Copyright 2009
Babka (I made this tonight watching cricket)
1 block of yeast, a teaspoon of sugar and a 1/4 cup of warm water. Let it stand till it froths nicely.
In a separate bowl mix 1/2 a cup of oil, half a cup of sugar, two beaten eggs, a teaspoon of salt. Add in yeast mix when frothy and then add 4 cups of flour, half a cup at a time and fold in gently.
Let it stand for a while and then knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes till it gets elastic. Now let it stand covered at room temp for an hour and a half. By this stage in a 50:50 match they should be at over 30 and batting badly in Sri Lanka?s case.
OK ? now cut the dough in half and make an 8? x 10? square of it.
Over this spread half of a mix of brown sugar and cinnamon (3/4 cup sugar, teaspoon ground cinnamon and optional raisins and walnuts. Spread them evenly to about 1/4? away from the edges and then simply roll it up on the short side like a swiss roll. Now give it an egg wash, let it stand for about an hour and then cook for 40 minutes at 350 or 180 depending on which country and measuring system you find yourself in. If you cook it at 350 in a metric county then you should take all your tools back to the shop and tell them that it is all a bit too hard for you.
The trick is to do this long before any holiday. Because if you wish you can simply put it in the fridge to rise over two days.