Panettone

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 1 Panettone, you will need:

• 1 20 g honey
• 2 1 vanilla pod
• 3 ½ orange
• 4 ½ lemon
• 6 80 g leaven
• 7 80 g caster sugar
• 8 80 g water
• 9 80 g egg yolk
• 10 80 g butter
• 11 240 g flour
• 13 60 g flour
• 14 5 g fine (or table) salt
• 15 60 g caster sugar
• 16 80 g egg yolk
• 17 90 g butter
• 19 120 g raisins
• 20 120 g candied fruit
• Total weight: 1,415 grams

Times:

Preparation	Resting	Cooking	Start to finish
1 hour 35 min.	22 hours 45 min.	1 hour	1 day 1 hour 20 min.

Step by step recipe

• 1:

  Prepare the aromatic mixture

  
  The day before making the loaf, mix 20 g honey, 1 vanilla pod (scrape the inside) and the zest of ½ orange and ½ lemon in a ramekin.
  Cover with plastic film and leave overnight.
• 2:

  First dough mixing

  
  Put into a food-mixer bowl 80 g leaven, 80 g caster sugar, 80 g water, 80 g egg yolk, 80 g butter and 240 g flour.
• 3: Knead for about 25 minutes, then test the gluten with the The window-pane test or check that the temperature of the dough does not rise above 79°F (26°C).
  Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home.
• 4: Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic film and leave to rise for about 12 hours, until tripled in volume.
• 5: Knock back the dough by lifting it and thumping it back down onto the worktop.
  Gather into a ball again, wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• 6:

  Second dough mixing

  
  Add 60 g flour and the aromatic mixture to the dough you have already prepared, then start kneading on slow speed.
• 7: Knead until fully absorbed (about 10 minutes).
  Add 5 g fine (or table) salt and continue kneading until this is mixed in.
• 8: Add 60 g caster sugar a little at a time and knead until completely mixed in.
• 9: Add 80 g egg yolk and mix in.
• 10: Add 90 g butter and mix in.
• 11: The dough should be very smooth by now, but add a little water if necessary (45 ml or 1.5 fl oz maximum).
• 12:

  Add the fruit

  
  Finish by adding the rehydrated 120 g raisins and 120 g candied fruit (mixed citrus peel is best)...
• 13: ...and mix well.
• 14: Tip the dough out onto the worktop, gather into a ball and leave to rest, covered with a plastic sheet, for 15 minutes.
• 15: Prepare the mould: this is a high-sided round mould 20 cm in diameter (approx. 8 inches). Line it with cooking parchment and stand on another sheet of paper, laid on a baking sheet.
• 16: Press down on the dough to flatten it and expel the gas that has formed, then reshape into a ball and put into the mould.
  Leave to rest for 8 hours.
• 17:

  Cooking and resting

  
  Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C).
  Score the top of the dough in a cross pattern...
• 18: ...and slip small knobs of butter into the cross cuts.
• 19: Bake for about 1 hout, ideally until the centre of the panettone reaches 201°F (94°C). Check this with an electronic thermometer.
• 20: When the panettone is cooked, turn it out while it is still hot and push 2 long skewers through the base...
• 21: ...and hang it upside down from them like this.
  Leave to rest in this position for at least 2 hours.
• 22: Your panettone is ready and now you can enjoy a well-deserved treat!

Remarks

As with any emblematic dish, you will find one or more recipes described as "the real Italian recipe", each claiming to be authentic. I would take my hat off to anyone who could sort the "right" one out from among them. That said, the Italian lady from whom I learned this recipe assured me that, whatever else might be in it, there is no yeast in a panettone, just leaven - always.

---