Breads Bakery, the Jewish-owned bakery known for its babka pies, has introduced two new pies for Thanksgiving: blueberry and cherry cheesecake.
Gadi Peleg, the Israeli-born founder of the eatery, told JNS that “Thanksgiving is a time for familiar, nostalgic flavors.”
“For some holidays, we look to what’s new in the world for inspiration, but Thanksgiving is a time to look within,” he said. “Thanksgiving is about tradition. We look to flavors that remind us of our families and childhood.”
Peleg said that local harvests inspire many of the bakery’s seasonal offerings.
“We always look to what is fresh in the markets for inspiration, and Thanksgiving comes during apple season and at the end of all the harvests in New York,” he said. “Those flavors always resonate around this time of the year.”
“It isn’t Thanksgiving without apple pie,” he said. “The other stars of the farmers market around this time are root vegetables, and the harvest babka is an ode to those flavors.”
Breads Bakery opened in 2013 and now operates six locations and a kiosk in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Its new pies cost $43 each.
The blueberry one features a rich, buttery crust filled with juicy, sweet-tart blueberries and topped with oat streusel. The cherry cheesecake puts a Thanksgiving spin on a classic New York dessert, with creamy cheesecake filling swirled with cherries.
Beyond the new pies, the bakery—which is not kosher—has a broader Thanksgiving menu, which it ships nationally. That includes a babka pie ($44) that is an adaptation of its acclaimed New York chocolate babka, and a pecan pie ($45), a traditional dessert with a rich, vanilla bourbon filling.
New York locals can pick up the pumpkin pie ($43) and apple crumb pie ($45), made with Granny Smith apples and topped with an almond streusel crumble.
Peleg offered practical advice for those hosting family and friends this Thanksgiving.
“Thanksgiving is all about oven planning,” he told JNS. “Turkeys, pies and sides are all made in an oven, and most homes only have one. Planning the oven schedule will ensure the right dishes come out at the perfect time.”
“As always, when hosting, guests should never see you sweat,” he said. “When your friends and family arrive, making it all seem effortless will put them at ease. That requires great planning and great preparation.”
“Map it all out long before the big day,” he said.
Peleg shared a recipe for Breads Bakery Babka Pie, which can be made kosher, with JNS.
Makes 2 babka pies. (Freezing instructions included.)
For the dough:
One recipe of Breads Bakery challah, made through step five, “mixing the dough.”
For the filling:
350 grams Nutella (or other chocolate hazelnut spread)
200 grams (1-and-1/3 cups) dark chocolate chips, roughly chopped
For the syrup:
160 grams (3/4 cup) sugar
120 grams (1/2 cup) water
Suggested equipment:
• one large mixing bowl, or a stand mixer
• bowl scraper (you can also use your hands)
• clean kitchen towel, or plastic wrap
• rolling pin
• offset spatula, or a spoon
• serrated knife
• pastry brush
• two 8-9” pie pans.
Process
Mix the dough (through step five from the challah recipe, noted above).
Shaping and proofing:
- Lightly grease two 9” pie pans with butter or oil.
- Warm the Nutella to make it more spreadable by putting the sealed container in a warm water bath for about 10 minutes prior to using.
- Make the crusts: cut off two 100g pieces of challah dough. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll one piece to approximately 10” in diameter. (It will be very thin.) Carefully lift it up and center it over the pie pan, gently pressing the dough down into the corners and removing any air bubbles. Repeat with the other piece. Hold the pie shells in the freezer while you shape the babkas.
It’s OK if the edges are not perfectly straight, he told JNS. You’ll have a chance to fix them after the dough has chilled. (Or you can leave them as is.)
- Roll out the dough: lightly flour a rolling pin and work surface and roll the dough into a square, roughly 18” on each side.
The majority of the work can be done here right off the bat by just pulling and stretching the dough out to the desired size, he told JNS.
Use the rolling pin to even out the thickness, lifting the dough off the table a few times to make sure it’s not sticking. If the dough shrinks back as you roll, that’s a sign that the gluten needs to relax. In that instance, simply cover the dough with a towel for five minutes to let it rest and then continue rolling again.
- Spread the Nutella: set aside 80g (about 4 tbsp) for the pie pans. Spread the remaining amount evenly over the dough using an offset spatula, making sure to spread it all the way out to the edges.
- Divide into two: with a serrated knife or pizza cutter, divide the square in half lengthwise, creating two 9 x 18” rectangles. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over each piece.
- Roll it up: starting with the rectangle closest to you, roll it up from the bottom along the longer edge, working evenly side to side and pulling back with your fingertips to make the roulade as tight as possible. Repeat for the second rectangle.
The tighter the roulade, the more layers of chocolate you’ll have, and the more layers of chocolate you have, the happier you’ll be, JNS is told.
- Even out the roulades as needed so that they have an even thickness throughout and are approximately 18-20” in length. Arrange them seam-down and parallel in front of you.
- Cut the roulade: using a serrated knife or pizza cutter, cut each roulade in half along its 18” length, doing your best to divide them evenly. Keep both halves together, creating two pairs of two identical halves.
If one pair is significantly larger than the other, you can mix and match the pieces to obtain equal sizes, he told JNS.
- Twist the babka: working one pair at a time, make the iconic babka shape by crossing two pieces, cut-side up, to form an “X.” Starting on the right side of the intersection, twist the two pieces around each other 5-6 more times, making sure to keep the cut sides facing up the whole time. Repeat on the left side of the intersection to create even twists along the whole babka. Adjust the babka as needed to achieve an even thickness throughout. Repeat for the second pair.
- Prep the pie pans: remove the pie pans from the freezer. Adjust or trim the sides as needed so the dough reaches the top edge. Spread the reserved 80g of Nutella evenly on the bottom surface of the two pie pans.
- Gently lift one babka and shape it into a circle inside of the pan. Connect the ends together by folding them over each other, continuing the twist. Press the ends in slightly to help prevent them from rising out of the pan during proofing. If the dough is too long to fit neatly into the pan, cut off any excess and press it into the center of the circle. Repeat for the second pie.
- Proof the pies: cover them loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 1 to 1-and-a-half hours in a warm, draft-free spot.
- Preheat: about 30 minutes into proofing, position a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Bake:
- Make the syrup: while your babka pies are proofing, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil and simmer for two minutes. The sugar should be completely dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Bake the babka pies for 20 minutes. Then, rotate the pans and lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and the seams between the twists have started to color just slightly. The chocolate should look quite dark but not black.
- Remove them from the oven and brush generously with syrup.
- Cool completely before serving.
