Gluten Free Chocolate Babka with Streusel Topping

Ingredients:

For the Gluten Free Chocolate Babka:
• 1 cup potato starch
• 2/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup white rice flour (or more millet flour)
• 1/2 cup millet flour (or more rice flour)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons nonfat instant milk (or use nonfat milk instead of water)
• 1-3/4 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup water, heated to 110 - 115°F
• 1-1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 2 large eggs
• 4 teaspoons neutral-flavored oil (I used light olive oil)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2/3 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 wooden skewer, for testing for doneness
For the Simple Syrup (Optional) - I usually use this only if I have accidentally baked the bread too long):
• 1/2 recipe Simple Syrup
For the Chocolate Glaze Filling:
• 1 recipe chocolate ganache
• 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the Streusel Topping:
• 1/4 cup Carla's Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Blend, plus more for dusting
• 1-1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons chopped gluten free semi-sweet chocolate chips
For the Egg Wash:
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

Instructions:

To Make the Dough:
1. Add potato starch, cornstarch, rice flour, millet flour, nonfat dry milk, sugar, xanthan gum, and salt to the bowl of your electric mixer. Mix on low speed to combine.
2. Warm the rollwater and stir in honey, then yeast.
3. To the mixing bowl, add yeast mixture, eggs, oil, applesauce, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until just combined.
4. Slowly pour in the melted butter while beating on medium speed until incorporated. Then, beat on high speed for 6 minutes.
5. Oil a large bowl and scoop dough into the bowl. Roll the dough around in the bowl or coat the entire dough with oil. Cover with a tea towel and refrigerate for 4 hours. If you prefer a sourdough, refrigerate overnight or up to two nights.
6. Set in an 80°F environment, covered with a tea towel to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
7. Once risen, punch the dough down,
To Make the Simple Syrup (Optional):
8. While the dough chills, follow the instructions at the above link for Simple Syrup. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or until cold. It may be made in advance and kept refrigerated for several weeks.
To Make the Chocolate Glaze:
9. Make the chocolate ganache recipe at the above link, but heat the cream and sugar together in a small saucepan. Once, the sugar melts, pour this mixture over the chocolate chips that are melting in the bowl over the simmering water. Stir until everything melts. Remove from heat, stir in the butter until it melts. Set the bowl over the simmering water aside just in case you have to rewarm it to get it to a spreadable texture.
Once the Dough is Chilled:
10. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
11. Dust a large silicone baking mat with all-purpose gluten free flour. Alternatively, you can lay out several sheets of plastic wrap. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on the flour-dusted surface.

12. Pat the dough out to flatten without flattening it completely. You want to keep many of the air bubbles that have formed inside the dough.

13. Roll out to about 1/4 inch, approximately 18 x 16 inches.

14. Spread the chocolate glaze over the dough, allowing a 1/4-inch clean border. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll, up to one hour.
15. Pick up the rolling mat/plastic wrap and roll the dough so that you end up with an 18-inch long roll.

16. Cut in half so that you end up with two 9-inch long rolls. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes or until firm enough to cut each piece lengthwise.
17. Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator. Slice the roll in half lengthwise so that you see the stripes of chocolate filling in each. Pinch the top edges together.

18. Overlap each piece, right over left, then left over right in a crisscross pattern.
19. Repeat with the other half of dough.
20. Once the second dough is completed, place the two rolls of dough one on top of the other in a twisted fashion. If the dough is too soft, refrigerate until firm. (I didn't and you can see that the dough is very fragile.)

21. Place a piece of parchment paper in a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, just to fit for proper sizing. Then place the sheet of parchment over the raw dough. Place the loaf pan over the paper which is on top of the dough. Then invert the dough into the pan using the silicone mat or plastic wrap for handles.
22. If not already done, preheat the oven to 375°F.
To Make the Egg Wash:
23. Beat together the egg and cream. Baste on top of the babka dough.
24. If you have not crisscrossed the dough and wish to create a beautiful pattern, you can score the dough instead, especially if you do not choose to add the streusel topping.

To Make the Streusel Topping:
25. In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and butter. Using a fork, stir until fully combined with clumps ranging in size from crumbs to 1 inch.
26. Add the melted butter. Using a fork, stir to combine.
27. If the dough is no longer wet from the egg wash, baste it once again.
28. Using your fingers sprinkle the streusel over the top of the dough, breaking up the topping into different size pieces as you drop them.

To Bake the Babka:
29. Bake the babka for 40 minutes on one shelf lower than the center of the oven, or on the center shelf if your oven does not have many shelves. A skewer inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean when it is done.
30. Carefully remove the bread from the pan using the parchment paper as handles and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
31. Slice and serve warm. Freeze cooled slices in a resealable storage bag. Defrost in the microwave on low, in a toaster, or at room temperature. Best if served warm, as it melts the butter inside which makes the texture nice and soft.

Tips

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