-
1
Combine flour, eggs, yeast, salt, and sugar in the bowl. Beat the mixture vigorously until it is very elastic — the dough pulls away cleanly and snaps back when stretched. Only at this point is the gluten sufficiently developed to hold the crumb structure through later soaking; under-developed gluten produces a baba that dissolves in the syrup.
-
2
Add the softened butter gradually, beating thoroughly after each addition, until the dough is uniformly smooth, glossy, and very soft. Fill the moulds to one-third of their capacity.
-
3
Proof the filled moulds at room temperature until the dough has doubled in volume and domes just above the rim.
-
4
Bake at 190 °C for 20–25 minutes. The babas are done when they are deep gold across the entire surface and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
-
5
Remove from the moulds and cool completely on a rack. The baba must be completely cold before it enters the syrup; warmth closes the crumb and impedes penetration.
-
6
Dissolve the sugar in the water over heat to produce a light syrup, then remove from the heat and stir in the rum or Kirsch. Allow the syrup to cool to warm — neither hot nor cold. Hot syrup cooks the exterior of the baba and seals the crumb; cold syrup penetrates unevenly.
-
7
This is where the dish lives or dies. Submerge the cold baba fully in the warm syrup. It will float initially; turn it periodically as the syrup penetrates. Watch for the moment it sinks steadily to the bottom and stays there — that is complete saturation, signifying the baba has absorbed 3–4 times its own weight in syrup. Remove it promptly: a baba left in the syrup beyond this point loses structural integrity and becomes soggy rather than saturated. Confirm by pressing lightly between two fingers — syrup beads at the surface, the baba feels heavy and dense for its size, and it slowly returns to shape as the syrup redistributes.
-
8
Lift the baba from the syrup and allow excess to drain briefly. Serve with crème Chantilly and fruit. The crumb should taste simultaneously of rum or Kirsch, sweet syrup, and the enriched bread base; none of the three should dominate, and the cold, fatty crème Chantilly provides the contrast against which the warm, saturated crumb reads most completely.