Mini Blueberry Babka (or Bakhallah?)

I wanted to make mini babkas in a pan. I saw a recipe for babkas with challah dough, or babkallah, and used a blueberry filling.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
• 1/4 cup (60g) warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon + 2 tablespoons (30g) sugar
• 240 grams sourdough starter (or add 120 grams more flour + 120 grams more water)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup (67g) vegetable oil
• 3 cups (362g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  

Filling:

• 2 cups of blueberries (I used mini frozen ones from Costco)
• 2 apples, cored and shredded (I used my food processor to shred)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  

Glaze:

• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon butter
  

Syrup:

• 1/3 cup water
• 6 tablespoons (75 grams) brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  

Instructions:

1. Put water, sugar, yeast in bread machine, stir. Add sourdough, eggs, and oil.
2. Add flour, salt. Set to dough cycle, and let mix and proof.
3. Make up berry filling. Mix berries, apples, sugar, and corn starch together in  pan.
4. Heat berry mix on a stove on medium heat, stirring as it thickens. Bring to boil, reduce heat and let it simmer for another minute. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. Spray the wells of a mini loaf pan with cooking spray, and spray wells in as your extra pan
   (I used two wells of a small tartlet pan as well.)
6. Divide dough into 10 or 12 pieces.
   (I did 10 pieces this time, and each was about 85 grams. I plan to use 70 grams pieces next time for mini loaf pan.)
7. Press each piece of dough out into a 4" x 8" rectangle.
   (I used some cooking spray on my work surface so they would not stick too much) 
8. Spread two large cookie scoops (about 3 tablespoons) of berry mix on each piece. 
9. Roll up each piece like a jelly roll, sealing the ends. 
10. Roll the cylinder gently, bend in half and twist. Put in a loaf pan well.
    
    
    
    (The extra pieces I twisted into a snail for my mini tartlet pan)
    
    
11.  Let rise for 30 to 40 minutes while preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
12. Heat the glaze ingredients (1 tablespoon milk, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 tablespoon butter), then mix together. Brush the glaze on each mini babka.
13. Bake for about 25 minutes, then swap pans on racks, rotating as well.
    (Apply extra glaze if you have it.)
14. Bake another 10 minutes or so until nice color appears.
15. Heat the syrup ingredients. Lightly brush on hot mini babkas after you remove pans from oven.
    (You won't use up all the glaze.)
16. Let cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then remove mini babkas to cool on a wire rack. 
    

Carole's Notes:

We liked these! The blueberries and apples made them healthier, I'm sure.

 

The dough recipe is lightly adapted from https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/mollys-challah-recipe

The berry filling recipe is adapted from https://www.hanielas.com/blueberry-babka/