Mrs Kostyras Babkas Recipes

BABKA WITH MRS. KOSTYRA

Steps:

• Butter three 8-inch kugelhopf molds. In a small saucepan, heat lowfat milk till just below the boiling point. Add in 2 sticks butter, and stir till melted. Remove from heat, and let cold till lukewarm. Place yeast in a small bowl, and pour 1/2 c. hot water over, stirring with a spoon to break up the yeast and combine. Set aside for 2 to 3 min. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat Large eggs and egg yolks till combined. Add in sugar and salt, and continue to beat till thick and pale. Add in vanilla, orange-flavored liqueur, zests, and yeast mix; combine. Add in 4 c. flour gradually, then add in the lowfat milk mix, alternating with remaining 4 c. flour while beating on medium speed. Up to an additional 1 c. flour may be added if the dough is sticky. Add in currants, raisins, golden brown raisins, and almonds, and mix to combine. Transfer dough to a large bowl, and knead using a large wooden spoon till the dough pulls away and doesn't stick to the spoon, 8 to 10 min. Transfer dough to a large buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a hot place till dough reaches top of bowl, 1 to 2 hrs. Punch the dough down, and let rise again, covered in a hot place till the dough reaches the top of the bowl, 1 to 2 hrs. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine 1 c. flour, 4 Tbsp. butter, light-brown sugar, and cinnamon to create crumb topping, and sprinkle proportionately between the three molds. Punch the dough down again, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 1 minute, and cut into thirds. Transfer dough to prepared molds, covering loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise to top of pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush dough with beaten egg, and bake till golden and hollow sounding when tapped, 30 to 45 min. Turn out onto a cooling rack, and let cold. Makes three 8-inch babkas. Yield: 3 loaves

MRS. KOSTYRA'S MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, then fit the sheet with a wire rack. Brush an 10-by-4 3/4-by-3-inch loaf pan with oil, and place on rack; set aside. Place bread in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade; pulse until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a medium bowl, and add ground beef.
• Place onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade; pulse until fine. Add to meat mixture, using hands to mix well. Add egg, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, salt, and pepper; use hands to combine thoroughly. Transfer to prepared loaf pan.
• Combine remaining 1/2 cup ketchup, remaining teaspoon dry mustard, and brown sugar in a bowl; stir until smooth.
• Brush mixture over meatloaf; place pan in oven, atop prepared wire rack set on parchment-lined baking sheet. Cook until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 160 degrees, about 90 minutes. If top gets too dark, cover with foil and continue baking.

BASIC BABKA

Steps:

• Stir white sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and salt into hot milk in a small bowl until butter is melted and mixture is lukewarm. In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, sprinkle yeast over warm water; stir to dissolve.
• Stir milk mixture into yeast mixture. Add 2 eggs and 2 1/2 cups of the flour; beat on high until combined. With mixer on low, add remaining 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
• Switch to the dough hook; mix until dough leaves sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Set dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, turning dough to coat top. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Prepare walnut filling while dough rises. Lightly beat 3 eggs in a large bowl. Stir in brown sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Fold in walnuts.
• Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a large, lightly floured surface, cover with the bowl, and let rest 10 minutes. Line three 9x5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides.
• Divide dough into thirds; roll each third out to a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Spoon 1/3 of the walnut filling onto each dough square and spread to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll up each square tightly as for a jelly roll. Pinch ends and seams closed to seal. With your palms, roll logs back and forth until uniformly round.
• With a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut 1 log in half lengthwise to form 2 striped strands. Working quickly, twist strands loosely together with cut sides facing out, making 2 or 3 wide, horizontal twists. Fit into one of the prepared pans, patting back any loose filling and tucking ends under, if needed. It might look like a mess now, but it comes out beautifully!
• Repeat with remaining logs and pans. Cover pans with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Loaves should not rise above top edges of pans.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush loaf tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Bake loaves until puffed, well browned, and a thermometer inserted in centers registers 200 degrees F (93 degrees C), 35 to 45 minutes. Tent with foil if tops brown before loaves are done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then use parchment to lift from pans and transfer to a wire rack.
• Cool completely, about 1 hour. Glaze if desired, then slice crosswise to serve.

MRS. KOSTYRA'S BORSCHT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place beets on a piece of parchment paper -- lined aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold up edges of foil and parchment to enclose beets. Place on a small baking sheet, and bake until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 1 hour. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel, and coarsely grate; set aside.
• Soak mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving liquid. Coarsely chop mushrooms; set aside.
• In a medium stockpot, combine stock, beets, mushrooms, mushroom liquid, celery leaves, parsley, garlic, sugar, a large pinch of salt, and a large pinch of pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.
• Add lemon juice or citric acid. Taste, and adjust for seasoning. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and flour, stirring until no lumps remain. Whisk in a ladleful of soup, then whisk the sour-cream mixture into the soup. Cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in dill just before serving.

BABKA

Steps:

• Heat the milk; stir in the butter until melted; cool to lukewarm. Proof the yeast in the warm water.
• Beat the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until thick. Add the salt, grated rinds, vanilla, and Grand Marnier. Add the milk-butter mixture to the egg mixture. Stir in the yeast.
• Add the flour, a cupful at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon. The dough should not be dry, but it should not be sticky. Too much flour will make a dry, crumbly cake. Add the almonds and raisins.
• Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead for about 5 minutes, until dough comes away from your hand. Butter a very large bowl and put dough in bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Punch down and let rise a second time until almost doubled.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the pans generously. (You can sprinkle pans with a tablespoon of sugar if you wish.) Divide the dough into 3 portions. Arrange evenly on the pans and cover loosely. Let rise to top of pans.
• Bake cakes in oven for 30 to 45 minutes, until golden brown. There should be a hollow sound when you tap the top with your knuckles. Cool for 5 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto racks to cool.

CHEESECAKE BABKA

Steps:

• Dough: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook, beat together milk, yeast, flours, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and butter on low speed until well combined. Transfer dough to work surface and form into a 10-by-8-inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick. Wrap in parchment; refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Butter Package: Place butter between two pieces of parchment or plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, gently beat until butter is slightly softened, then roll into a 9-by-7-inch rectangle. Loosely wrap in plastic; refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 18-by-9-inch rectangle with a short side parallel to edge of work surface. Place chilled butter package on top half of dough. Fold bottom half of dough over butter to cover completely and firmly press to adhere butter and dough to one another. Pinch edges to seal. Roll out dough once more to a 24-by-7-inch rectangle. Fold top and bottom of dough toward center until they meet. Fold bottom half up to cover top half, rotate dough package 90 degrees, and roll out dough to a 28-by-7 1/2-inch rectangle. Repeat folding process. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate 1 hour or freeze for later use.
• Filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on low speed until softened. Beat in ricotta until just combined (do not overbeat). Add half the egg (reserve remaining half for egg wash), vanilla seeds, lemon zest, confectioners' sugar, and cornstarch; beat until combined. Refrigerate 1 hour.
• Streusel: In a medium bowl, stir together butter and sugar. Mix in flour until large clumps form. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour.
• Spray three 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Roll out dough to a 27-by-9-inch rectangle. Divide into six 13 1/2-by-3-inch rectangles. Transfer filling to a pastry bag and pipe one-sixth of filling in a line down the center of each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Pull edges of dough up and pinch to enclose filling. Place two filled portions of dough, seam-side down, on work surface to form an X. Working from center of the X, twist ends. Transfer to prepared pan, seam-side down. Repeat process with remaining dough.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly cover pans with a kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Dough should just reach edge of pan.) Gently brush dough with egg wash. Break streusel into pebble-sized pieces and gently sprinkle over loaves, dividing equally. Bake until crust is firm and golden brown, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer pans to a wire rack; let cool 10 minutes. Invert loaves onto racks; let cool completely. Lightly dust with confectioners' sugar.