Panettone

[Pablo]

The Italian "fruitcake" of the G0DS. The excellent texture not chewy, but not crumbly - sweet but not too sweet - it's an egg bread but really a yeast bread that is almost a 2 day process. The flavor has a depth to it, exotic almost ethereal - just this tiny earth smokiness with a tiny bitterness that is not really discernable. I can't use words to describe it. Nothing like an American fruitcake. This is a tall cake.

I couldn't find any good picts on the web. BEWARE of the web recipes - they LOOK terrible.

I doubt many of you have had a real homemade panettone. If you like to bake yeast breads, I say get 2 or 3 Italian bread cookbooks and start trying. I will PM you my secret ingredients, but then I'd have to shoot you. To make it right will take a few years. Not that your duds will be inedible, just not right. You can use a big coffee can or the HUGE food cans (not sure what size they are) - they will work - but really you'll need a true panettone pan.

You can buy the used ones at Trader Joes, Cost Plus Imports (I think) and other stores. They are OK to get a feel for the thing - but they are mass produced knock-offs IMHO.

 

[moribundman]

My problem with panettone is anise. I can't stand that spice. I especially dislike it in pizza dough, but I also don't care for it in sweet yeast dough or in cookies. I've had anise-free panettone, though.

 

[Pablo]

I actually don't add anise seed to mine - sometimes I use like a 1/4 drop of anise oil but it's not really perceptable.

I LOVE ANISE COOKIES!

Dude - you have some real food hatreds. Is there a Dr. for that sort of thing? I

anise
stilton cheese
etc
(there is another one on tip of my salivary gland but I can't spit it out)

 

[moribundman]

Oh, I got a beef, hee-hee, with a multitude of foods. I'm a discriminating eater. I'm a gourmand and a gourmet!

 

[tdi-rick]

mmmm, Panattone...
luckily a friend of mine is Italian and has a small, boutique Italian bakery in our little country village.
Everything they bake is sourdough. (not sure about the Panattone ??)
Currently baking on alternate days, Panattone, Ciabatta, ciabatta with olives (mmmmmmm), and I just finished off some of their Rosemary 'Leaves' .....

 

[Pablo]

Lucky!

Chat it up with the baker - lemme know what he says about panettone!

 

[tdi-rick]

Hey Pabs,
the Panattone is also a sourdough !
Takes two days to rise.
I didn't realise they had a website until today http://www.baccos.com.au/

 

[Pablo]

In some respects, panettone is a "sourdough". Made with wild yeast.........wow - too bad he didn't have a cut view of one. How's it taste?

 

[tdi-rick]

pretty darn good. Sorry, but I'm terrible at describing flavours, so I wont even try. (hows that for a cop-out

)
I nearly made myself ill pigging out on it last night. I'm lucky the other half doesn't care too much for it, so it's all mine muahaha !

I don't think there is any anise in it,(at least not that I can taste. We tend to call it aniseed)
Their Tatos have Fennel in them (yum) which is very similar in flavour to aniseed, and I think a litle more traditional in Mediterranian cooking ? There is a heck of a lot of Fennel growing wild around here at this time of the year, and we often grab the leaves and chop it up to throw in cooking and salads. Maybe not as strong a flavour as the seeds, but it's pretty good.

 

[bar1]

Cake/Sweets are not my favourite but I must say that Panettone is very good.
I live close to a Italian (his grandparents were Italian) that makes these cakes in his bakery. Fantastic..