New recipes and updates

Get new recipes
in your inbox

Cuisine Fiend https://www.cuisinefiend.com

Find a recipe by ingredient

Traditional panettone

Mon, 16 December, 2019

⯆ JUMP TO RECIPE
The king of Christmas is traditional panettone made on lievito madre, ‘mother dough’. It requires considerable dedication, sacrifice and engineering nous to construct hanging apparatus for the panettoni.

panettone cuisinefiend.com

This is a serious project so I’ll get to the heart of the matter without a preamble about random nonsense.

Easy panettone? No such thing!

You have to be patient. You have to have patience, lots of it. Patience, grasshopper. You need to be prepared to get up at 4am to feed your lievito madre or at most make do with 6 hours of sleep.

No going away for a week. Even going out is out of the question in the final days. You need a warm place in the house: an airing cupboard, an oven that will keep temperature as low as 30C, a warming drawer, a heating exchange cupboard or else you have to be living in Australia.

You need a standing mixer. You need panettone paper cases, 13cm or 16cm dia. You need bamboo skewers. You need to know what you’re doing with sourdough and have a sourdough starter on the go at 100% hydration. If I’ve lost you now, don’t go on (but do if you’re determined). Did I mention patience?

traditional panettone cuisinefiend.com

How long does it take?

Assuming you have a going sourdough starter (I should not recommend embarking on this project unless you have SOME sourdough experience at least), it takes 4-6 days to convert the starter to lievito madre. Remember the thing about not going away above?

The conversion means feeding the starter initially every 12 hours and every 4 hours for the last 24 hours. Sleep? Who needs to sleep if there’s panettone in the making?

The making of the actual dough starts at the end of the feeding frenzy, on the evening before The Baking Day. Yes, you can get some sleep that night - if you manage to nod off, with all the excitement.

panettone on sourdough starter cuisinefiend.com

Tips and things to remember

On the D-Day (P-Day?) make absolutely sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. You don’t want to spoil all the effort by dumping a fridge-cold egg into the sensitive dough.

There are five stages of making the main dough, each about adding ingredients in specific order and at precise quantities. No, I’m sorry – it’s not for those who slosh, dollop, drizzle and dust. Kitchen scales and an obsessive mind win – hence I’ve been reasonably successful at this panettone malarky.

Once the dough is made and shaped, there comes what I find the trickiest part: transporting the dough balls into the paper panettone cases. It’s very much like trying to shape slime!

The paper cases should be skewered with bamboo sticks, like rails. What’s that for? Why, that’s the best bit!

panettone on lievito madre cuisinefiend.com

Why hang the panettone?

The construction skills mentioned above are also important because the fun thing in the final stage of panettone making is the hanging. In order to keep the air within the crumb, which is what makes it so Fluffy Central, and to stop it from escaping up and leaving collapsed sinkage behind, the breads need to be inverted upside down while cooling.

There are instructions below and ideas for the construction of the gallows. I have found (the hard way) that an extended clothes rack serves the purpose the best.

how to hang baked panettone cuisinefiend.com

Bake the best panettone

I have now baked about 10 or 15 panettoni on natural starter and they have been pretty much all successful. I’m deeply indebted to Susan of Wild Yeast Blog (sadly now defunct, it seems), so if you’d rather get the instructions at source, off you go – I won’t be offended. If you stick around, I’ll be honoured.

Alternatives to panettone

No, it’s not ‘easy’ – ‘easy panettone’ is a fallacy and an oxymoron. But this is a very good one leavened on baker’s yeast. It only takes 18 hours from start(er) to finish!

An alternative to panettone altogether is pandoro. Also yeast-risen, deliriously rich but with zero raisin content – that’s why the Weather Man doesn’t care for it much.

A thoroughly decent Christmas bread which is not only doable but actually easy comes from Norway. Try julekake if I managed to put you off giving panettone a go.

Or you could throw in the towel and bake some mince pies instead!



Traditional panettone

Servings: makes 3 medium or 2 large panettoniTime: 18 hours plus starter
Rating: (5 reviews)

INGREDIENTS

  • INGREDIENTS for sweet starter (lievito madre)
  • 10g sourdough starter at 100% hydration (liquid, equal amounts of flour and water)
  • strong white bread flour
  • water


METHOD

First you need to thicken your ordinary starter; this will take minimum 2 days, feeding every 12 hours.

1. Place the starter in a small container with a lid and mix it with 10g water and 20g flour. It will get thicker, to 50% hydration (twice as much flour as water) after a couple of feedings but it’s good to mature it longer. I usually do it over 3-4 days, so 6-8 feedings. ‘Knead’ it with a spoon into a ball, cover with the lid and keep at warm room temperature. At 12 hours intervals discard all but 10g of starter and mix it with fresh 10g water and 20g flour.

thick starter cuisinefiend.com

2. Now you need to turn the thick starter into lievito madre which is an intensely fed starter: like a battery chicken. Feeding needs to be done every 4 hours, with a 6 hour break for the night.

  • EXAMPLE OF TIMING:
  • Day 1 feedings:
  • 4pm 20g starter, 20g water, 20g flour
  • 8pm 20g starter, 10g water, 20g flour
  • 12pm 10g starter 10g water 20g flour
  • Day 2 feedings:
  • 6am and 10am 20g starter, 10g water, 20g flour
  • 2pm 40g starter 20g water 40g flour
  • 6pm make the first dough
The container with the starter needs to live in a warm place (see above) at all times, 30C/85F.
Between the feeds the starter should puff and bubble up; use a small container (apart from the last feed) so you can see its progress.

lievito madre cuisinefiend.com

  • INGREDIENTS FOR PANETTONE
  • This makes 1500g of dough, to fill 3 x 13cm (500g) cases or 2 x 16cm (750g) cases.
  • For the first dough:
  • 346g flour, strong white bread or half and half strong and Italian 00
  • 190g water at room temperature
  • 5g fresh baker’s yeast or 1g (13 tsp) osmotolerant yeast, or 1.3 grams (12 tsp) instant yeast
  • 83g caster sugar
  • 3 large (55g) egg yolks
  • 7g (112 tsp) diastatic malt powder (or 7g malt extract)
  • 83g unsalted butter, softened
  • 86g mature starter (lievito madre) from above
  • For the final dough:
  • Step I:
  • all of the first dough
  • 82g flour, as above
  • 5g (1 tsp) fine salt
  • 112 (25g) large egg yolk
  • 2 tsp good quality vanilla extract or seeds scraped from 1 pod
  • zest grated from 1 orange or 1 tsp good quality orange extract
  • 40g water at room temperature
  • Step II:
  • 82g caster sugar
  • Step III:
  • 126g unsalted butter, softened
  • Step IV:
  • 19g honey
  • 74g water at room temperature
  • Step V:
  • 150g raisins
  • 100g candied orange or mixed citrus peel
  • For the glaze:
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp. ground almonds
  • 2 tsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp. corn flour
  • 1 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1 small (30g) egg white
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • For the topping:
  • icing sugar
  • Swedish pearl sugar
  • whole blanched almonds
  • Equipment:
  • standing mixer with a dough hook attachment
  • 3 x 13cm (500g) cases or 2 x 16cm (750g) cases
  • 6 bamboo skewers


METHOD

Prepare the first dough the evening before baking; suggested timing above.

3. In the bowl of a standing mixer mix all of the first dough ingredients until smooth. Cover the bowl with cling film and ferment for 12 hours at warm room temperature (about 22C/72F), or longer for a cooler room. The dough will more than triple in volume and almost start to collapse.

first dough for panettone cuisinefiend.com

For the final dough follow the steps:
Step I:

4. Add the ingredients for step 1 to first dough. Mix at low speed for 5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula if necessary.

making panettone final dough cuisinefiend.com

Step II:

5. Turn the speed to medium. Add the sugar in 5 or 6 goes, mixing continuously at medium speed for 2 minutes after each addition. Continue after you’ve added all the sugar until the dough is smooth and elastic, bounces off the sides and bottom of the bowl and almost passes the windowpane test.

6. Windowpane test: pull a little of the dough between your fingers and stretch until it’s almost see-through. If it doesn’t tear, that means the gluten is fully developed.

windowpane test cuisinefiend.com

Step III:

7. Add the butter and turn the mixer back on at low speed. Mix for 2 minutes, then up the speed to medium and continue for about 10 minutes until the butter is completely absorbed. Do another windowpane test: the dough should now form thin membrane without tearing. If not, mix for another 4-5 minutes.

windowpane test cuisinefiend.com

Step VI:

8. In low speed add the honey and half the amount of water. Mix until fully absorbed. Add the remaining water and mix until fully absorbed.

Step V:

9. Still in low speed add the raisins and peel and mix only until roughly evenly distributed.

10. Butter a large container (plastic box or a large shallow bowl) and pour the dough into it. Close the lid or place the box/bowl in a large plastic bag and prove for an hour in a warm room; stretching and folding twice every 20 minutes.

panettone dough cuisinefiend.com

11. To do that, butter your fingers lightly, grab the underside of the dough and fold the dough in three over itself along the length, like an envelope. Turn the container and do the same fold, stretching gently, in the opposite direction along the width. Repeat again in both directions, cover and leave for another 20 minutes; then repeat the stretching, folding and 20 minute proving.

12. Turn the dough out onto buttered surface and divide in half or in three (depending on the cases you’re using) with a dough scraper. Gently push the dough portions with the scraper and your hand to form light balls. Leave them uncovered for 20 minutes.

panettone shaping cuisinefiend.com

13. Prepare the paper cases for hanging: pierce each case near the bottom with two thin wooden skewers to make kind of rails. Place the cases on the oven rack so you can transport it into the oven later without disturbing the panettoni.

skewering panettone cases cuisinefiend.com

14. Tighten the rested dough into taut balls by folding it on itself from all sides; cupping it with your hands and dragging gently over the work surface. Drop them into the cases, smooth side up. Prove at a warm room temperature for about 2 hours (depending on how warm it is; it might take much longer than this). When they have risen so the sides of the dough are about 3cm below the rim of the paper case, it’s ready to bake.

how long to prove panettone cuisinefiend.com

15. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4 – or use fan oven at 170C/325F if available. Make the glaze: mix all the glaze ingredients together to smooth paste. Brush or pipe it gently over the risen dome, making sure not to deflate it; use the glaze sparingly as it weighs down the dome. BTW the most impressive dome will be obtained if you don’t glaze the panettone and just dust it with icing sugar after baking – but the glaze is to die for. Sift icing sugar over the glazed domes, sprinkle some pearl sugar and arrange almonds on top.

glazing panettone cuisinefiend.com

16. Slide the rack with panettoni into the oven and bake, without opening the oven door, for 35 minutes for the medium ones and 45 minutes the large ones. In the meantime prepare your hanging apparatus: I used piles of books set next to each other at less then the skewers’ length distance or a clothes rack turned on the side. Anything that will let you hang the breads upside down propping it on the skewers will do the job.

hanging panettone cuisinefiend.com

17. Hang the panettoni immediately after they are out of the oven; use gloves to handle them as the oven glove may be too bulky. Leave them hanging for at least 5 hours or overnight; this will prevent collapsing of this airy, delicate crumb and will not affect the freshness, especially in glazed ones.

Five hours later or the next morning slice them with a large bread knife, paper cases and all, and wish you’d made double the amount.

NEW recipe finder

Ingredients lying around and no idea what to cook with them? Then use my NEW Recipe Finder for inspiration!

Recipe Finder


Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published

Characters left 800
Comment*
Recipe rating
Name*
Email address*
Web site name
Be notified by email when a comment is posted

* required

Your comments

Anna @ CuisineFiend
Hi Victoria - I'm delighted and honoured! Hope you and your granddaughter succeed in baking a beautiful panettone and, more importantly, that you enjoy it. My skewers are 30cm (12 inch) long: they must fit in the oven but also stick out enough to hang the panettone between supports. Best wishes and good luck!
10 days ago
Victoria Walton
Hello Anna. I have been wanting to make Panettone for a couple of years and have read many recipes and looked at different YouTube Italian bakers who live and breathe to make Panettone. Seems like a daunting process that requires commitment, patience. I came across your website yesterday and was so impressed by the level of detail and upfront warning. Just as I suspected. I am trying to recruit my granddaughter into actually taking the lead in this project as she has been making wonderful sourdough bread weekly for about 3 years. I am hoping we can make Panettone together this Christmas season. She is an accomplished violinist and plays with the Symphony quite often during this time of the year. This project is in my Bucket List. I will be 82 yo in January. BTW, how long are the skewers?
10 days ago
Anna @ CuisineFiend
Hi Sue - metal skewers are fine, won't have much impact on the dough. As for 'dropping', that's why it's baked in paper cases. The dough sticks to the sides and bottom of the case and happily hangs upside down!
6 months ago
Sue
Your recipe looks amazing, I have metal skewers would these be ok to feed through the bottom, or would they transmit too much heat to the dough? Also... what stops the bread 'dropping' when you invert them to cool, this step worries me...
6 months ago
Anna @ CuisineFiend
Hi Jessica - sprinkle it over the top after brushing on the glaze, so it sticks to it.
12 months ago
jessica
if i am using pearl sugar when do i add it to top
12 months ago
Anna @ CuisineFiend
Hi Rena - great to hear from you. You should begin to convert the starter at your next usual daily feeding. And I have used Caputo Oro too, it is very good. Switching flours is fine - after all sometimes starters are quite ancient and so various flours will have gone into feeding them. Best of luck for your panettone!
2 years ago
Regina Alexander
Hello Anna, I am using your website for the first time and plan to try your Panettone recipe very soon. I have a very lively 100 percent sourdough starter that I commenced on 31st December and fed daily since then. Please can you tell me at what stage of the fermentation of my starter should I begin the conversion process. Should it be at its peak or when it has died down and needs feeding . Also I plan to use Caputo Oro flour for the panettone dough but I have used Marriages British milled flour from Canadian grain (15 percent protein) for my sourdough. Does it matter if I change from one flour to a different one? I would very much appreciate your help in this matter. Rena
2 years ago
Anna @ CuisineFiend
Hi Timous - that's fantastic! I am just about getting ready to start the panettone project myself.
2 years ago
Timous
I made the panettone using this recipe and was a huge success. The bread was super fine and moist and all loves the topping. Planning to make more for the upcoming Xmas seasons to give away.
2 years ago
Anna @ CuisineFiend
Hi Vivian - I'm very pleased you find the recipe useful!
4 years ago
Vivian C
Thank you so much for this recipe using natural starter. I made these panettones since last Christmas and I have succeeded each time. This is a fantastic recipe and the pictures of dough in each progression were so helpful.
4 years ago
Anna @ CuisineFiend
Hi Robin - thank you for the lovely comment! My panettone is just out of the oven and hanging proudly to be ready for tomorrow's breakfast.
4 years ago
Robin
Hi, thank you so much for your recipe. I am a very keen sourdough bread baker and had always been intrigued by the Panettone as it supposed to be quite a complex thing to do. I followed your step by step recipe and I’m glad to say both my panettone turned out perfect. We are now enjoying one for breakfast on Christmas Eve. Thanks a lot for taking the time to detail each step and take pictures, really worthwhile. ??
4 years ago
1 

Cuisine Fiend's

most recent

About me

Hello! I'm Anna Gaze, the Cuisine Fiend. Welcome to my recipe collection.

I have lots of recipes for you to choose from: healthy or indulgent, easy or more challenging, quick or involved - but always tasty.


Newsletter

Sign up to receive the weekly recipes updates


Follow Fiend