Cheese Babka Made Easy in the Bread Machine

I used my Polish Babka With Optional Cheese Filling as a guide and made this babka simple by using the bread machine. If you want you can use farmers cheese or a mix of cream cheese and farmers cheese. You can mix any dried fruit you enjoy.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 10
• Yields: 1 babka

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
• 1⁄2 teaspoon saffron (optional)
• 10  tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 4  egg yolks, room temperature
• 5  cups flour, sifted
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 2  teaspoons bread machine yeast

• Additions to be added at beep of cycle

• 1  lemon, zest of
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1  cup white raisins (soaked in hot apple juice, rum or vodka for 15 minutes and drained) or 1  cup dried cherries (soaked in hot apple juice, rum or vodka for 15 minutes and drained) or 1  cup dried cranberries (soaked in hot apple juice, rum or vodka for 15 minutes and drained)

• Coating

• 1⁄3 cup  almond cookie, crushed into fine crumbs

• Topping

• 1  egg, beaten
• 1⁄4 cup  sliced almonds

• Cheese Filling

• 8  ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 1  egg yolk
• 1  lemon zest
• 1  pinch saffron (optional)

Directions

1. Dough:
2. Add all wet ingredients to bread machine.
3. Top with flour and place yeast, sugar and salt in separate corners.
4. Or add the ingredients according to your bread machine.
5. Set machine to large loaf, dough cycle and press start.
6. At the beep add the zest, cinnamon, cardamom, raisins, and or cranberries.
7. Cheese filling:
8. Mix cheese filling ingredients together.
9. Prepare pan:
10. Generously butter a fluted tube pan. Sprinkle with fine bread crumbs.
11. When cycle has finished remove dough to a floured surface.
12. Punch down dough and shape and roll out into a log about 20x 10. Then place cheese filling in the center down the long side of the roll, bringing the sides over to encase the filling. Then place into prepared pan covering with plastic wrap and let rise 60 minutes or till risen to top of pan.
13. Brush with eggwash and sprinkle with almonds.
14. Bake 350 for 45-60 minutes.