Pandoro (Veronese Christmas bread)

Yield 1 1 kg pandoro · Scaling: source batch only

Method

1. Make the biga: stir 60 g flour, 30 g water and 3 g crumbled yeast briefly with a spoon or fork, without kneading. Cover and leave at room temperature for 8 hours. It may not rise much during this stage.
2. For the first dough, put the biga, 150 g flour, 45 g sugar, 5 g crumbled yeast and 110 g room-temperature egg in a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
3. Round the dough and place it in a tall covered bowl. Let it rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, until doubled; the time is approximate. Refrigerate for 14 hours.
4. Mix the honey with the scraped vanilla pulp and grated lemon and orange zest. Cover and leave at room temperature until needed.
5. Remove the first dough from the refrigerator, keep it covered and let it stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
6. For the second dough, put 230 g flour and 125 g sugar in the mixer. Add 50 g water and the first dough; mix at moderate speed.
7. Beat together 110 g room-temperature egg and 30 g egg yolks. Once the water is absorbed, add the egg mixture gradually. Add the salt after a few minutes.
8. When the eggs are absorbed, add the aromatic honey. Mix on medium-low until the dough comes together. To limit heating, stop the mixer after each 10 minutes of kneading and rest the dough for 5 minutes. When the dough is elastic and well developed, cover and rest it for 10 minutes.
9. Resume mixing and add the 150 g soft butter gradually, waiting for each piece to be absorbed before adding the next. Rest the dough, covered, for 10 minutes.
10. Butter and flour a 1 kg pandoro mould. Briefly mix the dough again, transfer it with moistened hands to a lightly buttered surface, and fold it over itself a couple of times. Rest uncovered for 5 minutes.
11. Give the dough two more rounds of reinforcing folds, with 10 minutes between rounds. Shape it and place it in the mould.
12. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, leaving room for expansion. Proof at room temperature for 4–6 hours, until the dough reaches the mould's rim.
13. Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 170°C for 55–60 minutes, until golden. Check the centre with a food thermometer; the source gives 92°C as its endpoint.
14. Cool in the mould at room temperature for 30 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.
15. Store the completely cooled loaf in a sealed plastic food bag to limit drying. It gives no storage duration.

Conditions

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