Pandoro Veronese

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer with dough hook
• •Pandoro mold (1 kg capacity) or tall panettone mold
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Long wooden skewer for testing doneness
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Fine-mesh sieve for dusting

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the biga

   In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Let it stand for 5 minutes until slightly foamy. Add the flour and mix until you have a rough, shaggy dough. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature (70-75°F) for 12 hours, or overnight. The biga should triple in size and smell yeasty and slightly tangy.

   Temperature matters. Too cold and the yeast sleeps. Too warm and it exhausts itself. A consistent room temperature produces the best results.
2. 2

   Make the first dough

   Place the risen biga in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the 150g flour, 65g sugar, and three egg yolks. Mix on low speed until combined, then increase to medium and knead for 8 minutes. The dough will be sticky. Add the 50g soft butter in three additions, mixing until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth, elastic, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes more.

   A stand mixer is essential. This dough is too sticky and requires too much kneading for hand work. Do not attempt it without one.
3. 3

   First rise

   Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place (75-80°F) until tripled in volume, 4 to 5 hours. The dough should be puffy and airy, filled with bubbles when you look at it from the side of the bowl.

4. 4

   Make the second dough

   Return the risen dough to the mixer bowl. Add the 200g flour, 100g sugar, five egg yolks, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest. Mix on low until combined, then knead on medium for 10 minutes. The dough will seem impossibly wet at first. Do not add more flour. Add the 200g soft butter in five or six additions, waiting until each is fully absorbed before adding the next. This process takes 15 to 20 minutes. The finished dough should be very soft but pull away from the bowl cleanly. It will feel silky and slightly tacky.

   The butter must be soft, almost at the point of melting, but not liquid. If it melts into the dough rather than being absorbed, the texture will suffer. Keep your butter at cool room temperature.
5. 5

   Second rise

   Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl (it will expand considerably). Cover tightly and let rise in a warm place until tripled again, 5 to 6 hours. You may also refrigerate the dough overnight at this stage, then bring it to room temperature for 2 hours before proceeding. The slow, cold rise develops flavor.

6. 6

   Shape the pandoro

   Generously butter a pandoro mold, making sure to coat every crevice of the star pattern. On a lightly floured surface, gently deflate the dough and shape it into a smooth ball by tucking the edges underneath. Place it seam-side down in the prepared mold. The dough should fill the mold about one-third full. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap.

7. 7

   Final rise

   Let the dough rise until it reaches just below the rim of the mold, 3 to 4 hours at warm room temperature. Do not let it rise above the rim or it will collapse in the oven. The surface should dome slightly and feel pillowy when touched gently.

   Patience here is critical. Rushing the final rise produces a dense, heavy bread. The dough tells you when it is ready by its height and its feel.
8. 8

   Bake the pandoro

   Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Bake the pandoro until deeply golden brown and a long skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. The internal temperature should reach 190°F (88°C). If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil after 30 minutes.

9. 9

   Cool completely

   Let the pandoro cool in the mold for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack. It must cool completely, at least 4 hours or overnight, before slicing. The structure needs time to set. Cutting into it warm will compress the crumb.

10. 10

    Dust and serve

    Mix the powdered sugar with the vanilla seeds or vanilla powder. Place the pandoro in a large paper bag, add the vanilla sugar, and shake vigorously to coat. Alternatively, dust generously using a fine-mesh sieve. Slice horizontally into star-shaped layers and stack them slightly offset to resemble a Christmas tree. Serve within three days for best texture.

Chef Tips

• •A proper pandoro mold is worth seeking out. The eight-pointed star shape is not decoration; it creates more surface area for the vanilla sugar to cling to and makes the horizontal slices dramatic. If you cannot find one, a tall panettone mold or a kugelhopf pan will work, though the shape will differ.
• •Use the best butter you can afford. European-style butter with higher fat content produces the most tender crumb. The butter should taste sweet and fresh, not refrigerator-stale.
• •Egg yolks give pandoro its golden color. Eggs from pasture-raised hens, with their deep orange yolks, produce the most beautiful bread. Pale supermarket eggs produce pale bread.
• •If your kitchen is cold, create a warm rising environment by placing the covered dough in an oven with only the light turned on. The bulb generates just enough warmth.

Advance Preparation

• •Begin the biga the evening before you plan to bake. The full process takes approximately 30 hours from start to finish.
• •After the second rise, the dough can be refrigerated overnight. This cold fermentation develops a more complex flavor. Allow 2 hours at room temperature before shaping.
• •Baked pandoro keeps well wrapped in plastic at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. It can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and refresh briefly in a 300°F oven if desired.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)