Il Panettone – Italian Christmas cake

Panettone

As Christmas is approaching, we are this week going to make a must on the Italian Christmas table -the Panettone! Originated from Milan, it is now spread all over the peninsula and now Christmas is complete without it.

You will need a baking machine for this, and remember not t have your kitchen to cold, then the dough wont rise.

Ingredients:

For the first rising:

150 g fresh yeast cake

400 g flour

100 g unsalted butter

110 g sugar

6 yolks

a pinch of salt

200 ml tepid water

For the second rising:

280 g flour

110 g unsalted butter

400 g sultana raisins

100 g sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon honey

a pinch of salt

6 yolks

Some flour for dusting the work surface

Bakng paper

Start by melting but in a pan on low heat. Dissolve the sugar in about 100 ml of warm water.

Put the melted butter, salt, and yeast into your baking machine and mix well.

Add the yolks and the sugar water, let it mix well before adding the flour. Should the dough be quite stiff add a little more water.

Let it mix for about 25 minutes, until it has become smooth, velvety, and full of air bubbles.

Put the dough in a floured bowl large enough for it to rise three times the volume, cover it with a heavy cloth, and keep it in a warm, preferable around 30 C, place for about 10 hours. A good spot is on top of your fridge, as they give away a lot of heat.

Clean the raisins and drain them well, and set them on a cloth to dry. (If yu prefer, a part of the raisins an be exchanged for diced candied citrus peels.

Day 2

PanettonePanettone

Put the dough back in the baking machine and add flour, vanilla, yolks and honey while mixing. Leave it in for about half an hour Meanwhile melt the butter, add all but 3 tablespoons of the butter and a little water, just enough to make an elastic dough, and the salt, which stimulates the rising. Continue working the dough until it becomes shiny and dry. Now add the fruit, and let it distribute evenly in the dough.

Cut the dough in two half. Lightly grease your hands with the butter and round the balls of dough, then put them on a board or plate and let them rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Fold the baking paper and make two rounds with a diamtere of about 30 cm. Staple the together, fold in about 2 cm at the bottom, then add a round piece inside, for base.

Butter your hands again and put the dough in the molds. Leave them in a the same warm place again to rise for about 6 hours.

Heat your oven to 200. Cut an cross into the top of each panettone and put 2 tablespoons unsalted butter over the cuts.

Put the panettoni in the oven, and after 5 minutes take them out and firmly push down on the corners of the cross. Put them back in the oven and bake them until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out dry.