Hi peeps ♡
This babka is a combination of pizza and babka, Pizza Babka, and really tasty ♡
The exact list of ingredients and recipe information can be found below in the “recipe box”. I will show you here in detail how to shape your babka so it get its typical challah shape. Please feel free to skip those steps by jumping right to the recipe (just click button on top).
After you have followed all of the steps down below and prepared the dough, the babka has to be be filled and formed:To do so, knead the dough on a floured work surface and roll into a rectangle of approx. 40 x 60 cm (101 x 152 inches). It is important to flour the work surface beforehand so that the dough can be rolled up more easily afterwards. Spread the tomato sauce on the dough rectangle and distribute everything evenly with a spoon. Leave an approx. 0,5 cm thin edge free. Then sprinkle with mozzarella, parmesan, dried oregano, fresh basil and a pinch of salt. Use both hands to roll up the rectangle like a roulade (filling inside), starting from the LONG side closest to you and ending at the other long side opposite of you. Press slightly to seal the dampened end onto the roll. Use both hands again to even out the roll into a perfect thick cigar and let rest on its seam (see series of pictures).
Cut the roll with a sharp knife (this is very important, otherwise it will not work properly !!) in the middle lengthways. Place the two parts next to each other on the work surface with the open side up. Then twist them together (place one part on top of the other so that it looks like a plait). Always make sure that the vacancies look up. Then place the strand in a loaf pan and let rise for another half hour.
Sprinkle the pizza babka with some parmesan cheese and bake on the middle rack for about 40 minutes. It's ready when it's crispy on the outside, well browned and visibly doubled in size. Make sure it doesn't get too dark!
For a particularly nice result, you should only use very finely grated cheese. This recipe makes one babka! Have fun ♡
Here is the recipe:
Pizza Babka
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 g wheat flour
- 250 g lukewarm water
- 1 yeast cube about 40 g
- 50 g of extra-virgin olive oil
- 10 g salt
filling
- 2 pieces of mozzarella approx. 200 g (100 g / pack)
- 150 g tomato sauce 100% tomato pasteurized
- 50 g of parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 clove of garlic finely grated
- 1 tbsp oregano optional
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 handful of basil fresh
- a pinch of salt
- a pinch of ground pepper
garlic oil
- 3 tbsp oregano
- 1 clove of garlic finely grated
- 1 pinch of flaky sea salt
Instructions
- First prepare the tomato sauce and garlic oil. For the tomato sauce, whisk together pasteurized tomatoes, grated garlic, oregano, olive oil, salt, and pepper. For the garlic oil, combine grated garlic, sea salt and olive oil in a bowl. Cover both bowls and set aside in the fridge.
- Take the mozzarella out of the package, drain and grate finely. Grate the parmesan and set aside as well.
- For the dough, first add the yeast to the lukewarm water, let dissolve and set for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir well with a spoon.
- Add the yeast water to the flour-salt-mixture and stir briefly with a spoon. Then add the oil and knead with a food processor (alternatively you can also use the hand mixer with a dough-hook-attachment) at low speed for 5 minutes. Increase the speed by one level and knead for another 5 minutes. The dough is ready when it is smooth and pliable and comes off the edge of the bowl. Shape into a ball.
- Place the dough into a greased bowl covered with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size. This takes approx. 1,5 hours.
- Line a baking loaf pan of１１ x ２６ cm (９x５inches) with parchment paper and set aside.
- Turn out dough on a floured work surface and roll into a rectangle of approx. 40 x 60 cm (101 x 152 inches). It is important that you flour the work surface beforehand so that the dough can be rolled up more easily afterwards. Now spread the tomato sauce on the dough rectangle and distribute everything evenly. Leave an approx. 0,5 cm thin edge free. Then sprinkle with mozzarella, half of the Parmesan, dried oregano, fresh basil and a pinch of salt. Use both hands to roll up the rectangle like a roulade (filling inside), starting from the LONG side closest to you and ending at the other long side opposite of you. Press slightly to seal the dampened end onto the roll. Use both hands again to even out the roll into a perfect thick cigar and let rest on its seam.
- Cut the roll lengthways in the middle with a sharp knife (this is very important, otherwise it will not work properly!). Place the two parts next to each other on the work surface with the open sides up. Then twist them together (place one part on top of the other so that it looks like a plait). Always make sure that the vacancies are facing up. Then place the braided Babka in the prepared loaf pan and let rise for another half hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190 ° C (375 ° F) at top and bottom heat.
- Sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan and bake on the middle rack for about 40 minutes. It's ready when it's crispy on the outside, well browned and doubled in size. Make sure it doesn't get too dark!
- Remove babka from the oven and spread with garlic oil, while still hot. Then sprinkle with some fresh basil. After it has cooled down a bit, your pizza babka can be removed from the mold and served. A green salad, for example, tastes great with this babka. Have fun with the recipe and Bon Appetit ♡
