What’s not to love on savoury babka?
Maybe you already tried some babka but you’re not into all that sweetness? We have something you’ll love: Savoury pesto babka. It’s soft and tender, but also tastie, actually it has a lot on focaccia but it just looks better. We’ve already written an extensive article on babka, you can check it here, or just proceed to start baking now. Enjoy!
Pesto Babka
The most delicious savory vegan Babka
Equipment
- stand mixer with dough hook (optional)
- 1 springform pan 25 cm
- 1 oiled bowl for the dough
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 Rolling Pin
- sheet of baking paper
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 g flour
- 1 sachet instant yeast
- 6 g salt
- 300 ml lukewarm water ca. 28° C
- 150 g soft butter
Pumpkin pesto
- 100 g pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 bundle fresh basil
- 60 g blanched spinach for extra green color
- 5 cloves garlic
- 30 ml olive oil
- 4 el water
- 3 g salt
- 4 el water
Instructions
For the dough
- Combine flour, salt, yeast and water and knead, either manually or with the stand mixer and dough hook in 5 minutes to form a supple dough. Then work the softened butter into the dough in 4 portions and knead for a few more minutes until you have a soft, velvety and supple dough.500 g flour, 1 sachet instant yeast, 6 g salt, 150 g soft butter, 300 ml lukewarm water
- Form a ball of the dough and place the dough in the lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and let rise in a warm place (ideally 27° C) for about 45 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in volume. In the meantime, prepare the pesto.
- Cut a circle of baking paper that is a few cm. larger than your baking pan all around and push the baking paper into the pan.
- After 45 minutes of rising, deposit the dough on a floured work surface. Roll it out gently, into a rectangular of about 65 x 30 cm. Flour your dough again if necessary to prevent sticking to your work surface or rolling pin.
- Besmeer de deeglap met de vulling. Houd rondom ca. 1 cm. van het deeg vrij. Cover the dough with the filling. Keep about 1 cm. of the dough free on all sides.
- Now roll the sheet of dough up into a roll.
- Now cut the doughroll in half lengthwise with a really sharp knife.
- Place the halves cut side up and lay one half over the other so that a large X forms.
- Now braid the halves together. Pinch the dough ends together.
- Place the braid in the springform pan or in a circle on a baking sheet on a baking tray.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a cloth and set to proof for 20 minutes in a warm place (ideally 27° C).
- Preheat your oven to 175° C.
- Lightly sprinkle the babka with some salt and drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil over it.
- Bake the babka for about 40 minutes until golden brown. If necessary, check the doneness with a thermometer (at least 85° C).
- Drizzle the babka out of the oven with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before carefully removing from the mold. Allow to cool further on a wire rack.
Notes
Overnight rising method: Instead of rising in a warm place, you can also let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator (or 8 hours). After 8 hours, proceed with rolling out, filling and braiding as described in the recipe. Since the cold dough is firmer, it is easier to handle. After filling & braiding, continue to let the Babka proof in a warm place as described in the recipe. Allow 20 minutes extra rising time because the dough still needs to come up to temperature.
Variation tip: Instead of pesto, you can also fill the savory babka, for example, with a dried tomato tapenade or olive tapenade. It is also delicious to incorporate a grated vegan cheese into the filling.
Nutrition
Serving: 65gCalories: 233.5kcalCarbohydrates: 23.7gProtein: 5.9gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3.7gMonounsaturated Fat: 6.1gTrans Fat: 0.1gSodium: 311.5mgPotassium: 100.7mgFiber: 1.3gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 778.4IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 16.7mgIron: 0.9mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
