Setting the tone with Panettone!

Spice Trail

Jingle bells! Jingle bells, a slice of Panettone and clinking glasses of sparkling Prosecco — it’s Christmas time in Italy! Is it a cake? Or is it bread? Well, who cares as long as it is Panettone, rich, light as air, studded with golden raisins, spiked with orange zest and vanilla. Panettone is a 24-hour project, not an easy one to master, but something that every home baker should try at least once, as it is truly the king of enriched bread. Its modern version is attributed to a young Milanese baker, Angelo Motta, who came up with the 24-hour, three-step rise process, which makes the Panettone, light, airy and tall. An organic sourdough starter otherwise known as Levito Madre (mother yeast) is used instead of commercial yeast to give Panettone its unique flavour. There’s plenty of material online on how to make your own sourdough starter. It’s a great addition to your pantry as you could use the starter to make a whole range of naturally fermented bread.

First dough & first rise

500 gm: Strong bread flour

2.5 gm: Malt powder (optional)

125 gm: Mother yeast.

45% hydration (also known as a sourdough starter, the process of making this is too long to add here. You can easily find one online, my favourite one is a 45% hydrated starter.)

160gm: Sugar

240 gm: Unsalted soft butter

150 gm: Egg yolks

250 gm: Coldwater

Mix together in an electric mixer bowl with the paddle attachment. (You could try hand mixing as well). Do not overwork the dough. Let it rise in a large bowl until 3 times in volume is reached ideally at an ambient temperature of 26 c.

Second dough & 2nd rise

160 gm: Bread flour

2.5 gm: Malt powder

175 gm: Egg yolk

To pre-mix together

30 gm: Honey

2 ml: Vanilla essence

75 gm: Sugar

60 gm: Brown sugar

220 gm: Butter

10 gm: Salt

To fold in

260 gm: Golden raisins (you could soak in a sweet wine overnight and drain for added flavour)

260 gm: Candied citrus

Deflate the first dough and add in the flour, malt powder and egg yolk from the second dough ingredients. Mix well and add the pre-mixed ingredients. Use a paddle attachment or hand mix till enough gluten is formed. The dough is ready when a small ball of dough taken from the batch can be stretched thin without breaking, otherwise known as the “windowpane test”. Fold in the raisins and candied orange gently. Let the dough relax for around 30 minutes and divide it into 750 gm portions. You should get 2 Panettones from this batch. Line a cake tin with baking paper. You may find pre-made paper moulds for Panettone. Let the dough rise for another 7 hours at 26 c ambient temperature. Preheat the oven to 180 c. Bake for 40 minutes until a thermometer probe gives an internal temperature of 92 c. Let the Panettone rest for a few hours before cutting it. Ideally, Panettone is hung upside down to prevent it from collapsing. Even if you skip this step, you will still get a good quality Panettone.

(The author is a chef based in Brisbane, Australia. An exponent of regional Italian cuisine, he’s from the class of ‘94 IHM Kovalam and loves playing with fire. He’s an avid permaculture gardener and Border Collie whisperer.)