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–+ servings
Carrot and Beetroot Halva Babka Bread Recipe
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Carrot and Beetroot Halva Babka Bread

A halva filling of carrots, beetroots, tahini and almonds, twisted inside an enriched brioche bread dough and baked to perfection
Course Bread
Cuisine European Fusion
Keyword Halva Babka
Prep Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes
Servings 2 loaves

Equipment

  • 2 loaf pans
  • Food processor
  • Skillet
  • Rolling Pin

Ingredients

  • Carrot and Beetroot Halva Filling Ingredients
  • 4-5 Carrots medium size
  • 2 Beetroots small
  • 1/2 cup Raw almonds
  • 2 tbsp Unsalted butter
  • 7 Dates pitted
  • 1/3 cup Brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Mastic crushed
  • 1/2 tsp Cardamom
  • 2 tbsp Tahini
  • 1/2 cup Mastic liquor or orange liquor
  • Babka Bread Ingredients
  • 1 cup Whole milk
  • 1 cup Granulated sugar
  • 8 tbsp Unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp Ground ginger
  • 2 1/2 tsp Instant yeast
  • 1/2 cup Warm water
  • 4 Eggs room temperature
  • 7-8 cups All purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp Vegetable oil mild oil

Instructions

  • Halva Instructions
  • Pour enough boiling water over the almonds to cover them. Cool and peel the brown skins off the almonds. 
    Remove pits from the dates and finely chop them. 
    Peel the carrots and beets. 
  • In a food processor, grate the carrots, beets, dates and almonds. 
  • In a large skillet over medium-low heat melt the butter and add the mixture from the food processor. Sauté for 5-minutes, stirring and turning occasionally. 
    Add the sugar and spices. Cover and simmer for 5-minutes.
    Add the liquor and tahini, cover and simmer another 2-minutes. Cool.
    The carrot beetroot halvah is now ready to use as the filling inside of the babka bread dough. 
    Can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container until ready to use.
  • Babka Bread Instructions
  • In a medium saucepan, warm milk until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, remove from heat.
    Stir in sugar, butter, salt and spices. Whisk until sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm. 
  • In a small bowl or cup, dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water. 
  • In a large bowl, whisk 3 eggs (saving the remaining egg for eggwash), until well beaten. Slowly whisk in the milk mixture, followed by the dissolved yeast mixture and 2 cups of flour. Whisk well until lumps of flour are blended. 
    With a wooden spoon, slowly stir in flour, little at a time adding only enough flour to make a soft dough. Dough will be sticky.
    Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work flour into the dough until it is no longer sticky. 
  • In an oiled bowl, preferably clay or glass, place the dough turning once so all sides are oiled. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and allow to sit in a warm place (not hot), to let the dough rise and double in size. The first rise will be about 1.5 hours. 
  • Babka Bread Assembly
  • Preheat the oven to 400. Press the parchment paper inside of both loaf pans, taking care to press deeply into the corners. 
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With a sharp knife cut the dough into 2 equal sizes and set one aside. 
    With a rolling pin, roll out one dough ball into a rectangle about 12 x 16 inches. 
    Spread half of the beetroot carrot halva across the surface of the dough, leaving an inch empty on all sides. 
    Starting from the long side and with the help of a bench scraper, tightly roll the halva inside of the dough. 
  • With the sharp knife, make a cut down the middle of the tightly rolled dough, from top to bottom, separating into two pieces with the exposed filling facing upward. 
    Place one rolled dough across the other, forming a T. Gently lift under roll up and over the top piece, like a two-strand braid, until the dough has been braided, leaving the filling exposed on top. An example is on the video.
  • Gently lift braided dough into the prepared pan. 
    Repeat with the other dough ball and remaining halva.  
    Whisk the egg with a drizzle of water and generously brush the tops of both babkas.
    Allow to sit in a warm area for 20-minutes. 
  • Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes on 400.
    Then drop the temperature down to 350 and continue to bake until the top is golden brown and has risen high, about 25 minutes. 
    Cool, slice and serve. Store in an airtight container. 

Video

Notes

The babka dough can also be made in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook if you are not comfortable making the dough by hand.