First things first; pop the milk and butter in a pan and melt together over a low heat, and set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
Pop the flours in a large bowl or freestanding mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Pop the yeast and sugar in one side of the bowl and salt in the other. Briefly mix to combine and make a well in the centre and pour in the milk mixture, egg and Vanilla Extract. Slowly mix together until all the mixture is combined. Your dough will be very sticky don’t worry.
Turn up your mixer speed and knead the dough for about 10 minutes until you have a soft pliable dough that comes cleanly away from the side of the bowl. You can do this by hand just make sure your surface and hands are well floured.
Pop your dough into a lightly greased bowl and leave to double in size this usually takes about 90 minutes but depends on the temperature of your kitchen.
Whilst your dough is proving you can make your filling; pop all the ingredients other than the Chocolate Chips into a pan and melt together over a low heat until you have a lovely smooth chocolate mixture. Leave on one side to thicken.
Once your dough has double in size, pop it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes this will make it easier to handle. Once chilled pop your dough onto a well floured work surface and roll out to a rectangle about 40cm x 30cm, make sure you regularly move the dough to stop it sticking to the surface.
Spread the filling over the surface of the dough leaving a 1/2cm gap around the edge of the dough and sprinkle over the Chocolate Chips – if your filling has thickened too much blast in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen.
Roll your dough up tightly lengthways, placing the seam underneath. Cut your log of dough in half lengthways and twist the 2 strands of dough together.
Grease a 2lb loaf tin and pop your twisted dough in, don’t worry if you need to squeeze it in, it’ll rise and fill in the gaps. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for about 30 minutes. To test your dough is ready make a light indent in the dough with your finger and if the indent remains then the dough is ready to bake!
Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas Mark 4 whilst your dough is rising and once ready pop your babka in to bake for about 1 hour to 1:15 hours. You’ll need to cover your babka loosely with foil after it has baked for 30 minutes to stop it burning on top.
Leave to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes and then tip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
You are now ready to slice and serve this chocolatey yummy Babka!
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