I took the classic braided babka and added the flavor of Southeast Asia, Pandan (screwpine leaves) and grated coconut to make this pandan coconut babka using a starter dough method that yields sturdy and really soft loaf. It was a big hit in the house!
Place all ingredients for starter in a mixing bowl. Stir with a spoon. It may be a bit hard to stir but just do your best to combine it. Cover and put at room temperature and let it ferment for 8-10 hours. It will double or triple in size. The longer it takes to ferment, the better the flavor and that's why we want it to ferment at room temperature or even do a cold ferment (in the fridge). It can stay in the fridge for about 4-5 days before you use it and can be kept in the freezer for 3 months
If your biga is ready before the 8 hours, let's say in 6 hours, you can use it too and don't have to wait until 8-10 hours. If you do a cold ferment, take it out from the fridge to let it comes to room temperature while you prepare other things
Prepare the filling:
Whisk the egg white with a fork until bubbly and loosen. Put all ingredients in a saucepan, except for butter. Use a whisk to whisk until combine and no lumps. Put this over low-medium heat and cook until the mixture started to thicken into a thick paste. Add the butter and continue to stir until the mixture is shiny and non-sticky
Transfer to a plate and cover with a cling wrap, touching the surface of the paste to prevent skin from forming. Chill in the fridge while you prepare other things
Preparing the dough:
Put all ingredients and biga, except for butter, in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitter with a dough hook attachment. Start mixing on low speed (speed 2 on KA) until you get a rough dough, knead for about 5-6 minutes. Then add the softened butter and continue to knead on speed 2 until the dough is smooth and absorbs all the butter, about 8-10 minutes of kneading with a stand mixer. The dough should reach a window pane. When you gently stretch a small amount of the dough, light can go through and the dough will not tear. You are done kneading if you have reached this stage
Cover and let the dough rise at a warm place until it doubles in size. I use my oven "bread proof" function for this. It took about 1 hour
Filling and Shaping :
Generously butter the 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. You can also line the pan with parchment paper
Take the filling out from the fridge. I put it in between two cling wrap and roll it out into about 7 x 5 inch rectangle and then keep it covered in the fridge while you work on the dough
The dough should have doubled in size. Take it out from the oven and punch all the air out. Roll into a round dough ball again wrap and let it chill in the fridge for 15 minutes
First fold: Lightly dust your work surface with some flour. Take the dough out and roll it out into 14 x 10 inches rectangle. Place the filling in the middle of the rectangle, sprinkle with desiccated coconut. Fold the two sides over to cover the filling. Push some air out and pinch the top and bottom sides to seal so the filling won't ooze out (refer to photos above if needed)
Second fold: Turn the dough 90 degrees and then roll it out again into a rectangle, roughly about 14 x 10 inches. If at any point the dough keeps retracting and hard to roll out, cover and rest the dough for 10-15 minutes to relax the gluten so it's easier to roll it out. Fold 1/3 into the middle and do the same with the other 1/3. Turn the dough 90 degrees again. Cover with a cling wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes before rolling it out again
Third fold: This time roll the dough again into a rectangle, about 14 x 8 inches, the width should be a little bit over the length of the bread pan you are going to use. The long side (the 14 inches side) should be near you. Roll the dough up like a Swiss roll from the short side. Roll as tight as possible. Cover with a plastic wrap and then chilli in the fridge again for another 15 minutes so when you cut the dough and start braiding, the filling won't be too sticky
Braiding: Use a serrated knife to cut the dough in half, revealing the beautiful layers inside. Make sure the cut sides are facing up. Now you have two dough halves side by side and let them touch each other. Place one half over the other to make an X, and then do that two more times, about 3 twists
Second proofing:
Transfer to loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap and let it proof until it doubles in size again, about 45 minutes to 1 hour at a warm place. Start preheating the oven at 350 F (180 C) 10-15 minutes before the end of the proofing time. My oven is conventional with bottom heat only. If your oven is convection top and bottom heat, you may need to lower the temperature by 15-20 degrees
Baking :
When babka is ready to be bake, Brush the remaining egg that you have whisked earlier all over the surface of the loaf. Sprinkle with more desiccated coconut. Place the pan in the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes and then tent with a foil (shiny side up) and continue baking for another 10-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean with just few crumbs
Tips: If you use a darker color pan , it absorbs heat and your bread will cook faster. So you may want to start checking for doneness 10 minutes earlier. Unless you pan is really like black in color or very close to black, you may even need to lower the oven temperature by about 20 degrees, otherwise, keep the same temperature and just check a bit earlier for doneness
Cooling down:
Remove from the oven . Optional: If you want a softer crust, brush with melted butter and honey combination on the surface of the bread loaf
Remove the bread loaf from the pan immediately so the bottom of the bread won't be soggy and wet. Let it cool down completely on a wire rack before slicing