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He set the white bakery box on the kitchen table, then turned to get a knife. There was a flash of fur, the gnash of teeth, silence. Theo makes quick work of his prey. We never even found the box.
We sliced the round, brown loaf into wedges and discovered strata of sweet white marbled with chocolate dark. We peeled apart the layers, following the swirls to the center where sugar grit, cinnamon flecks and chocolate shards converge. The mother lode.
Our technique took longer than Theo's, but the result was the same: The babka was gone.
We slumped around the kitchen, waiting for papa to visit again. We passed the time by tracing the babka family tree. The butter- and egg-enriched dough calls to mind the braided challah and the tender brioche. It's related to the syrup-soaked baba au rhum, the custard-filled savarin and the tall kugelhopf. Babka comes from that big happy family of sweetened breads baked up bumpy, like a beehive hairdo, which is (more or less) what babka means.
We tried kneading our own rich dough twisted up with treasure. We kept adding more of the good stuff until we'd concocted a loaf so buttery and sweet and chocolate-chocked it deserved the name babka. We're not telling Theo. Or papa. We still love delivery.
Babka
Takes: Much of the day, but well worth it
Makes: 1 large Bundt loaf
For the babka:
2/3 cup warm whole milk
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 1/2 cups flour
