau Basque à la Cerise Noire — Basque · Iparralde (France)
• Lokshen Kugel (Sweet Noodle Pudding with Curd and Cinnamon) — Ashkenazi

Keep reading: what sweetness, citrus, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.