Homemade panettone and chocolate: easy recipe, without mysteries

Did you think making panettone was difficult? Learn with this simple step-by-step guide and create your own panettone (or chocotone) at home

The traditional panettone recipe, to be made with candied fruit or chocolate (chocotone)

Recipe for 2 people.

Classic (no restrictions), Vegetarian

Preparation: 06:00 + time to hydrate the dried fruit (panettone) + further growth time

Break: 05:00

TOOLS

1 bowl(s), 1 spatula(s), 1 mold(s) or more – paper or improvised (see recipe)

EQUIPMENT

traditional + mixer with hook whisk (optional)

METERS

cup = 240 ml, spoon = 15 ml, teaspoon = 10 ml, teaspoon = 5 ml

Ingredients Candied Fruit (Panetone)

– 30 g of black raisins

– 30 g of white raisins

– 60 g of candied fruit

– 30 g of almonds – use the shelled almonds and chop them into smaller pieces. (or flaked almonds)

– orange to taste – zest – (we recommend 2/3 tablespoons of coffee every 500 g, or as much as you want)

– lemon to taste – zest – (we recommend 2/3 tablespoons of coffee per 500g, or as much as you want)

– 25 ml lemon (juice)

– 25 ml of orange (juice)

– 25 ml dark rum (or dry red wine)

– nutmeg to taste

Chocolate ingredients

– 150 g of milk chocolate – use it if you are preparing chocotone and, in this case, do not use candied fruit. (or dark chocolate)

Basic Panettone Dough Ingredients

– 280 g of special wheat flour for bread, with 12% protein (see package).

– 115ml whole milk (heated to 37oC)

– 15 g of fresh yeast (or divide this quantity by 3 to use dry yeast)

– 4 eggs (large), yolks only (12 g each).

– 50 g of sugar (consider 1/4 cup of tea with 50 g)

– 17 drops of panettone essence (or almond essence)

– 2 g of salt (consider a spoonful of coffee as 2.5 g)

– 90 g unsalted butter, at room temperature – ointment.

Ingredients TO COMPLETE:

– 1 teaspoon of unsalted butter, + a little, if you like (see recipe) and for brushing.

– icing sugar to taste, for sprinkling. (optional)

PREPARATION:

1. The recipe for 2 people yields a 500g panettone. If you want to prepare 1 panettone weighing 1kg, remember to adjust the quantity at the top for 4 people.
2. To make panettone it is necessary to hydrate the candied fruit. Mix all the ingredients: dried fruit, almonds, candied fruit, lemon zest, orange zest, lemon and orange juice, rum and nutmeg. Cover and leave to hydrate for a few hours, preferably for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
3. Separate the utensils and ingredients for the recipe. To make this recipe you will need paper panettone molds: Capacity: 500g: Measurement: 9.5cm (height) x 13.4cm (diameter), Capacity: 1kg, Measurement: 10cm (height), 17cm in diameter.
   • If you have to improvise a disposable panettone mold for preparation, grease a round baking pan or a rim of the desired size for the base of the panettone, line the bottom and sides with baking paper.
   • To make the edges, cut a folded piece of baking paper 10cm high and fit the paper ring inside this shape or ring.
4. In addition to the molds, you will also need 2 barbecue sticks for each panettone.
5. This recipe can be made by hand, but since the dough is very sticky, it will be much easier to prepare it with the mixer, using the dough hook. To handle the dough, the advice is to always wet your hands and avoid adding more flour.

PREPARATION:

I) Pre-fermentation:

1. Heat the milk to 37°C (warm): it should be at your body temperature. Do not heat above this temperature otherwise you risk killing the yeast.
2. Add the yeast, use a very fresh one, and dissolve it in the milk.
3. Place the wheat flour in a bowl.
4. Make a well in the centre, add the warm milk and the yeast.
5. Sprinkle the flour over the milk.
6. Cover with cling film and leave to ferment for 45 minutes or until bubbling and the floured surface “cracks”.

II) Panettone dough:

1. Add the egg yolks, essence and sugar to the bowl with the flour and milk + yeast.
2. Knead until you obtain a soft dough. Finally add the salt.
3. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth.
4. Place it in a bowl lightly dusted with flour, cover with a damp cloth and leave to ferment at room temperature until it doubles in volume: the estimated time is 1 and a half hours.
5. Remove the butter from the refrigerator, it should be used at room temperature and softened.
6. Separate the chocolate (chocotone) or if you are preparing traditional panettone, drain the dried fruit well. If you don’t use chocolate chips you can chop the chocolate irregularly and set it aside.

III) Final Mass:

1. Add the butter at room temperature, mix into the mixture until completely absorbed.
2. Finally add the candied fruit or chocolate chips.
3. Form a smooth ball, spreading the chocolate or fruit well.
4. Divide the dough into portions, based on the number of panettone and weight. If you have a scale, weigh it and divide it.
5. Roll out until a smooth, taut dough forms at the top: flour the work surface, turn the dough by pulling the 4 corners towards the centre. Turn and rotate on the counter, smoothing the top.
6. Transfer to pan(s). Beat well, flattening the dough with your closed fist so that it fits the shape of the pan. – for a better result, this recipe has been calculated to fill 60% of the 500g or 1kg mould.
7. Cover the panettone(s) with a high baking tray or other utensil that does not prevent it from growing beyond the height of the edge. You can also use another shape of panettone mounted upside down,
8. Let it double in volume again (it must be very high, at least up to the height of the mould, but for the calculated quantities it must exceed this height by 10%).
9. Attention: the final growth time may vary: in the last test, it remained at a temperature of 30°C for 1 whole night to reach the desired height, be patient, as the panettone only increases in volume by 10% during cooking that is, if it does not reach the height in the final growth, it will not be in the oven that it will reach. To facilitate the growth process, one tip is to leave it in a “warmer” place, such as in the microwave or in the oven with the oven turned off.

IV) Cook

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. Melt a little butter and brush the surface of the panettone.
3. Make a cut at the top. Place the finishing butter on top of this cut – be careful: this cut “sinks” the panettone a little, if you don’t want to run this risk don’t do it, it can be done in a second step (point 5).
4. Take the panettone(s) to be cooked, cover it when it starts to brown.
5. Before putting it back in the oven, if you wish, add another quantity of butter (see ingredients), which should now have expanded: this means doubling the recommended quantity, but it will add more moisture to your panettone.
6. Lower the temperature to 160°C.
7. Leave to bake for another 30 minutes for 500 g of panettone, or 50 minutes for 1 kg – this time may vary in each oven – monitor.
8. To check if they are cooked, insert a barbecue toothpick and check that it comes out “dry”, without any dough residue, just with a little moisture from the melted butter.
9. Remove from the oven and check whether the panettone has absorbed all the butter.
10. Brush with a little more melted butter.
11. Insert the barbecue sticks and leave them upside down, hanging between high pans: it is a tradition among bakers and the function is to prevent them from wilting.
12. Optionally, you can dust with icing sugar.

FINALIZATION AND ASSEMBLY:

1. Stored in closed plastic: shelf life is 5 days.
2. To serve, remove from pan and cut into slices.

Do you want to make this recipe? Access the shopping list, HERE.

To see this recipe for 2, 6, 8 people, Click here.

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Source: Terra

Ben

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.