Pandoro

Pandoro is one of those desserts that cannot be missing on the Italian tables during the Christmas holidays. Originally from the city of Verona, it’s easily recognizable by its typical truncated cone shape, with an eight-pointed section, clearly recalling that of a star. Although it requires just a few ingredients (including flour, eggs, butter and sugar), their processing gives birth to a soft specialty, with a unique taste and golden reflections: a true ‘Golden Bread’ (‘Pan d’Oro’), thus its name.

In the late 1800s, the Kingdom of Italy granted a 3-year license to pastry chef Domenico Melegatti to produce a tall, star-shaped cake called “pandoro,” which he trademarked in 1894. Nowadays, the true gold of the past may be gone, but pandoro’s golden color remains, thanks to the rich egg yolks in the recipe.

This Recipe Pandora is recommended by my Italian freind Nicoal when i was thinking what to do for christmas. I am so thankful for this wonderful recipe. This cake really makes you feel the festival. Method looks complicated but trust me it’s really easy to make. This recipe made me feel like the master of baking hahaha.

Ingredients

Biga (Pre-fermentation) :

• 45g Manitoba flour
• 30ml water
• 5g fresh brewer’s yeast (or 5/3g dry)

Primary dough :

• Biga
• 90g Manitoba flour
• 20g sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 7g fresh brewer’s yeast (or 7/3g dry)

Secondary dough :

• Primary Dough
• 210g Manitoba flour
• 90g sugar
• 2 medium eggs and 1 yolk
• 1 teaspoon of neutral honey
• 1/2 vanilla sugar
• zest of half a lemon
• 125g butter

Method

Biga :

• Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water, gradually add the flour step by step and knead with your hands.
• Leave to rest overnight in the oven at 30 degrees.

Primary dough :

• Knead the biga with the manitoba flour and sugar.
• Add the yeast (if dry, dissolve it in a tablespoon of water) and the egg. Continue kneading until dough is well mixed.
• Roll out onto a floured surface and make holes with your fingers and fold the dough over on itself.
• Form a ball and leave to rise for 2 hours in the oven at 30 degrees

Secondary dough :

• Add the manitoba flour and sugar to the Primary dough.
• Knead by adding the eggs, the honey, the vanilla and lemon zest (add the ingredients one by one).
• Finally add 20g butter and continue to knead until firm (chill in the fridge if necessary).
• Grease the work surface with butter, roll out the dough, spread the dough, apply butter on it and fold the dough over itself.
• Repeat the operation for the complete butter.
• Form a ball by gathering the corners of the dough.
• Place the dough in the (buttered) mould form with the folds facing upwards.
• Leave to rise (covered with foil) in the oven at 30 degrees for 8-12 hours.

Baking :

• Carefully take the mould out of the oven and turn on the oven at 180 degrees.
• Once the temperature is reached, turn the oven down to 160 degrees (do not open the oven any further!).
• After 25 minutes place a sheet of aluminium foil over the form to prevent the bottom from burning. bake it for 55 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and after remove from the mould after 30 minutes.
• Pandora is ready to enjoy !!!!!