The second recipe in this series is inspired by Marianne Calver’s “White Christmas”. Big family dinners, breaking bread together and at least one person feeling like their life isn’t together compared to those around them feels very apt for Christmas. Originally, this was supposed to be a good old fashioned recipe for an Italian Pandoro. However, much like our protagonist, being together enough to attempt such a complex recipe was not in the cards for this novice bread maker! But, the tin had been bought and the ingredients, so determination took over and a much easier recipe for a Panettone was decided on. Sultanas and raisins are usually the preferred choice of filling for these sweet breads but the chocolate mixed with the flavourings in this dough give it an almost liqueur-like taste. Absolutely delicious!
**This is a gluten free recipe but you can sub in your flour of choice **
Recipe for two small Pandettones or one large Pandettone
1/3 cup whole milk, warmed
14g active dry yeast
3 cups strong white flour of choice (this recipe uses Caputo 00 Gluten Free flour)
1/4 cup caster sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 large beaten egg for brushing
1 1/2 teaspoons ground salt
225g unsalted butter plus some for greasing
1/2 tsp Sicilian lemon extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
1/2 tsp valencian orange extract
2 cups dark chocolate chips
Olive/vegetable oil for greasing
Equipment Note
You’ll need a stand mixer with dough hook and a Pandoro tin. This recipe used a Decora 62687 Anodised Aluminium Pandoro Mould, Silver, 15 x 19 x 19 cm from Amazon.
If you don’t have a stand mixer you could attempt this by hand (as these breads are a historic feature before stand mixers were invented!) but it will take much longer.
Method
- Start with adding your warm milk and yeast to a bowl (using the bowl from your mixer for ease). Leave to bubble for 5 minutes.
- Add in 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 cup of flour and mix to combine. Cover and set aside to rise in a warm place for an hour.
- Uncover, then add in the remaining sugar, flour, salt and 4 of the beaten eggs. Using your mixer, start to beat the dough on a medium speed.
- When a stiff ball has formed (about 5 minutes), add in 25g increments of butter. Allow each a few minutes to fully incorporate into the dough before adding the next one.
- Once the butter is combined, add in the extracts and chocolate chips and incorporate into the dough.
- Cover the bowl in cling film ensuring there are no gaps, then leave in a very warm place for at least 2 hours. Depending on conditions you may need more.
- After the dough has risen, gently transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover again and stick it in the fridge overnight to cold proof.
- The next day, take the bowl out and empty it onto a floured surface. If making two mini Pandettones, divide the mixture in two. As I only had one Pandoro tin, I kept the other half of the mixture covered while I worked on the first. If you’re making one big Pandettone you can simply empty onto a floured surface and gently shape into a ball.
- Grease your Pandoro tin with butter, then place your dough into the tin. Cover tightly and leave in a warm place for at least 2 hours or until your dough has risen as much as it can.
- Preheat your oven to 150 for fan or 170 degrees non-fan.
- Very lightly brush the top of the dough with the remaining beaten egg (if you’re making two, use half of the egg for each), then place your tin in the oven for about 45-50 minutes.
- When cooked, invert the tin and (if you can wait) allow to cool. The great thing about using a Pandoro tin is that the “bottom” of your bread will be star shaped so you can present it upside down if you wish. You could also dust with icing sugar if you wish.
We hope you enjoy making this recipe and can share it with your loved ones this Christmas 
