Sunday, January 2, 2011

Panettone

A year ago, I had every intention of baking panettone for the holidays, and then somehow Christmas was gone in a flash and my kitchen saw not a single loaf of festive, fruit-filled bread. So this year, I was determined to make it happen. I even earmarked some of the candied orange peel I made in November for this very purpose. I used the panettone recipe from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice which is a two-day process unless you need to bring your sourdough starter to room temperature and feed it before you get started in which case it becomes a three-day process. The first two days’ tasks are minimal, but the waiting time between days is necessary. This panettone recipe is made with a fairly rich dough with an egg and an additional egg yolk and half a cup of butter, and even though the dough is soft and a little sticky, it wasn’t difficult to knead or shape. The fun part was mixing the dried and candied fruits with rum, Gran Marnier, and vanilla so they could sit overnight to plump and absorb great flavors before being mixed into the dough. I made one big loaf in an eight inch springform pan and used the rest of the dough for muffin tin-sized mini panettones.

So, step one was making a wild yeast sponge with a barm or starter, milk, and flour. The sponge sat at room temperature to ferment for four hours before spending the night in the refrigerator. Also, on that day, the dried and candied fruits were soaked in rum, an orange or lemon extract and I chose to use Gran Marnier instead, and vanilla and left to sit overnight. I used dried sour cherries, dried cranberries, golden raisins, and chopped candied orange peel. The next day, the wild yeast sponge was brought up to room temperature before mixing the dough. I used a stand mixer and combined flour, sugar, salt, and instant yeast before adding the sponge, the whole egg, and an egg yolk. Water was added until the dough came together, it was allowed to rest for a bit, and then softened butter was worked into the dough before the soaked fruit mixture was added. It was kneaded with a dough hook for a few minutes, and then transferred to a floured board. The almonds were worked in while kneading by hand. Because this is a sticky dough and you don’t want to add too much flour while kneading, I used a bench scraper to lift and turn the dough while kneading with the other hand. It was left to ferment for two hours, shaped into one big loaf and some muffin sized pieces, and then all of that proofed for two more hours. For the big loaf in the springform pan, I placed a parchment collar around the sides and a parchment circle in the bottom of the pan. Last, the big loaf baked for about an hour, and the minis were pulled from the oven after about 25 minutes. The bread should reach 185 degrees F in the center.

If this bread counts in any way as a fruitcake, then it’s my favorite fruitcake ever. In fact, I’m thinking this should become an annual tradition. I can try different dried and candied fruit and different liquors or liqueurs each time, and I may never make the same panettone twice. The soft, brioche-like bread was irresistible warm from the oven, and it keeps well wrapped in foil too. It was so enjoyable simply sliced and toasted over the next few days, I never got around to trying it as French toast or in bread pudding, but that’s just another reason to make it again next year.

I’m submitting this to Yeastspotting where you’ll find some seriously well-made bread.



25 comments:

  1. So gorgeous Lisa, I'm so impressed! I need to work up the courage to make a wild yeast sponge :)

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  2. Lisa,
    This is impressive! I love panettone, and buy a good one every year from Italy.
    Yours looks authentic and amazing!

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  3. This looks wonderful, Panettone is a really terrific fruitcake, haven't had it for ages either. Well done.

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  4. Bravo!!! Like you I have wanted to make a Christmas bread (or in my case, plum pudding) and have yet to do so - ah, another thing added to the resolution list!!

    This truly looks marvelous and I want to make it - Christmas or not!!!

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  5. Artisan bread is one of the greatest things ever. It is very seldom I see a true bread. I'll have to visit my baker soon. Thanks.

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  6. The fruits look like pretty little gems in the cake loaf. Happy 2011!

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  7. A beautiful panettone! I love this specialty!
    Happy New year!

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  8. Nothing compares to homemade panettone! yours must be delicious.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  9. The only panettone I have tried is store bought which was very disappointing. Yours looks so rich, fluffy, almost like a cake and surely must be very delicious. I think my New Year's resolution would be to learn to make sourdough starter. Happy New Year!

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  10. A gorgeous panettone! I can just imagine how wonderful it is, freshly baked! Happy new year!

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  11. Looks wonderful. I've never gotten around to making panettone- maybe next year will be the year. While I love fresh panettone, my absolute favorite is panetttone bread pudding with a Frangelico sauce.

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  12. What a beautiful panettone. I have never tried making it yet, but its something i'd love to try. I love the stuff, I think it should be available all year.
    Happy new years daaaaahling.
    *kisses* HH

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  13. Happy New Year, Lisa. The panettone looks delicious. I used one of your recipes for my New Year feast, linked to your blog too :)

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  14. Wow, your panettone is most gorgeous and looks incredible fluffy! Happy New Year to you, Lisa!

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  15. One of my favorite festive cakes! I have quite some since Thanksgiving. Love the lightness and fluffiness of panettone!

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  16. Oh Lisa, you made panettone...is one of my favorite for the holidays...your look so soft and tasty...very festive :-) Happy 2011!

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  17. this sounds like quite a process, but the results look phenomenal! and good call, saving your candied orange peel like that. you're a planner, and that's something i can appreciate!

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  18. I've been wanting to make this all season...and love your recipe. Going to save it and try it next year. I know it makes fabulous French toast as well!
    You did a super job with the recipe, Lisa.
    Happy New Year!

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  19. What a great recipe! It's my favorite holiday fruitcake too. I usually turn a loaf of it into bread pudding for New Year's Day breakfast. But with some homemade panettone I think french toast would be in order.

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  20. Excellent panettone! I always buy one this time of year but this year I wanted to make it; too bad I got bogged down by a virus and lost my energy; I am bookmarking this.

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  21. Yours turned out better than mine, when I made it during the BBA Challenge. I was hoping to bake one this past Christmas, but never got a chance to do it...

    I will definitely bake one in 2011, maybe even look for the paper mold that gives that traditional shape.

    Hope you are having a wonderful first week of 2011!

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  22. I have to admit, panettone has always been lost on me. I'm just not a big fan of those flavors. And seeing stacks and stacks of them for sale everywhere has just turned me off over the years. But. You know I trust you implicitly in the kitchen so if you say this was good, I'm sure it was great. Happy new year to you!

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  23. OK..I own a copy of BBA, so I need to take a stab at this. However, just like your croissants, I'm not confident mine will turn out as aesthetically beautiful as either. BUT, as long as they taste good! Happy New Year, Lisa, and looking forward to all of your upcoming goodies in 2011 :)

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  24. Kudos to you to make your own panettone. Gorgeous !

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  25. I love panettone and yours looks amazing. What with all the colorful candied fruit. For me a sure sign of the holidays are those wonderful, colorful boxes containing panettone - never mind that they cannot be half as good as yours.

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