While the cooking adventures have not stopped, we've been rather remiss over the last few months about putting up a post. Clearly, though, this year's panettone experiment deserves a bit of reflection.
This is the third year we've attempted panettone. Perfection has yet to be achieved, but we have learned from mistakes along the way. In take 1, I was doubtful about the large amount of yeast called for and reduced the amount added over-enthusiastically. Result? Extra dense panettone. In take 2, we made the largest of the loaves way too big. Result? Takes forever to cook and is nearly impossible to hang upside down to cool (split in half by its own weight when we hung it from skewers poked through the middle).
Unfortunately, in take 3, while I added plenty of yeast, the dough didn't rise as well as I was hoping. So in spite of my best efforts, this year's panettone was still slightly more dense than ideal. But, we did manage to find the proper paper panettone molds this time, which made it much easier to make loaves of a reasonable size and to hang them. While panettone molds are no where to be found in Italy (everyone I spoke to in kitchen stores thought I was insane for attempting to actually make panettone), for some reason they're readily available in the States (perhaps because american bakers are more brave? or perhaps because we're more insane...depends on your point of view I suppose).
As always, hanging the panettone upside down to cool was a bit of a trick because the candied fruit made the bread quite heavy. But between chopsticks, dish towels, and string, we managed to hang it over night without mishap. Now, the reason to hang panettone upside down is to prevent it from falling as it cools. Given this panettone didn't have much falling it could do since it didn't rise as much as it should have, the hanging may have been pointless. But it is the most entertaining part of panettone making, so why pass it up right?
The other change in this year's panettone was making our own canditi. Perhaps because I didn't look until after Christmas, I couldn't find any candied citrus in the store, so we bought lemons, oranges, and a pomello and candied the rinds ourselves. They came out pretty well but were messy to work with because we couldn't get them to dry out properly (the level of humidity here in Portland is impressively high). And so in addition to coaxing the dough to rise better next year, my other planned improvement is making the canditi a few days ahead of time in hopes that they become more firm and less sticky before they need to be used.
While the end result was a bit too dense (and possibly slightly over cooked), the flavor was excellent again. And, the left-over panettone makes for some amazing french toast!
