December 24, 2012 - 12:27pm
Yeasted Panettone with Buttermilk?
After a 600 mile drive down the east coast, my firm starter gave up on life and got really gooey and sluggish. Poor thing.
I can't afford to wait on its recovery, so I'll forge on without it. I am planning on making a yeasted panettone. I've done this before, and I found that it lacks the depth of flavor that naturally leavened panettone has. I assume (correct me if I'm wrong) that some of this depth comes from lactic acid, which imparts a pleasant tang. I was wondering if any of you have tried substituting buttermilk in place of water to enhance flavor. Also, should buttermilk be scalded beforehand?
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I don't think you can scald buttermilk. It will almost surely curdle(separate into solids and whey). That's what happened to me, but it's not like I was objectively experimenting. Maybe I let it get too hot, too fast. Let us know if you try it.
I like to make my own buttermilk from from milk that has already been scalded. But of course there are always those that say scalding the milk makes no difference in breadmaking anyway.
I think buttermilk may affect that "shreddy" texture so many pannetones have.
Another route may be to try recipes made with a yeasted starter(poolish). Maybe let it get good and ripe. KAF website has several delicious looking pannetone recipes with yeasted starters. Never tried one myself, but always wanted to.
Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.