traditional panettone

If there is a typical Christmas bun, this is without a doubt the panettone. Rose, author of Pemberley Cup&Cakes brings us the recipe for the traditional panettone, with its classic brioche-type dough and candied fruit and raisin filling. The perfect classic Christmas sweet to enjoy with the family and to give as a gift. I highly encourage you to make it at home!

And again we arrive at those dates in which, just by stretching out a little hand, we almost, almost touched the doors of Christmas. I must confess that I am especially excited to celebrate it again with all of you who I know who do not miss an appointment with these pages (regulars and new additions), this time sharing this traditional panettone recipe, based on and adapted (without the need to elaborate a sourdough to make it more accessible) of the Milanese panettone from the book Italian Bread and Sweets by the Simili sisters.

To be honest, I have to warn you that on this occasion, although it is perfectly feasible and possible (and even highly comforting) to carry out the kneading process by hand*, having an electric mixer will be very appreciated, since the panettone requires somewhat long kneading and some familiarity with this type of dough enriched with a significant proportion of fat. All in all, I consider that this is a fairly balanced recipe (there are simpler options and, of course, also more elaborate ones) taking into account the relationship between the degree of difficulty-result obtained.

Good. Once we are aware that we will have to resort to a minimum of skill or confectionery tricks (and I insist on the "minimum", because I assure you that it is within the reach of those who are really for the task of living the experience), we cannot forget a factor almost or more important than the fact of mastering this or that technique: plan the time well in advance . A good panettone is not something that can be made in a moment (or two), so add a good dose of patience and temperance to the ingredients and you will be halfway there. To begin with, it is basically essential that you book a whole day; so no plans. As a guide , for these quantities and with an ambient temperature of about 20ºC, I have distributed the time (you will see that most of it is waiting) as follows:

The eve

• Pre-ferment preparation (5 min.) + leavening (overnight in the fridge)

The day in question (day off plans)

• Acclimatization of the preferment at room temperature (1½ - 2 hrs)
• Preparation of the 1st dough (15 min.) + risen until doubled in size (2 hrs)
• Preparation of the 2nd dough (20 min.) + risen until triple or quadruple in size (4¼ - 4½ hrs)
• Baked (40-45 min.)
• Rest (1½ - 2 hrs)

Bérard flour scoop and Birkmann cooling rack.

Ingredients (for 1 medium panettone; about 750g approx.)

All ingredients must be at room temperature, unless otherwise indicated.

For the preference:

• 40g of strong flour
• 40ml whole milk, warm
• 5g of fresh baker's yeast

For the 1st knead

• 40g of egg yolk (about 2 large yolks)
• 90g water, lukewarm
• 200g of strong flour
• 50g of white sugar
• The previous preferment
• 50g unsalted butter

For the 2nd kneading:

• 40g whole milk, warm
• 20g of white sugar
• 3.5g of salt
• 40g of egg yolk (about 2 large yolks)
• 5gr (1 teaspoon) mild honey
• 10ml (2 teaspoons) aged rum
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 90 - 115gr of strong flour
• the previous dough
• 50g unsalted butter
• 120g of sultanas
• 80g of candied orange peel

To end:

• Butter
• Icing sugar (optional)

Elaboration

Preferment preparation

1. In a medium bowl , dissolve the yeast in the warm milk (about 40-43ºC max.).
2. Next, add the flour and mix gently with a silicone spatula until a homogeneous and dense mixture is obtained.
3. Next, we cover with transparent film and let rise overnight (about 8 hours) in the refrigerator.
4. The next morning our preferment will have grown and fluffed up noticeably (you can guess a series of bubbles inside). Remove from the refrigerator and let it acclimate at room temperature for 1½ -2 hrs.

Elaboration of the 1st mass

1. To begin with, in a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks together with the warm water.
2. In the bowl of our electric mixer , equipped with the hook accessory (or in a large bowl and the help of a spatula or wooden spoon if we are going to knead by hand*) we place the flour, sugar and the previous mixture of yolks and water and mix gently until everything is well integrated, thus obtaining a more or less uniform mass, although still somewhat coarse.
3. Next, we add the preferment and knead gently until we get a well-cohesive and more homogeneous dough (for about 5-6 minutes). In the case of kneading by hand*, we would do this step on a clean work surface. (We must avoid adding more flour despite the fact that the dough is somewhat sticky initially; I assure you that it will acquire a softer texture as we continue with the kneading. If anything, we can grease our hands with a few drops of sunflower oil).
4. Finally, we began to add the butter in several batches without stopping to knead, until fully incorporated; We will not add the next batch until the previous one has not been completely integrated. Once all the butter has been incorporated, we continue to knead with a little more energy for about 5-6 more minutes (a little more if we knead by hand) until we obtain a smooth, soft and elastic dough that detaches without difficulty from the bowl (or from the surface). of work). Despite being somewhat cumbersome at first, I remind you that it is very important not to add more flour; at most we can lightly grease our hands again with a few drops of sunflower oil.
5. Once ready, we shape the dough into a ball with our hands and place it in a large bowl , previously greased with a thin film of butter, sunflower oil or release spray , cover well with transparent film and let rise in a warm place and away from air currents for the necessary time until it more or less doubles its volume.

Elaboration of the 2nd dough

1. Grease the inside of a 16 cm Ø panettone mold with a thin layer of butter or release spray, cover the sides with greaseproof paper (better if it protrudes a little above the edge of the mold) and grease the paper again . Lining the inside of the mold with paper is important in this recipe because, despite the fact that it is non-stick and works perfectly with any type of dough, in this case, the sugar with which the candied fruit that includes the panettone is covered. it caramelizes during baking and the bits that remain exposed on the outside of the dough would stick to the mold, making it difficult to remove from the mold.
2. Next, we place the warm milk, sugar, salt, egg yolks, honey, rum and vanilla extract in the bowl of our electric mixer , equipped with the dough hook accessory (or in a bowl large, if we are kneading our panettone by hand) and combine well with a hand whisk until a uniform mixture is obtained.
3. Next, and without stopping mixing, we add the first 90g of flour (reserve the remaining 25g) until it is fully incorporated; we will obtain a dense and sticky initial dough.
4. Then add the first mass, previously degassed (for which we will gently press it with a closed fist into the bowl a couple of times or three), and begin to knead gently (if we are kneading by hand, after a few movements inside the bowl to bind both mixtures, we would now work on a work surface) until we get a new dough with a uniform and well-cohesive appearance. If we saw that after a few minutes it was still excessively sticky or fluid, we would add, teaspoon by teaspoon and without stopping kneading, a little more than the 25g of reserved flour (it is possible that we need to add all of it) until it begins to detach from the bowl (or work surface) without too much difficulty.
5. Again, add the butter in several batches, fully integrating between batches, until fully incorporated. Once we have added all the butter, we continue to knead until we get a perfectly homogeneous, smooth and elastic dough. This step will be somewhat longer than with other types of dough due to the large amount of fat that we have incorporated (especially if we are kneading by hand*). We will know that our dough is already well kneaded when, in addition to acquiring a very soft and elastic texture and easily detaching from the bowl (or work surface), the gluten has developed correctly. To check it, we will take a pinch of dough between the thumb and index finger of both hands, stretch it gently and see if a translucent and smooth membrane is formed.
6. Finally, if we have used the electric mixer, we now transfer the dough to a perfectly clean work surface and knead by hand for 1 minute or so*. Then we stretch it with the same hands, forming an irregular square or rectangle and spread the raisins and candied orange, cut into small pieces, all over the surface. We then roll up the dough, thus enclosing the fruit inside, and fold in on itself as many times as necessary to ensure that the fruit has been distributed evenly throughout the dough. (If some raisins or pieces of orange come off in this process, we will integrate them back into the dough.)
7. Next, we round the dough to create a good tension on the surface and place it in the panettone mold (it must not exceed ⅓ of the capacity of the mold), cover loosely with transparent film and let it rise in a warm and remote place. from air currents until the top of the dough is poking over the edge of the pan. This part of the process will take several hours (it will always depend on the weather, ambient temperature and the size of our panettone ), but it will grow, so don't lose faith and arm yourself with patience**.
8. Once our panettone has risen, we then preheat the oven (electric and airless) to 180ºC with heat above and below and place the oven tray in the lower third of the oven.
9. Next, with the help of a bread knife or a very sharp knife , we make a small cross-shaped incision in the center of the surface of the dough and drop a small knob of butter at the intersection.
10. We bake our panettone for about 40-45 minutes until, when introducing a wooden skewer in the center until the bottom, it comes out clean of dough or crumbs. If we see that it browns excessively, we can cover it with aluminum foil without adjusting it during the last 10 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and let cool inside the pan on a cooling rack for 30-40 minutes until we can handle it comfortably with our hands without burning ourselves. After this time, carefully unmold, remove the baking paper and place our panettone flat on the rack that we will now have covered with a couple of clean, folded kitchen towels (in four parts is enough). We will turn it every few minutes so that it does not deform until it is practically cold, then we remove the cloths and let it cool completely in an upright position on the rack.
12. When serving, we can sprinkle it with a little icing sugar.

It can be kept tender for 2-3 days at room temperature, well wrapped in transparent film or inside a closed plastic bag, although nothing like a freshly made panettone .

Wooden cutting board , Nomu vanilla extract , Pallarès carbon steel knife , Birkmann cooling rack and non - stick Panettone Patisse pan .

Grades

• *In case of kneading by hand, with this type of dough it is always advisable to use French kneading. If you are not familiar with this technique, be sure to consult this article where it is explained in great detail " Bread: Basic concepts of kneading and techniques "
• **If during the rising of the 2nd dough you see that it has been done too late (especially in the case of making larger panettones -or panettoni- ), you can put the mold with the dough in the fridge overnight. The next morning, remove it from the fridge and let it continue the rising process at room temperature; It will take a little longer, but eventually he will come to and continue to grow normally.
• Although somewhat less traditional, nothing prevents you from substituting the raisins for chocolate chips; panettone for all tastes.
• If it turns out that you have not been able to cope and you have ended up with some somewhat dry remains of panettone , do not forget that you can always enjoy it again by preparing a whole Mr. Pain Perdu (replace the bagel in the " Pain Perdu " recipe with your remains of panettone ) , thus making it a totally recommendable new experience.
• You will also like to know that the panettone can be frozen without a problem for up to 2 months, well wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
• And if we are going to get into flour, why not double the amounts and make extra to give away?

And having said that, have you already reserved a date on the calendar to start preparing your own homemade panettone ?

All the best,

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