Moist and Delicious Panettone
This panettone is light and moist, it has the perfect amount of sweetness and it has a subtle orange and lemon flavor. It’s filled with nuts and dried fruits, which makes it the best treat for Christmas time!
Servings: 4 panettones (500g each - 5inch molds)
Ingredients
For the sponge:
- 250 g All-purpose flour
- 220 ml Warm milk
- 20 g Instant yeast or 60 g fresh yeast
For the dough:
- 100 g Granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 Orange
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 220 g Unsalted butter softened
- 120 g Honey
- 1 tsp Orange blossom water optional
- 2 Eggs room temperature
- 2 Egg yolks room temperature
- 500 g All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Salt
For the filling:
- 100 g Walnuts lightly chopped
- 100 g Almonds lightly chopped
- 80 g Raisins
- 80 g Craisins
- 100 g Dried apricots or orange peels
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 ml Brandy can be replaced with water or grape juice
Egg wash:
- 1 Egg white
- 3 Tablespoons powdered/ icing sugar
For the glaze:
- 1 Egg White
- 200 g Powdered/ icing sugar
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- Some whole walnuts and silver pearls to decorate
Instructions
For the Filling:
- Chop the apricots into small pieces, mix them with the raisins and craisins and soak them with the brandy and vanilla extract. Brandy can be replaced with any liqueur, grape juice, or water. Let them rest for at least 2 hours or overnight. Just before adding them to the dough, strain, and pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess liquid.
For the Sponge:
- Mix the warm milk with the yeast and the flour with a spoon or spatula until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 2 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge and remove it an hour before using it.
For the Dough:
- With your fingers, rub the sugar together with the lemon and orange zest until you get moist and scented sugar. This can be done on the spot or 2 to 8 hours before you start mixing the dough.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the sugar with the soft butter until pale and fluffy.
- Add the honey, the orange blossom water, and the egg yolks and combine. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
- Scoop out small pieces of the sponge and add them to the mixture while mixing on low speed until combined.
- Add the flour and the salt and combine. Switch the paddle attachment for the hook and start kneading for 10 minutes at low speed. (It can also be done by hand). Transfer the dough to the counter and finish kneading by hand for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth.
- Make two same-size buns, place each in a bowl lightly oiled, cover, and let rest in a warm place until they double their size. Approximately 2 hours.
- Once they have grown, roll the dough on the counter with a rolling pin to get two rectangles of ¼ inch thickness.
- Distribute the fruits and nuts on both rectangles, spreading them over the entire surface of the dough. Roll up and cut each of the rolls in half. We will obtain 4 rolls. Each one will be a panettone.
- Cut each roll into slices and stack the slices switching positions. Take the stack with your hands and form a bun. Repeat with each of the rolls and place each one in the molds. Place the molds on a baking tray.
- Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise again for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.
- For the egg wash, mix the egg white with the icing sugar with a fork or small whisk. Brush each of the loaves with the egg wash.
- Bake the loaves in a preheated oven at 160°C or 320°F for approximately 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. In the case of using a thermometer, the inside of the bread should be at 78°C or 170°F. Remove from oven and allow to cool before decorating.
For the glaze:
- With a mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg white with the icing sugar and lemon juice until a glossy white icing forms. You can add a little extra lemon juice or water to get a more liquid consistency.
- Pour the glaze on the panettones and immediately place the nuts and the pearls.
- Sprinkle a little more powdered sugar over the nuts for a finishing touch.
- Serve and store covered at room temperature for up to three days.
