It may be a bit early but let’s face it: the holidays are always right around the corner. If you’re looking to impress your in-laws or serve up a traditional Italian favorite for holiday dinner, then panettone is the way to go. This Milanese dish was a delicacy during Renaissance times, providing folks with a serving of delicious, sweet bread as a reminder to cherish scarce resources like wheat.
Though making this dessert is a two-day endeavor, it is so worth the outcome. By following the recipe below, you’ll learn how to make the best panettone your loved ones have ever had.
Ingredients
- 5 cups bread flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 packet of instant yeast
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 eggs
- ⅔ cup water, cold
- ½ cup water, hot
- ¼ cup rum, dark
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ sticks (or 12 tbsp) unsalted butter, brought to room temperature
- 1 tablespoon unsalted cold butter
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ candied citrus peel or dried fruit, chopped
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 panettone mold
Instructions
Make dough starter
Using a stand mixer, pour your instant yeast and 1 cup of your bread flour into the bowl, mixing well. From here, you can add the cold water, gently stirring the mixture until a batter-like dough forms. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with plastic wrap for at least one hour.
Marinate fruit
Put your raisins and fruit into a bowl along with your hot water and dark rum, allowing the mixture to sit overnight while covered.
Prep leftover dry products
Take the rest of the flour and your salt and combine in a bowl, mixing together well.
Add the dry products and eggs to dough starter
Connect your bowl to the stand mixture and begin using the mixing paddle to beat the eggs into the starter at medium speed. Be sure to add these eggs individually for the best results. Add your citrus zests, along with the sugar and vanilla, continuing to mix at the same speed.
Once the above ingredients are fully incorporated, transfer the mixture to low speed, adding about half of the dry ingredient mixture and mixing for 2-3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the rest of the flour and mix completely.
Knead dough
You can either knead the dough with your hands for 10-12 minutes or use a kneading attachment on your stand mixture on low for about 8 minutes. Occasionally pause the mixture and push down the dough.
Add in your room temperature butter two tablespoons at a time, mixing for 3-4 minutes until smooth. If your dough seems to stick too much to the hook and bowl, you can add flour one tablespoon at a time until the optimal consistency.
Let it rise
Remove the bowl from the mixer and shape the dough into a sphere, covering the ball with a light layer of vegetable oil and covering the bowl with plastic wrap, refrigerating the dough overnight.
Add the fruit
The next morning, roll your dough flat into a rectangular shape onto a baking sheet. Add your drained fruit evenly across the flat dough, using your rolling pin to flatten the fruit against the dough.
Fold the dough
Next, fold the dough into three sections until in a vertical, rectangular shape. Take each corner of the dough and bring it toward the middle until the dough is in a spherical shape. Round the dough with your hands to form a perfect ball.
Once finished, add your dough ball to the panettone mold, smooth side facing up. Cover the mold with plastic wrap for about two hours, allowing it to rise.
Bake the dough
To bake the panettone, set the oven to 375° and allow it to stay warm for 30 minutes. Before placing it in the oven, turn the oven down to 325° and score the dough with two bisecting lines. It should create fourths on the surface of the dough. Add your cold butter to the middle of the surface of the dough. Place your panettone in the oven.
Take the panettone out of the oven after 30 minutes, adding a loose layer of foil on top to stop the surface from burning. Place the panettone back in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the panettone and allow to cool for one hour, or until completely cooled.
Visit Strega for Authentic Italian Cuisine!
Looking for a meal in the North End of Boston, MA that reminds you of home? Visit us at Strega! We look forward to new guests and longtime regulars. Choose from a carefully curated brunch, lunch, or dinner menu, with options that will satisfy the whole family. Make a reservation or give us a call today to learn about large-party availability!
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