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bread

Homemade Panettone

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: panettone
Prep Time: 20 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Dessi Parrish

The perfect Christmas bread. Light and flavorful, studded with chocolate chips.

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Ingredients

Starter Dough:

  • 6 tablespoons warm water
  • 1 teaspoon

    active dry yeast


  • 3/4 cup bread flour

Initial Dough:

  • 2/3 cup

    water


  • 3/4 cup

    maple sugar



  • 8 egg yolks
  • 3 1/2 cups

    bread flour


  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1.5 sticks of butter, 170g.) cubed and softened 

Final Dough:

  • 1/4 cup bread flour
  • 1/4 cup maple sugar
  • 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 2

    egg yolks


  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (57g)

    cubed and softened



  • zest of 1 orange


  • 1 cup

    dark chocolate chips/chunks (4 oz)


  • 2

    6-inch panettone paper molds (6-5/8"wide x 4-5/16" tall)

  • 1

    egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water (for egg-wash

)
  • maple sugar and slivered almonds for topping

Instructions

Make the Starter Dough:

  1. It’s best to make the starter dough in the late afternoon the day before you serve the panettone.

  2. Add the water and yeast to a stand mixer bowl and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and mix it with your hand or a wooden spoon.
  3. Cover the bowl and leave at room temperature for about 3-4 hours.

Make the Initial Dough:

  1. To the starter dough, add the egg yolks, water, sugar, and stir with a wooden spoon until everything gets incorporated.

  2. Add the flour, one cut at a time, and stir with the spoon a few times until it gets incorporated.
  3. Attach the dough hook attachment on the stand mixer and mix on medium-low speed until the dough balls up around the paddle and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 8-10 minutes.

  4. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the butter one tablespoon at a time until incorporated and the dough is smooth and shiny, about 5-8 minutes.

  5. Cover the bowl with plastic and let rest at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight.

Make the Final Dough:

  1. Add the bread flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of the stand mixer. Attach the dough hook and beat on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

  2. With the mixer on low, gradually add the egg yolks and then the vanilla until the dough is smooth and elastic again, about 5 minutes more.

  3. With the mixer on low, gradually add the butter one tablespoon at a time until incorporated and the dough is shiny and very supple, about 5 minutes more.

  4. Mix in the zest and chocolate until evenly distributed.

  5. Place two 6-inch panettone molds on a large baking sheet lined with a silicone pad (if you have it).

  6. Separate the dough into 2 even portions and place each one in the mold. The dough should not take up more than a 1/4 of the the mold it is in as it needs room to rise.

  7. Place the molds inside the oven without turning it on.

  8. Let rise for 5-7 hours. The dough needs to rise almost to the top of the mold.

  9. Take the molds out of the oven and preheat the oven to 340°F, and position the rack in the center.

  10. Lightly brush the tops of the panettone with the egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar and slivered almonds.

  11. Place the panettone in the preheated oven. After about 30 minutes rotate the sheet and insert a probe thermometer. Bake until the internal temperature of the panettone is 203F (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). If the tops start looking too dark, cover with tin foil.
  12. Let cool completely, about 1-1.5 hours. Remove the panettone from the molds, cut into wedges, and serve.