La Cucina di Mica

ProjectsKitchen

Panettone

A classic Christmas special, this recipe comes from a baking and confectionery shop that opened in 1924. My mom has a thousands tweaks for it, but this is the most presentable form of the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 kilo all-purpose flour
  • 80 grams fresh yeast
  • 1 teaspoon malt extract
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 300 grams sugar
  • 300 grams unsalted butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup warm milk
  • 1/2 cup cognac
  • 7 drops of Azahar or panettone essence
  • 1 teaspoon kirsch essence
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 kg of dried fruit and nuts, for example:
  • 250 grams seedless raisins
  • 250 grams candied fruit
  • 250 grams walnuts
  • 100 grams cashews
  • 100 grams chopped almonds Topping:
  • 1 egg white
  • Powdered sugar (approximately 1 cup)

Procedure

  1. The night before baking, chop all the dried fruit and nuts to your desired size. Pour 1/2 cup of cognac over the chopped fruits and nuts (feel free to add more if you prefer a stronger flavor). Stir the mixture well and let it rest overnight.

  2. Dissolve the yeast and malt extract in a cup of warm water, add some flour until it forms a loose dough, cover it, and let it rise.

  3. Beat the butter with the sugar, add the eggs, yolks, and flavor with all the essences. This cream preparation can be done in a mixer.

  4. Place the flour on the table in the shape of a crown, put the butter, sugar, egg, and essence cream in the center. Add the well-risen yeast dough and mix until the cream disappears. Start incorporating the flour and add the warm milk, kneading the dough for at least 20 minutes or until it looks smooth and elastic.

  5. Place it in a container, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume (approximately 2-3 hours).

  6. Pour the dough onto the table, open it well, place all the cut fruits, and knead again for ten minutes to distribute them evenly.

    Recipe Image

  7. Divide the dough into three portions, place them in 1-kilogram panettone paper molds, and let them rise in a warm place for 4-5 hours or until they almost reach the edge of the mold.

  8. At this point, make a cross-cut on top and place them in an oven preheated to a gentle temperature for half an hour. Then, raise the temperature slightly and bake for another half an hour, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The approximate baking time for this panettone is one hour.

  9. Once they cool down, prepare the topping: In a small bowl, mix the one egg white with some powdered sugar, mix, and keep adding powdered sugar until it becomes fairly thick. Cover the panettone with it and let it dry for a few minutes.

Note: my mom and Mirta add homemade syrup to their panettone. They make a syrup with just sugar and water and, as soon as the panettone come out of the oven, they make some incisions (cuts with a knife from the top) and pour the syrup. I prefer panettone a little less sweet, and even though the syrup also adds moisture, I leave it out.