Finest Strong White Flour

PANETTONE

Finest Strong White flour

Panettone is a speciality of Milan where bakers compete to make the tallest, lightest, butter-rich loaf.  Sliced like a cake, panettone makes an excellent breakfast treat at Christmas with a pot of special coffee, or as an alternative to Christmas cake; leftovers make the best-ever bread and butter pudding.

Makes 1 panettone

  • 400g Marriage’s Finest Strong White Flour plus extra for
    dusting
  • 1 x 7g sachet easyblend dried yeast
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 2 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons lukewarm water
  • 2 large free-range egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • Grated zest of a large unwaxed lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 175g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 85g best quality sultanas
  • 50g candied orange and lemon peel, finely chopped
  • About 40g unsalted butter for finishing
  • A panettone mould, greased or a 15cm/6in deep round
    cake tin greased and lined with greased greaseproof paper
    and wrapped with foil around the outside.


Mix about 120g of the flour with the dried yeast and the sugar
in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Beat the two
whole eggs with the water and pour in to the well. Mix in the
flour to make a thick batter. Sprinkle the top with a little of the
reserved flour to prevent a skin forming. Leave for about an
hour until bubbly and light.


Add the egg yolks, vanilla and lemon zest to the bowl and mix
in, then gradually work 175g of the remaining flour combined
with the salt to make a soft and very sticky dough. Cut up the
butter and add it to the bowl. Work it in by squeezing the
dough through your fingers until the butter is thoroughly
incorporated and there are no streaks. Turn out the dough on
to a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes, working
in the rest of the weighed flour, until very soft, satiny and
pliable but not sticky. Return the dough to the bowl, slip the
bowl into a large plastic bag and leave to rise at normal or
slightly warm room temperature until almost doubled in size
(about 2 to 21/2 hours).


Punch down the risen dough to deflate, leave it in the bowl and
cover as before. Leave to rise again until doubled in size (about
1 to 11/2 hours).


Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured work
surface. Toss the sultanas and chopped peels with 1 teaspoon
flour to prevent them sticking together in the dough. Sprinkle
them over the dough and gently knead with lightly floured
hands until they are evenly distributed (2 to 3 minutes).
Shape the dough into a ball and drop it into the prepared tin.
Using the tip of a long, sharp knife cut a cross in the top of the
dough. Cover lightly or slip the tin into a large plastic bag and
leave to rise at normal to warm room temperature until doubled
in size (about 1 hour). Towards the end of the rising time, heat
the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.


To finish: melt all but 15g of the butter and use half to brush the
top of the dough. Put the final 15g knob of butter in the centre
of the cross then bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the loaf starts
to colour, then brush again with melted butter.

Lower the oven temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and bake for

a further 30 to 40 minutes until a good golden brown and a skewer

inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove the tin from the oven;
the panettone will be fragile so stand it, still in the tin, on a wire
rack for 5 to 10 minutes so the crust firms up. Gently unmould
the loaf and place it on its side on the rack and leave to cool
completely before slicing.

Panettone