Panettone!

 I have been wanting to try this recipe for quite some time. Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry had five seasons of "Masterclass" where they demonstrated how to make some of their favorite recipes. I've said this before but watching someone who really knows how to handle dough is so awesome! It also gave me a great excuse to buy yet another specialty pan!


Here's today's cast!


I measured out the fruits and almonds into one bowl and set it aside.


Flour, sugar, yeast, salt and eggs went in on low for a couple of minutes and then at medium for about six minutes.


I had to scrape down the sides a few times but at the end of the six minutes, the dough was very sticky and beginning to get stringy--we want those strings; that's the gluten being worked.


This is a very enriched dough--not just sugar and eggs but a lot of softened butter.


After the butter is well-incorporated.


The fruits and almonds were added on low, just till they were nicely mixed in.


Into a covered Cambro for the night--this dough needs quite a bit of time in this stage; partly because the yeast needs to work really hard against all that weight and partly because you want a good fermentation.


I didn't start working this next stage until mid-morning. The dough had doubled in size and the large amount of butter meant it was rather stiff.


No kneading is required--I just punched it down and shaped it into a ball.


My panettone pan with the removable base was brushed liberally with melted butter--all the way to the top since the loaf will be quite tall!


I had to make sure the dough ball was thin enough to fit in the pan.


Success!


Now another long wait. It took three hours for the dough to dome up out of the pan.


I brushed the top with a beaten egg. The panettone went in at 350F for about 25 minutes. Then I dropped the temperature to 300F for another 35 minutes.


The top was beautifully golden and the smell was fantastic!


The panettone needs to be removed immediately. The first heat-resistant item I tried to use was too short.


That's better!


I left it to cool. It takes quite some time--after a few hours the center was still warm.


It's absolutely delicious--chock full of fruit and almonds, the crumb is light and delicately textured. Definitely a winner! 

Here's the promised link:

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