Sourdough Babka

One of America's great bakers with an awesome collection of formulas and recipes is Maurizio, author of the blog The Perfect Loaf. Maurizio's recipes are superbly researched, well conceived, and intricate. Maurizio's recipes are not for beginners and I haven't always had success the first time through, but when I do, as I did this week with Maurizio's Sourdough Babka, the rewards are fantastic.

The reason this babka was so delicious, I'm certain, is because I only made the starter. My wife, who cooks like a chemist, and follows measurements to the microgram, did all the assembly, and moreover, had the patience to wait on the second day rise for nearly 8 hours rather than the proposed 2.5 hours.

The result was a creamy interior that was not sour, but neither was it yeasty. It was definitely not overly sweet as so many babkas can be, and the cinnamon, which often gets lost upon baking, was likewise present without being overpowering.

To stay out of Sue's hair, I went to work on a recipe for Champlain Bread that was unusual in its concoction, but successful in producing a (small) loaf with extraordinarily open crumb.

In this recipe, the flour and water are pre-mixed in one location and the starter launched in another. The flour - water mix goes into the fridge for a couple of hours in the afternoon and then sits out on the counter overnight. In the morning, the starter and premix are mashed together, folded and stretched for several hours, and then baked late on the second day. 

The open crumb is indeed astounding.