Spelt flour Brioche Babka with Pistachio Cream. A tender brioche bread made with spelt flour, filled with a luscious pistachio cream. The brioche is mildly sweet and pairs beautifully with the nutty sweetness of the spread. A wonderful brioche bread to have at breakfast, tea time, or dessert.
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Spelt flour brioche dough
This brioche dough recipe is quite easy and one that I use regularly. It is made with spelt flour, it is light and tender, mildly sweet, and a bit nutty. I simply swap ingredients from time to time: honey or sugar, fresh yeast or dry yeast, and different spreads. Also, I like to change shapes: from pain brioché, to rolls, or wreath.
Unlike my other brioche dough recipe, this spelt brioche dough doesn’t require to stay overnight in the fridge.
In order to make the dough, you can use a stand mixer to make things easier and faster, or knead by hand for 5-10 minutes until smooth and not sticky anymore.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 2 hours at room temperature, protected from air draughts. TIP: I always place the bowl in the oven, turned off and with the light on.
- When the dough has risen, punch it down.
Stretch and spread
- Then, place it onto a floured surface and sprinkle some flour on the top.
- Roll it with a rolling pin to a rectangle about 3 mm thick (30x40 cm).
- With an offset spatula spread a layer of pistachio cream, leaving about 2 centimeters of empty border all around.
Roll and cut
- Next, roll the dough onto itself to form a roll. You can either roll it from the long side or the short side. This will also affect how "full" your babka will be.
- Place it in front of you and with a sharp knife cut the center lengthwise, leaving intact the edge farthest from you, so that, when you are finished cutting, the two halves remain attached to one of the two borders for about 5 cm.
- Now braid the two edges without tightening. Try to keep the dough with the pistachio cream facing up.
- Lastly, gently, place the brioche babka in the prepared loaf pan and let it rise for 1 more hour at room temperature, covered with a towel.
- When the resting time is almost finished, preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).
Ready for the oven
- After the 1 hour resting time, the brioche babka has doubled in size.
- Gently brush the top with egg wash and place in the preheated oven.
- Bake the brioche babka for about 25-30 minutes, watching that it doesn’t overcook. You can put a piece of foil to cover the top if you see it is browning too much. You can also check the inside with a theromometer, it should read 190-200° F when done.
- Allow the brioche to cool down in the loaf pan before unmolding.
A slice of heaven
In the end, I always end up slicing the brioche bread when still slightly warm. Soft, fragrant, and just mildly sweet, with swirls of pistachio cream luring you in.
This Spelt flour Brioche Babka with Pistachio Cream is light and tender, with a side of decadent. If you have never had pistachio cream before, this is a great way to try it and make your taste buds happy.
Brioche bread is definitely among my favorites for breakfast, and this is no exception. Nonetheless, I also like it in the afternoon with tea or coffee, or as a light dessert at the end of a meal.
Enjoy!
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Spelt flour Brioche Babka with Pistachio Cream
Spelt flour Brioche Babka with Pistachio Cream. A tender brioche bread made with spelt flour, filled with a luscious pistachio cream. The brioche is mildly sweet and pairs beautifully with the nutty sweetness of the spread. A wonderful brioche bread to have at breakfast, tea time, or dessert.
Ingredients
- 300 g light spelt flour
- 120 g milk or half and half cream
- 4 g active dry yeast (or 12 g fresh baker's yeast)
- 40 g salted butter (or unsalted + a pinch of salt), soft, at room tempearture
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons honey (or sugar)
- 1 small jar pistachio cream (we used Favuzzi 180 g pistachio cream)
For the egg wash:
- 1 small egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the flour and the yeast mixture. Mix on low.
- Add the honey or sugar, and the egg. Mix to combine.
- Then, add the soft butter and mix on medium until smooth for 5-10 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 2 hours at room temperature, protected from air draughts.
- In the meantime, butter a loaf pan.
- When the dough has risen, punch it down, then place it onto a floured surface. Sprinkle some flour on the top and roll it with a rolling pin to a rectangle about 3 mm thick (30x40 cm).
- Once the dough is stretched, with an offset spatula spread a layer of pistachio cream, leaving about 2 centimeters of empty border all around.
- Next, roll the dough on itself lengthwise to form a roll, then place it in front of you and with a sharp knife cut the center lengthwise, being careful to start the cut leaving intact the edge farthest from you, so that, when you are finished cutting, the two halves are not completely separated but remain attached to one of the two borders for about 5 cm.
- Now braid the two edges without tightening. Try to keep the dough with the cream facing up.
- Lastly, gently, place the brioche babka in the prepared loaf pan and let it rise for 1 more hour at room temperature, covered with a towel.
- Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).
- Gently brush the top with the egg wash, then place in the preheated oven.
- Bake the brioche babka for about 25-30 minutes, watching that it doesn’t overcook. You can put a piece of foil to cover the top if you see it is browning too much. You can also check the inside with a theromometer, it should read 190-200° F when done.
- Allow the brioche to cool down in the loaf pan before unmolding.
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Adriana says
Brioche is one of my favorite bread would've never thought of using spelt. Now I need to try this new kind of babka.
★★★★★
Thanks! I've been using this recipe for al lot of my brioche baked goods, so it's trusted 😉 . Hope you try it!
Bernice says
How lovely. That's a delicious looking babka and I love the 'double nutty' flavours of pistachio and spelt flour.
★★★★★
Thanks, Bernice! I thought it would be too sweet, but it was perfect and delightfully nutty 😉 .
Colleen says
What a gorgeous babka! I love the pistachio cream and also thanks that tip about rising the dough in the oven!
★★★★★
I do the same also for pizza dough. It is an Italian tip 😉 . Thank you for your comment!
Marta says
Not only was this brioche babka delicious, I fell in love with its process. It's so methodical and soothing to make breads like this.
★★★★★
Thanks! Yes, it is quite soothing and comforting to make brioche dough.
Kathryn says
The pistachio cream was perfect with this bread! It was also a lot easier to make than I imagined. Can't wait to make this again!
★★★★★
Thank you! I loved the pistachio cream too! Such a sweet nutty deliciousness!
Jessica says
Gorgeous and no doubt delicious! As soon as I can get my hands on some pistachio cream I will be giving this a try. Can't wait!
Thanks! You can use chocolate hazelnut spread, or any other spread, but this pistachio cream was incredible!!
Jacqueline Debono says
What a beautiful brioche babka. I love that you filled it with pistachio cream! I'm not much of a bread maker but I so want to make this one of my baking projects during the holidays.
★★★★★
It is not that hard to make! Hope you try it, it is a great addition to the holiday baking.
Tristin says
I am in for anything that has pistachio in it, this brioche babka with pistachio cream has my name written all over it! Can't wait to make it!
★★★★★
We loved the pistachio cream in this babka! Happy baking!
silvia says
Gorgeous and delicious. The pistachio cream is heavenly. I love baking during the holidays and this babka was perfect. I'll be making it again.
★★★★★
Thank you! Yes, we think it's a great bake for the holidays!
Moop Brown says
This brioche looks so tasty and I think the pistachio cream is a great addition as well.
★★★★★
Thank you! The pistachio cream is such a delicious addition!
Fatemeh says
This looks amazing! One question, can I substitute the light spelt with whole spelt flour?
Hi! You could if you do not mind a denser brioche bread. It will still be good, only the texture will be quite different. Let me know if you try it with whole spelt. Thank you!