In Poland, the baba is a common Eastertime treat, and one of the most spectacular varieties is the muslin baba, which is created with a buttery, floury dough that contains a plethora of egg yolks.
The baba or babka may have several shapes and forms when baked in various regions. Bread similar to braided brioche that is often flavored with chocolate, almonds, or other ingredients is known as "brioche" in the United States. One dessert that may be better known to Europeans is baba au rhum, a French and Italian favorite that is served in individual servings and soaked in liquor.
However, "baba" may mean several other types of baked delicacies in Poland. There are those that are loaf shaped and those that are prepared in Bundt pans. The yeasted kind is more like bread, while the pound cake-like variety is more like the lemon baba I baked for my son's birthday. Some are sweet, while others are savory, such as the potato babka that is famous in the Podlasie area of Poland.
The most spectacular variation of the traditional yeasted baba is the muslin baba, so called for the delicate muslin fabric from which it is made. This form is often served around Easter and is commonly included in the Easter basket that is carried to church to be blessed. Flour, butter, yeast, and an abundance of egg yolks (96 per kilogram of flour) come together to form the rich dough.
Just 24 egg yolks are needed for the homemade muslin baba recipe, which asks for 250g of flour, so "take a deep breath" according to one culinary website. Instead, I normally use six egg yolks for five hundred grams of flour, which is twelve per kilogram—and I think that's a lot—in my Easter baba recipe.
Lucyna Čwierczakiewiczowa, a highly acclaimed and prosperous cookbook author in the 19th century, is often said to have been the one who first published the recipe for muslin baba.
The recipe was mentioned in two other cookbooks where I came across it: Jak Gotować (How to Cook) by Maria Disslowa, which was published in 1931, and Old Polish Traditions in the Kitchen and at the Table, written by Maria Lemnis and Henryk Vitry (both pseudonyms of Polish musicologist Tadeusz Żakiej), which was published in 1979 and offers interesting information about the traditions and lifestyle of pre-war Poland.
"The cook, the lady of the house and all the women locked themselves up in the kitchen," he says. "They sieved the whitest of flours, mixed hundreds of egg yolks with sugar in clay bowls, dissolved saffron in vodka."
This recipe is not for the faint of heart. Not to mention the several eggs that need to be cracked, the lengthy periods of mixing and rising, and the constant monitoring of the oven to avoid burning are all necessary. Putting it another way, baba was a major undertaking.
Some believe that the dough's finicky and temperamental nature—"just like a woman's temperament"—was the inspiration for the term "baba" (the Polish word for "woman"). Additionally, males were not permitted in the kitchen when cakes were being baked for fear that their presence would cause the cake to fail due to undercooking.
To keep out drafts, the dough would be covered with a linen tablecloth and let to rise. The baba was placed on pillows after baking. It was believed that it would be extremely fragile until it cooled completely, so people would whisper so as not to disturb it. "A burned or collapsed baba was a terrible faux pas," Żakiej says, adding that sometimes, hearing tears after removing the baba from the oven would fill the kitchen.
"Egg yolks contain lecithin, which acts as a natural leavening agent," explains Jacek Malarski, co-founder of Lukullus, a Warsaw-based bakery that offers the 96-egg yolk baba (or Baba 96, by its local name). "Adding a large amount of yolks results in a tender and fluffy texture, and adding an extreme amount of egg yolks results in an extremely fluffy texture, like a cloud."
The texture is so light and airy, like a cloud, until you whip in a ton of egg yolks—Jacek Malarski
The egg yolks not only lend a gorgeous golden-yellow hue to the final product, but also extend the shelf life of the baba without the need for preservatives due to their emulsifying capabilities and high fat content.
Serving this decadent delicacy was a sign of social rank in bygone days. "A food historian at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Jarosław Dumanowski, states that fat was more costly than even the most expensive meats.". To carry the vanilla flavor, the recipe asks for 400 grams of butter every kilogram of flour. Saffron, one of the most costly spices, was also added by certain homes. "These were exotic things from far away so that rich people could distinguish themselves from the rest," according to Dumanowski.
Malarski and his business partner Albert Judycki tried hundreds of traditional and contemporary baba recipes before settling on the muslin baba as the best option to sell at Lukullus bakery. You can't put a price on the muslin baba. It was the freshest and melted in your tongue, according to Malarski. The Baba 96 is glazed with handmade lemon syrup and flavored with Madagascar bourbon vanilla. Since then, the muslin baba has become an annual Easter fixture at Lukullus.
Even though it's quite rich and labor-intensive, Malarski says, "It's the best," when I ask him why this baba is so popular. Anyone who gives it a shot will never want to return. They yearn for it so desperately.
A recipe for muslin baba
Traditional Polish Recipes Revised for Modern Occasions
What You Need:
22 egg whites
300 grams of sugar, reserving 1 teaspoon
3/4 cup of milk that is slightly heated
60 grams of fresh yeast (or 21 grams of quick yeast if you prefer)**
250 grams of flour, reserving 1 teaspoon of flour
essence the seeds from one vanilla bean (or use one teaspoon of vanilla essence).
100g of melted butter, plus enough butter to fill the Bundt pan
optional lemon glaze
optional candied citrus peel (lemon, orange, etc.)
Method
-Initial Step
Whip the egg yolks and sugar (the liquid left over after removing 1 teaspoon) in a bain-marie over medium heat until light and airy. Ten minutes should be plenty when using an electric mixer, however the original recipe called for thirty minutes when whisking by hand. Let cool completely.
-Part 2
After the milk has been heated to a tepid temperature, stir in the yeast, sugar, and flour. Rest for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to bubble.
-Third Action
Incorporate this mixture into the egg yolks and sugar mixture, along with the remaining flour and either vanilla bean seeds or vanilla essence. Continue beating for a further 10 minutes.
-Section 4
Before letting the dough rise in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, add the melted (not hot) butter and continue beating for a further 10 minutes. Looser than traditional yeast dough, the finished product will resemble cake batter. (Using either your hands or the dough hook, you will not be able to knead it. (Not even the tried-and-true stretch-and-fold method, which usually works with much wetter doughs, will do the trick.)
-Fifth Step
After it has doubled in size, gently pour it into a Bundt pan that can hold 4 liters of butter.
-Section 6
After the dough has risen, set it aside in a warm place to cool. Get the oven ready to bake at 170°C (340°F) while you wait.
-Stage 7
The baba will burn rapidly because to the large amounts of sugar and egg yolk, so be careful when you move it to the preheated oven and bake it for 35 to 40 minutes. The baba should be easily pierced with a toothpick and emerge clean. Please let it cool.
After taking it out of the pan, you may garnish it with candied orange peel or a glaze made of equal parts powdered sugar and lemon juice, according to your preference.