I had everything all planned out. There were shopping lists, a production schedule coordinated with pick up dates and times. Sure, there were way more holiday bake sale orders than expected–didn’t know what to expect given the year we’ve had–but I was on it. Then it happened….my (up until then) trusty oven crapped out on me…one day before the start of the bake sale! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! At first I thought it was something minor, like it needed more time to recover oven temperature, but then the heat wouldn’t come on at all. That’s when I knew I was in trouble. What to do?

My friend Karen experienced this issue with her oven twice already. Both times the culprit was a burnt out igniter, so she suspected that was what was wrong with mine. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to even track down a repair person to come check out my oven. I barely had time to let my dog Violet out to do her business. I couldn’t afford to stop production. The train had to keep chugging along if I was to get everything I needed baked baked. So, I resorted to Plan B–mom’s oven…or I should say ovens.

Despite the fact that she rarely used them, much less baked, Mom had two ovens–a standard set-in model in her kitchen and a smaller countertop convection oven in, of all places, her dining room. Don’t ask. Much to my frustration neither had great capacity. In order to achieve effective air circulation I could only utilize one shelf in each. To make things worse, the maximum size sheet pan for the countertop convection was a 1/3 sheet pan. On the plus side it did heat up pretty quickly and baked fairly evenly.

Over the course of three days, I ran up and down the stairs probably over seventy times—what felt like the equivalent of a week’s worth of workouts. To optimize baking times, I grouped all the items according to oven temperature and priority. Roulades for yule logs took a mere 8 mins. to bake so all the ingredients needed to be portioned out in advance so I could bang out them one after another. Savory Galettes took much longer to bake, allowing me time to assemble each tray while simultaneously forming and proving the mini babkas. It was one hell of a juggling act. Just think of the frenzy of The Great British Bake Off…then add on paying customers waiting to pick up their goodies.

The takeaway from my weekend oven misadventures was that despite all the obstacles thrown in my path, the ability to hustle and multi-task still runs strong in me–the result of over twenty-five years as a chef–and at the end of the day (or in this case the weekend) it’s what kept the engine running…even after some of the parts flew off. Could I have anticipated my oven pooping out at the most inopportune time? Nope. But at least I had prepped enough ahead—like baking off all the cookies—to provide a buffer, and for that I’m grateful. Thankfully my oven is back to its old reliable self. I will not, however, take it for granted again. I plan on keeping a couple back-up igniter parts just in case.

In the meantime, I’m savoring the joy of having a working, full capacity oven once more–best Christmas gift this year! To celebrate, I whipped up a couple loaves of babka, one savory and one sweet, to warm up my home on Christmas Day. I adapted the Babka Dough from a recipe in Bake From Scratch. The savory Aged Asiago-Pesto Babka was featured item at the holiday bake sale, while the Brown Sugar-Chai Spiced Babka was more a spur of the moment creation inspired by a jar of cinnamon chai spice sitting in my pantry.

I love this recipe because it’s super easy to make, even with the added step of laminating the dough to give the finished babka tender buttery layers. You can use either a stand mixer or a food processor to put the dough together, though I prefer the speed and ease of the latter. After the first rise, you chill the dough for about an hour, then roll it out into a rectangle, spread on a layer of softened butter, fold into thirds, roll out and repeat the trifold, then chill again for at least another hour, or overnight.

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To form the babka, I rolled the rested dough into a large rectangle, then topped with my fillings of choice. For the savory it was a layer of homemade pesto and sprinkling of grated aged asiago cheese. For the sweet it was a layer of melted butter and generous sprinkling of brown sugar mixed with cinnamon chai spice. I carefully rolled each into tight logs, then using a large chef’s knife, I cut the log in half lengthwise. To create the signature babka twist, I first crisscrossed the two lengths in the middle, forming a large X, then continued crisscrossing and twisting the two lengths from the center out to the ends. I transferred the braided dough into a well-greased loaf pan, tucking under the ends. I brushed the loaves with egg wash, then lightly covered them with plastic wrap to prove in a warm space until doubled in size. Before baking I sprinkled more cheese on top of the pesto babka and some reserved chai spiced brown sugar on the sweet babka.

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About 40 minutes later….

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Now that’s a delectable start to Christmas Day!

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Babka Dough (adapted from Bake from Scratch)

Yield: 1 loaf (8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″)

• 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 1/2 t. instant yeast
• 1 1/4 t. sea salt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1/4 c. whole milk
• 8 T. unsalted butter, softened, divided
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten

1. Whisk together sugar, yeast, salt, and 1 c. flour in medium bowl.
2. Heat water, milk and 4 T. butter just until butter is melted. Cool slightly, then stir into dry ingredients.
3. Mix in egg, and half of the remaining flour, then transfer into a food processor.
4. Add the remaining flour and pulse at 5 second intervals for about 90 seconds until the dough comes together in a smooth elastic ball. If the dough seems a little dry, sprinkle in a teaspoon of water at a time. If the dough seems too sticky, sprinkle in a tablespoon of flour at a time until it comes together. Dough should be a little tacky but not sticky.
5. Form the dough into a smooth ball and place in a greased bowl. Spritz the surface with non-stick spray or oil, then cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let the dough rise until doubled in a warm space.
6. Punch down the dough, cover and refrigerate for about 30 mins.
7. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 12″x7″ rectangle. Spread out the remaining 4 T. softened butter in an even layer.
8. Fold the dough into thirds, rotate 90 degrees and repeat the rolling and folding. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
9. Roll the chilled dough out on lightly floured surface to 10″x13″ rectangle, about 1/4″ thick. Spread with desire filling, leaving about 1/2″ border across the top.
10. Roll the dough into a tight log, pinch the edges to seal, then cut the log down the center lengthwise.
11. Crisscross the two lengths in the middle to form an X, then continue crisscrossing and twisting the two lengths from the center out towards the ends. Transfer the braided dough into a well-greased loaf pan and tuck under the ends.
12. Brush the surface with a little egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 T. water), lightly cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm space until puffy and doubled in size. Sprinkle on topping.
13. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 mins. or until golden brown and internal temperature registers 190 degrees.
14. Let the babka cool in the pan for about 10 mins. before unmolding.