Chocolate Babka Challah

By Jonah Gershon

Ingredients

Filling

½ cup of all-purpose flour

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 ½ tbsp cocoa powder

½ tsp kosher salt

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

⅓ cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup semisweet chocolate, melted

Dough

¾  cups of warm water

1 tbsp of dry yeast

3 tbsp sugar

6 tablespoons of oil or butter

¼ cup of honey

2 eggs

4 cups of all-purpose flour

1 ½  tsp of salt

1 egg (for egg wash)

Directions

For the Dough

1. In a bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar into the warm water. Stir in the oil, honey, and the two eggs. Add the flour and salt and mix to combine. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured and knead until smooth, around 10 minutes (optionally use a stand mixer to knead, but for less time as you can over-knead the dough).

2. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic or a towel and let rise in a warm spot for 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.

For the Chocolate Filling

1. Mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and ⅓ cup semisweet chocolate chips. Add the melted butter and stir together. The mixture should form large crumbs like a chocolate streusel topping (if not, add a few more tablespoons of flour).

Putting it Together

1. Once doubled in size, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into three or four equal balls. Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten each piece of dough into a rectangle around 14in x 7in.

2. Divide the melted chocolate evenly between the rectangles and spread evenly over the dough rectangles. Sprinkle the chocolate streusel filling evenly over the rectangles. With the longer edge facing you, roll the dough into a log like a cinnamon roll and pinch closed.

3. Braid the ropes and place the challah on a sheet pan with parchment paper. Let rise for 45 minutes to an hour until nearly doubled and lightly springs back when pressed.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Beat the last egg in a bowl and brush a thin layer of egg wash over the risen challah. Bake the challah for 30-35 minutes or until dark golden brown. Let cool slightly before eating. Enjoy!