Homemade Sourdough Panettone

The preparation step by step

1. Check the leaven and the material

   This advanced recipe requires an already established firm sourdough, not a beginning liquid sourdough or baker’s yeast. It must have a sweet smell and rise regularly. Prepare two 750 g paper molds, two pairs of solid pins for panettone, a crochet robot and a probe. Check before starting that the pins can hold horizontally between two stable brackets.

2. Feed the starter three times using the measured quantities

   Mix 20 g of leaven, 40 g of strong bread flour and 20 g of water. Keep at 26-28 °C until it almost triples, often 3 to 4 hours. Take 20 g of this leaven and add 40 g of flour and 20 g of water again; wait for the same development. At the third refreshed, mix 30 g of the previous leaven, 60 g of flour and 30 g of water. Use 90 g when it is well inflated. Unused portions do not go into the dough.

3. Prepare the first kneading

   Dissolve 70 g of sugar in 120 g of water. Pour into the vat with the 260 g of flour, then mix at a small speed until the dough is collected. Add the 90 g of firm leaven into small pieces. Kneaded 8 to 10 minutes by scraping the walls at a standstill; the dough begins to stretch.

4. Add the egg yolks and butter alternately

   Weigh the yolks after separating the eggs: keep exactly 60 g for this dough. Stir them in three additions, then 90 g of soft butter in four small additions. Wait for absorption before continuing. The paste should form a thin membrane when stretching a piece of it. Do not look for this result by letting the robot heat up: interrupt for a few minutes if the dough exceeds 28 °C.

5. Let the first paste triple

   Place in a straight container and mark the starting level. Cover and then keeps around 26 °C, usually 10 to 14 hours, up to a volume close to triple. The volume marker counts more than the duration. If the dough has not developed, do not continue with a second dough loaded with butter and fruit.

6. Prepare fruit and second paste

   Drain and dry the raisins if they have been rinsed; no free water should remain. Weigh 120 g of raisins, 70 g of candied orange and 30 g of citron. Weigh the 50 g of yellows from the second paste. Slice the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds within 20 g of honey.

7. Strengthens the fermented dough

   Put all the first dough in the robot with the 110 g of flour. Knead gently for 5 to 8 minutes until a smooth paste is found. Add the 40 g of sugar in two, then the 50 g of yellows little by little. Add 5 g of salt and vanilla honey. Scrape the bottom to leave no area of flour dry.

8. End the enrichment

   Stir in 60 g of soft butter in four times, then 20 g of water in small spoonfuls, waiting for absorption. The dough becomes shiny and supple, while keeping an extensible membrane. If it tears or heats up, stop and let it cool for a few minutes; do not make up for any unplanned flour.

9. Spread the fruit

   Add raisins, orange and citron and mix 30 to 60 seconds at very low speed. Finish by folding with a spatula to preserve the pieces. Spread the dough on the slightly buttered worktop with a trace taken from the 10 g of butter at the top. Let stand for 20 minutes covered.

10. Stable two-piece shape

    Weigh the dough and divide it into two equal parts, about 600 g each. Gently bring the edges towards the center and then turn each piece and rotate it with your hands to stretch the surface. Place in the two paper molds of 750 g, themselves placed on a plate. The smooth part remains at the top.

11. Wait for the last push

    Cover without squeezing and leaves to rise around 26 °C for about 4 to 8 hours. The dough must arrive at 2 cm from the edge of the paper. Remove the lid for the last 15 minutes to slightly dry the top. Preheat the oven to 170 °C, conventional oven setting (no fan), and prepares the cooling racks.

12. Incise and cook to heart

    With a very clean blade, make a small superficial cross on each top. Spread the remaining summit butter over the two crosses. Bake in the bottom of the oven for 40-50 minutes. At about 40 minutes, control with a probe: aims at 94 °C in the center. Cover from baking paper if the surface is turning too fast.

13. Returns immediately and cooled

    From the exit, pass two pins adapted in the base of the paper of each panettone, about 2 cm from the bottom, then return with the protected hands. Lay the ends of the pins on the verified supports so that the pieces hang without touching the plane. Let it cool for 8 hours. Mounting must be stable and out of reach of children.

14. Cut the next day

    When the heart is cold, return to the place and remove the pins. Cut with a bread knife without crushing the crumb. This sourdough method belongs to the traditional family of panettone, but the proportions proposed are a domestic adaptation, without Milanese certification or promise of professional result.