PANDORO RECIPES

Steps:

• The evening before preparing the pandoro, make the poolish by mixing all the ingredients (Manitoba flour, yeast, and water) until you'll get a homogeneous loaf. Place the dough in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise overnight;
• The following day, start the first dough for pandoro by kneading the poolish with Manitoba flour, crumbled fresh yeast and sugar;
• Start to knead and add the egg, leaving the stand mixer to work until all the ingredients are well blended;
• Quickly work the dough on a floured surface, then place it in a glass bowl, cover it with cling paper, and put it to rise for a couple of hours in a hot oven with the light on or let it rise for 4-5 hours at room temperature. In both cases, the dough should double in volume;
• Once doubled in size, resume the dough and put it back into the stand mixer. Add the honey, the peel of half a lemon, the seeds of the vanilla pod, the 200 grams of Manitoba flour and the 70 grams of sugar;
• Start kneading at low speed then gradually add eggs and egg yolks, making sure that you've incorporated all the ingredients in the mixture;
• Slowly add the soft butter cut into cubes, letting the mixer continue to work. When the butter is incorporated into the other elements, stop the planetary and transfer the dough to a non-floured work surface;
• Make the folds to the mixture, ie, folding it first towards you and then from above to below. Then make a ball of smooth and compact dough and place it inside the buttered and floured mold;
• Place the tin inside the oven with the light on and let the pandoro leaven for 8-10 hours or let it rise at room temperature for 10-12 hours. In this case, the dough must reach the edge of the mold to be considered ready;
• Cook the pandoro at 140° C making sure to place a bowl full of water on the bottom of the oven to maintain constant humidity and help the pandoro not only to cook evenly but also not to dry out;
• Your pandoro will be ready when it is golden on top, and the spaghetti/toothpick test will be dry inside. Remove from the oven, let it cool for 30-40 minutes, then remove it from the mold, place it in a wire rack and cover with icing sugar!

Steps:

• Place 1 Tablespoon flour, yeast and 1 Tablespoon lukewarm water in a bowl, and mix together well.
• Cover and let stand in a warm place for 20 minutes.
• In another bowl, place 3/4 cup flour, 1 Tablespoon sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk and 1 Tablespoon melted butter.
• Mix together a little, and add the yeast mixture.
• Work together well 5 minutes, cover bowl and let rise in warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
• Place 1 1/3 cups flour on pastry board, 2 Tablespoons sugar, 2 Tablespoons melted butter, 1 egg, 2 egg yolks, vanilla and salt and mix together a little.
• Add yeast dough and work well with hands (knead) for 10 minutes.
• Add 2 Tablespoons flour and work well until dough does not stick to hands or board.
• Make a ball of the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 3 hours.
• Roll dough into a sheet 2 inches thick and dot with 3/4 cup cold butter which has been cut into little pieces.
• Fold dough over 3 times (like a business letter) and roll out as before.
• Let dough stand (rest) for 20 minutes.
• Fold dough over 3 times again, and roll flat and let stand 20 minutes.
• Repeat the procedure (folding, rolling and resting) one more time.
• Grease a 2-quart cake form (pan) and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar.
• Place dough in form and let rise until dough reaches top edge of form (about 1 hour).
• Bake in a 400°F oven for 15 minutes, lower heat to 350°F and bake 30 minutes longer, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Turn cake over on a rack and cool.
• Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.
• NOTE: Pandoro forms/molds hold 2 quarts by volume, and are roughly 10 inches wide (across the top), about 4 inches wide (across the bottom) and usually 5 to 6 inches deep.
• Here is a picture of one: [img]http://www.fantes.com/images/21425-1pandoro_small.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.fantes.com/images/21425-3pandoro_small.jpg[/img].