Panettone

(Unedited)

Panettone is a type of sweet bread loaf originally from Milan, Italy. It is traditionally associated with Christmas and New Year celebrations. The origins of panettone are believed to date back to the Roman Empire when ancient Romans sweetened a type of leavened cake with honey. However, the current form and recipe of panettone became popular in the early 20th century due to industrial production by two bakeries in Milan: Motta and Alemagna. The name "panettone" translates to "large loaf cake" or "big bread".

The version here uses its own starter (biga). If you are a bread baker who maintains your own starter, you can substitute that for the one here.

The original recipe called for flour with 13% protein, but I found that it comes out too cake-like. To get the proper bread-like consistency, I use King Arthur High-Gluten flour (14.2%). Also, I cook it to a lower temperature than specified in the original recipe, 190-195F rather than 203F, to keep it from getting dry.

The recipe calls for raisins (uvetta) and candied fruits (canditi). I make it with only raisins (140g rather than 130g from the original recipe). You can also make it with chocolate chips (gocce di cioccolato).

I recommend that you make things on the following timetable to avoid having to work in the middle of the night:

· Day #1 Evening: starter (6 pm)

· Day #2 Morning: first dough (11 am)

· Day #2 Evening: second dough (6 pm)

· Day #3 Morning: cook (8 am)

· Day #3 Evening: eat or package (8 pm)

Starter (biga)

2 g active drive yeast

40 g cold water

80 g King Arthur High-Gluten flour (14.2%)

1. Dissolve yeast in cold water.

2. Add the flour.

3. Use a spoon and hands to get it together. Knead it a little but not too much.

4. Break the starter into pieces.

5. Cover with plastic wrap.

6. Let sit for 12-18 hours at room temperature.

First Dough (primo impasto)

starter from above (or 120 g natural starter if you maintain one)

2 g active drive yeast

115 g cold water (helps keep dough from getting too hot during mixing)

225 g King Arthur High-Gluten flour (14.2%)

55 g egg yolk (3 yolks)

70 g sugar

70 g butter at room temperature, plus 1 g salt if you are using unsalted butter

7. Set up your stand mixer with the flat beater attachment and bowl.

8. Place yeast and water in the bowl.

9. Turn on to low speed.

10. Add the flour a little at a time.

11. Let it work for 10 minutes. If your machine is struggling (the dough is very stiff at this stage), switch to the dough attachment just for this initial mixing.

12. Break apart and throw the pieces back in.

13. Blend in the egg yolks, one at a time.

14. Once the dough attaches to the flat beater and the walls of the bowl, turn it off and detach the dough using a plastic scraper and put it back at the bottom of the bowl.

15. Turn it back on and increase speed to medium.

16. Let it get amalgamated and glutinous.

17. Add half the sugar a little at a time.

18. Repeat step 14 (only).

19. Add the second half of the sugar in the same way.

20. Repeat step 14 (only).

21. Insert the starter, broken up into pieces.

22. Let the dough get amalgamated and glutinous.

23. Repeat step 14 as necessary.

24. It should take 10-20 minutes (10 for me) to obtain a nice glutinous dough. Once it's completely attached to the flat beater, then it's ready for the butter.

25. Add the soft butter, one piece at a time until each is incorporated. Add the salt at the same time if you are using unsalted butter.

26. This process takes about 10-15 minutes, with the usual repetition of step 14 along the way.

27. The dough needs to be very elastic. You can stretch the dough pretty thin and it should not break. Another check is that you re-start the stand mixer and the dough immediately re-attaches to the flat beater.

28. Butter the countertop.

29. Do a few iterations of lifting the dough from the middle, letting it fall while you pull it back toward you, then folding it over.

30. Spin the dough using your hands and a plastic scraper to get it nice and round.

31. Close the dough in a container and place in an OFF oven with the light on.

32. The dough needs to triple its size. You can make this ahead of time with tape.

Second Dough (secondo impasto)

100 g butter at room temperature

1 pod of vanilla, with bean manually extracted

zest of one lemon

zest of one medium orange

20 g acacia honey

60 g King Arthur High-Gluten flour (14.2%)

3 egg yolks

70 g sugar

5 g salt, 6.5 g if you are using unsalted butter

optional: 35 g candied citron (I don't include this)

optional: 35 g candied orange peel (I don't include this)

140 g raisins - soaked for an hour to soften them, then dried between paper towels

33. Mix the soft butter, vanilla, lemon zest, orange zest, and honey.

34. Break rising of the first dough (punch down) and put it into stand mixer bowl with the flat beater attachment.

35. Incorporate the flour and egg yolks, a little of each at the same time.

36. Once the dough attaches to the flat beater and the walls of the bowl, turn it off and detach the dough using a plastic scraper and put it back at the bottom of the bowl.

37. Spend 10-20 minutes letting it get amalgamated and glutinous. Occasionally repeat step 36 (only).

38. Add the sugar, a little at a time.

39. Repeat step 36 (only).

40. Add half the flavored soft butter.

41. Add the salt.

42. Add the rest of the flavored soft butter.

43. The dough needs to be very elastic. You can stretch the dough pretty thin and it should not break. Another check is that you re-start the stand mixer and the dough immediately re-attaches to the flat beater.

44. Add the raisins and the optional candied fruit.

45. Mix at low speed. Make sure they are mixed pretty well. I did not mix them well the first time I made it.

46. Butter the countertop.

47. Do 6 iterations of lift-fall-and-fold as described in step 29.

48. Spin the dough using your hands and a plastic scraper to get it nice and round.

49. Leave the dough on the counter (uncovered) for 30 minutes.

50. Do 2 more iterations of lift-fall-and-fold as described in step 29.

51. Round out the dough as described in step 48. Make sure it's nice and sealed and round, otherwise bubbles can form.

52. Place the dough into a 1 kg panettone mold. Refer to the Cooking Gear page for suggestions on sizes to ensure it can hold 1 kg.

53. Cover with plastic wrap as best you can and let it rise in an OFF oven with the light on until the dough gets within 1/2 inch of the top of the mold. Do not over-proof it as a void could develop in the middle. If you do this in the evening, you may need to set an early alarm to check it.

54. Preheat the oven at 330F.

55. Remove plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes. This helps make the next step easier.

56. Make two cross cuts in the top of the dough using a very sharp razor blade, then place a dab of butter in the middle of the cross.

57. Cook on bottom rack on a pan fitted with a grate for about 55-60 minutes, but remove it once the internal temperature (i.e., don't use a laser thermometer) reaches 190F-195F (87C-91C). After about 40 minutes, the top should reach "panettone brown," so cover it with aluminum foil to avoid burning while it finishes cooking.

58. Once done, immediately insert a panettone skewer at the base (also discussed on the Gear page) and flip it upside-down. You can also use a couple metal kabab skewers or a a few disposable bamboo skewers.

59. Let it rest over a deep bowl such as the bowl used in the stand mixer. The stand mixer bowl tends to also be narrow, which will help if you don't have an official panettone skewer.

60. Cover with a dish towel.

61. Let it cool for 8-12 hours.

62. Flip it back upright and remove the skewer.

63. It's ready to eat, but I normally don't eat it at this point. Instead, I package it in a plastic bag made for specifically for panettone, pandoro, or bread, and store it in a cool dry place.

This panettone has the right bread-like consistency and tasted great, but I had let it rise too high (above the top of the form) and didn't shape it properly, so a void developed in the middle:

As you can see here, I had let this rise above the top of the form and a bubble had developed. I hadn't set my alarm earlier enough to check it.