Pandoro

I know, it's January and this is a traditional Italian Christmas recipe, but since I didn't have time to make it earlier, I thought it was a shame not to share it with you because of the date. After all, as far as I'm concerned, I would be able to eat pandoro all year long! For those who don't know, it's an Italian brioche (specially prepared for the Christmas season if you've been following), which has an incomparable texture and taste. On the other hand, it has to be earned: you need a lot of patience and time to make it, since it requires about 15 hours of rest (and a night), and needs to be rolled, as for puff pastry. I found the recipe on an Italian website; I made some modifications but kept all the preparation and growing steps, and for a first try I was delighted with the result 😊
 
 

 
 Prp time : 2 days with rest + 1 hour cooking
 For one padoro (in a 750ml mold) :

 

Step 1 :

 1 tablespoon of honey
 1 tablespoon liquid vanilla
 1 teaspoon amaretto or rum
 Zest of one orange and one lemon
 
Mix all ingredients and let stand at room temperature.
 
 

 
 

Step 2 :

 50g flour
 10g fresh yeast
 20g sugar
 60g milk
 
 Warm the milk, then add the crumbled yeast and mix well.
 Then add the flour and the sugar.

 

 
 Mix again, cover with cling film and let stand at room temperature until mixture doubles in volume (about 1 hour).
 
 

 
 

Step 3 :

 200g flour
 25g milk
 25g sugar
 1 whole egg
 1 egg yolk
 4g fresh yeast
 40g butter
 
 Warm the milk, then add the crumbled yeast.

 

 
 Then add the mixture from step 2.
 
 

 
 Add the flour and sugar and mix.

 

 
 Add the egg and yolk and mix again.
 
 

 
 Finally, add the butter cut into small cubes and knead until the dough is smooth.
 
 

 
 Then cover with cling film and let rest at room temperature until the dough doubles in volume (2 to 3 hours).

 

 
 

Step 4 :

 200g flour
 100g sugar
 2 whole eggs
 8g salt
 
 Take the dough from step 3, then add the flour and sugar and knead for 2 minutes. Then add the mixture from step 1 and the eggs and knead until the dough pulls away from the edges (this can take a long time, for me about 40 minutes).
 
 

 
 Then add the salt and knead for another 5 minutes.
 
 

 
 At the end, the dough should be quite elastic and form a veil when stretched.
 
 

 

 
 Cover with cling film and let stand for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature.
 
 

 

 
 Then place in the refrigerator overnight.

 

Step 5 :

 150g softened butter
 
 The next morning (start relatively early, allow about 8 to 10 hours of rising time before baking and after kneading), take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Afterwards, remember to sprinkle the work surface and the dough with flour if necessary, so that the dough does not stick and tear.
 
 

 
 Roll out the dough into a large square, and spread the butter on it.

 

 
 Fold the dough over, folding the corners inward to make a smaller square.
 
 

 
 Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, then fold it into thirds, like a wallet (this is the first simple turn).
 
 

 

 
 Wrap the dough and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Repeat the operation 3 times: place the dough facing you, fold on the right (like a book), roll it out into a rectangle, fold in 3 and place in the refrigerator, and twice more in this way.
 
 

 

 

 
 At the end, you have completed 4 simple rounds.

 

Step 6 :

 Butter for the mold
 Powdered sugar (optional)
 
 After the last 30 minutes of rest, fold the edges of the dough into a ball and place it in the well-buttered pan (to do this, melt some butter and spread it with a brush on all sides).
 
 

 

 
 Let rise until the dough almost reaches the edge of the pan (about 9 hours for me, near a radiator).
 
 

 
 Bake in the preheated oven at 170°C static heat for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 160°C and continue baking for 50 minutes. At the end, the tip of a knife stuck in the pandoro should come out dry. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from the pan onto a wire rack. 
 
 For storage, it is best to keep your pandoro in a large, tightly sealed freezer bag. If you wish, you can sprinkle it with powdered sugar before enjoying 😊