Panettone recipe
This recipe is a 2-day recipe to bake but it tastes so much better than the ones you can purchase at local stores. If you really want to save the time in the baking most major stores sell a version of panettone. I can’t find our families original recipe but this one is delicious. Also, if you don’t have an oval mold to bake it in you can use a greased coffee can. (I am pretty sure that is how my family did it)
Ingredients:
1 cup raisins
2 tablespoons of rum (doesn’t matter which type as that is dependent on your tastes- I personally love the added flavor of coconut rum)
2 tbsp of hot water
3 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
½ tsp of active dry yeast
½ tsp of salt
Zest of one lemon and one orange
½ vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup of room temperature water
1 tbsp of Honey (I always try to use local honey as they help with seasonal allergies)
12 ½ tbsp of unsalted butter: 10 ½ tbsp softened, 1 tbsp melted and 1 tbsp chilled
2/3 cup of candied orange peels or other candied fruit
Directions:
In a small bowl combine the raisins, rum and hot water. Let sit for 8 hours or overnight. Try to stir occasionally if you can. You want toe raisins to soak up all the liquid.
In a stand mixer, put the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, the zests and vanilla. Mix together on low speed. Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, water and the honey. When all whisked pour that mixture into the stand mixer while it is still going on low speed. Increase the speed to medium-low until mixture is all combined. Add the softened butter 1 tbsp at a time. Make sure the butter is fully incorporated before adding the next tbsp. Once all the butter is added, increase the speed of the mixer to a medium high for about 8 minutes. (your dough should be smooth and elastic)
Drain the raisins. In a bowl combine the drained raisins with the candied citrus or other fruit and 1 tbsp of the melted butter. Pour into the dough mixture and carefully mix in with a spoon.
Transfer the dough into an oiled (I use Sciabica’s orange or lemon olive oil) Large bowl and place in a warm draft free space like a cold oven. It should be there until it about triples in size (about 12 hours…yikes)
If you used real vanilla bean then you should find it and remove it from the dough. Then transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough into a loose ball. With the seam side down put into a panettone mold (or metal coffee can) Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a damp free spot for 3 hours. Once it has risen remove from the draft free spot and place on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 370 degrees. While the oven is heating place a big X across the top of the entire Panettone dough. Place the chilled butter in the middle of the X. Place in the oven to bake about 60 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Use 12 inch skewers and pierce all the way around the Panettone about an inch from the bottom and about four inches about from each other. Now lastly hang the Panettone upside down over a large stock pot until it cools completely.
