Panettone

 
                                 Panettone
 
 Recipe By     : 
 Serving Size  : 10   Preparation Time :0:00
 Categories    : Bread With Yeast                 Fruit
                 Holidays                         Kitmail25
                 Spirits
 
   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
      1/2  cup           seedless golden raisins
      1/2  cup           seedless dark raisins
      1/2  cup           Black Mission figs -- cut in 1/2-inch
      1/2  cup           Calimyrna figs -- cut in 1/2-inch
      3/4  cup           cognac
                         Poolish:
      1/2  cup           milk -- at room temperature
    4      teaspoons     moist yeast or 2 tsps. dry yeast
      3/4  cup           organic all-purpose white flour*
                         Final Dough:
    9      tablespoons   unsalted butter -- softened
      1/3  cup           sugar
      1/2                vanilla bean
                         halved horizontally, or
    1      teaspoon      vanilla extract
    2      large         eggs -- at room temperature
    4                    egg yolks -- at room temperature
      1/2  teaspoon      fine sea salt
    3      cups          organic all-purpose white flour* -- (3 to 4)
    2      tablespoons   unsalted butter -- melted
 
 *Note: These are approximate measures.  You may use more or less depending on
 the weight and absorbency of your flour. Note: Allow 8 hours to soak the
 fruits. Allow 1 hour to ferment the poolish. Total preparation and baking
 time (not including fermenting the poolish or soaking the fruits): 7 hours,
 15 minutes. A classic in Italy and France at holiday time, this bread is so
 light and well packed with fruit that it's almost a confection. It's good
 anytime you want something sweet with tea or coffee. I make it in a
 springform pan, as authentic panettone pans are difficult to locate. If you
 have one, use my recipe in a well-buttered mold, but experiment with the
 baking time--it may take longer.
  Prepare the dried fruit (allow 8 hours or overnight): Combine the raisins
 and figs in a bowl. Heat the cognac in a small saucepan until just warm, then
 pour over raisin mixture. Set aside at least 8 hours or overnight. Stir
 occasionally if possible.
 Make and ferment the poolish (allow 1 hour):  Combine the milk and yeast in a
 medium bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon until yeast dissolves. Add the flour
 and stir until the mixture is the consistency of a batter, about 100 strokes.
 Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Cover with  a clean
 damp towel or plastic wrap, and put in a moderately warm (74o-80oF)
 draft-free place until puffy and domed.
 Mix and knead the final dough (20 minutes): Measure the ingredients. Combine
 the butter and sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with a paddle
 blade. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes. Using the tip
 of a small sharp knife, scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean. Discard the
 pod. Add the poolish, eggs and egg yolks, salt and vanilla seeds; beat on
 medium speed 5 minutes, then gradually add 1 c. of the flour. Fit the mixer
 with the dough hook. Add 2 1/2 c. of the remaining flour and continue beating
 at medium speed for 10 minutes. Drain the fruit well, if necessary, and add,
 beating 2 minutes more. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead,
 until smooth and slightly sticky, adding more flour if necessary, about 3
 minutes.
 Ferment the dough (about 2 1/2 hours): Shape the dough into a ball and place
 smooth side down in a well-buttered 6-qt. bowl. Turn the dough to coat the
 top with butter. Take the dough's temperature: the ideal is 78oF. Cover with
 a clean damp towel or plastic wrap and place in a moderately warm (74o-80oF)
 draft-free place until doubled in volume.
 Note: If the dough temperature is higher than 78oF, put it in a cooler than
 78oF place like the refrigerator, until the dough cools to 78oF. If it is
 lower than 78oF, put it in a warmer than 78oF place until the dough warms to
 78oF. The point is to try to keep the dough at 78oF during it fermentation.
 If you do have to move the dough, be gentle and don't jostle it, or the dough
 may deflate.Divide the dough and shape into a loaf (about 10 minutes):
 Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center and pulling up on the sides.
 Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly. Shape
 into a log.
 Proof the loaf (2 to 3 hours): Butter a 10-inch springform pan or panettone
 pan. Press the loaf into the prepared pan. Cover with a clean damp towel or
 plastic wrap and put in a moderately warm (74o-80oF) draft-free place until
 the dough rises nearly to the rim of the pan.
 Bake the loaf (45 minutes): Forty-five minutes to 1 hour before baking,
 preheat the oven and homemade hearth or baking stone on the center rack of
 the oven to 400oF. Bake 20 minutes. Cover the top loosely with foil and
 continue baking until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in
 the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and brush the
 top with the melted butter. Cool on a wire rack 20 minutes. Unmold and cool
 completely before serving. Makes 1 round 10-inch loaf.
 >From Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves From Your Own Hands by Daniel Leader and
 Judith Blahnik (William Morrow and Company, Inc., copyright c 1993 by Daniel
 Leader).
 * I didn't have any organic all-purpose flour, so I used Hecter's Unbleached
 and it worked just fine.  I made this again a few days later (it was a hit!)
 and had no Hechter's, so I used the Hotel and Restaurant All-Purpose flour
 that I buy at Price Costco, and it was okay (it doesn't have quite as much
 gluten as the Unbleached, so the bread didn't rise quite as high.).
 
 Posted in KitMail by Rosilyn@aol.com Rosilyn Overton Flushing, NY
 
 
 
 
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