Best Saffron Panettone With Crushed Sugar Topping Recipes

PANETTONE

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast over milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle 2 ounces flour (about 1/2 cup) and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar over top. Cover with plastic, and let stand for 1 hour.
• Add remaining 12 ounces flour and 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, the beaten eggs, and the salt. Mix together on medium speed until dough forms a smooth, stiff ball, about 5 minutes. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix dough on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add extracts, orange peel, and raisins. Mix until combined.
• Turn out dough onto a clean surface, and form into a ball. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic, and refrigerate overnight.
• Bring dough to room temperature, and divide in half. Form each half into a ball; place each in a 5 1/4-by-3 3/4-inch paper panettone mold or a small brown paper bag that has been rolled down to about 5 inches. Transfer to a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly beat remaining egg. Brush egg wash onto panettone dough, and sprinkle with pearl sugar and almonds. Bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes.
• Remove molds from oven, and run two wooden skewers horizontally through the center of each panettone loaf. Hang loaves upside down by propping ends of each skewer on 2 large heavy canisters or cans. Let cool completely.

ORANGE AND SAFFRON PANETTONE

Steps:

• Prepare the sponge the night before you mix the dough: Mix 1.5 cups all-purpose flour with 1/8 teaspoon yeast in a bowl. Add 2/3 cup cool water. Cover with plastic wrap and let sponge stand at room temperature 8 hours to overnight.
• Toss raisins with Cointreau in a bowl. Mix orange and lemon peel in with raisins and add an extra tablespoon of Cointreau and let them soften, if they are on the hard side. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 8 hours to overnight.
• Pour milk into a saucepan and crumble in saffron threads; heat just to a simmer. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer, taking care to get all of the saffron bits into the bowl. Let cool to just barely warm (110 degrees F) or room temperature.
• Transfer sponge to a mixing bowl, breaking up slightly with a spoon. Mix in eggs, stirring a few times by hand. Add 2 1/3 cups bread flour, sugar, 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast, and salt. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed for about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl occasionally; the dough will be very loose.
• Switch to the dough hook attachment and increase speed to medium. Add butter, one piece at a time, mixing until each piece is fully incorporated. Increase to high speed for 1 minute if the mixer can handle it; the dough should be climbing the dough hook and starting to clear the sides of the bowl. Add soaked raisins, orange peel, and lemon peel. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes; the fruit may not be fully dispersed.
• Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Flop the dough over itself a couple of times (it's a little too wet to fold), cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise for 60 minutes.
• Fold dough a few times to release gas and mix in fruit. Cover again with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
• Turn the dough onto a floured work space. Divide in half and shape into 2 balls. Place each ball seam-side down in a 6" paper panettone form and set on a baking sheet. Beat egg with water, and brush egg wash onto each loaf. Cover panettone forms loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Brush loaves with egg wash again and sprinkle pearl sugar on top.
• Place baking sheet in the hot oven, immediately reducing the temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking until a tester inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean, about 20 minutes more. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

CHEF JOHN'S PANETTONE

Steps:

• The day before baking, mix flour, cold water, and sourdough starter together in a bowl. Cover and leave out at room temperature, 8 hours to overnight.
• At the same time, combine raisins, cherries, and pineapple in a separate bowl. Stir in rum. Let fruit soak, tossing occasionally, 8 hours to overnight.
• Pour warm water into large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Add yeast and let dissolve for 10 minutes. Add eggs, 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, vanilla extract, orange zest, and lemon zest. Whisk together. Scoop in the panettone starter. Add flour and salt.
• Knead until dough is very smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides if needed. Add butter; knead until butter is completely mixed in and dough is soft and somewhat sticky, about 5 minutes. Transfer to your work surface.
• Toss and fold your dough into a rough ball shape using wet fingers and a bench scraper. Transfer dough back to the bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.
• Transfer dough back to your work surface and shape into a rough ball. Place into a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight.
• Remove dough from the bag and press out into a flat rectangle. Sprinkle with flour and roll out to at least 1/2-inch thickness. Spread the dried fruit all over the surface. Roll dough up into a log, sealing in the fruit. Roll both ends of the log toward the middle and smooth it over into a ball.
• Place dough ball into a short, wide paper panettone mold. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until dough is at least 2/3 of the way up the sides, 3 to 4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix egg and water together and brush mixture on top of the panettone. Cut 2 slits crosswise on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until beautifully browned, 40 to 45 minutes. Poke 2 skewers through either side of the panettone and flip it over into a panettone hole or a Dutch oven. Let cool upside-down for 2 hours.
• Pull out the skewers and slice into pieces.

SAFFRON PANETTONE WITH CRUSHED SUGAR TOPPING

Steps:

• Combine milk, cardamom pods, and saffron in small saucepan; bring to simmer. Swirl pan to distribute saffron; remove from heat. Cover and let steep until instant-read thermometer inserted into milk mixture registers 110°F, about 20 minutes.
• Strain milk mixture into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; discard solids in strainer. Sprinkle yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar over milk mixture. Let stand until yeast is dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes. Mix in remaining 1/2 cup sugar, butter, 4 eggs, and salt. Add 2 cups flour and beat on low speed until smooth. Increase speed to medium. Gradually add 2 1/2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Beat in candied orange peel and raisins. Continue beating until dough pulls away fromsides of bowl in long stretchy strands, about 3 minutes (dough will be sticky). Butter large bowl; scrape dough into bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then towel. Let rise in warm draft-free area until doubled, about 2 hours.
• Butter 10x4-inch angel food cake pan. Using rubber spatula, press lightly on dough to release air. Turn out onto lightly floured surface; form into 18- to 20-inch rope. Transfer to prepared pan and wrap around center tube, pushing and pinching ends together and pressing top of dough slightly with rubber spatula to distribute evenly. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, then towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Brush top of dough with beaten egg white. Sprinkle with crushed sugar cubes. Bake until golden brown and tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan on rack about 30 minutes. Turn out onto rack to cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil; store at room temperature.)
• *Candied orange peel can be found at specialty foods stores or at chefshop.com.
• Baker's wisdom:
• Beating the dough until it forms stretchy strands traps air bubbles that expand with heatthus helping the dough rise.