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This one was inspired by the Cheeseboard Collective’s delicious Hobrot, but has been adapted to be more similar to my usual sourdough loaves (eg the original recipe called for an egg and this has none). Love a worker-owned co-op <3

Ingredients:

• 95% T85 flour (I used cairnspring mills trailblazer)
• 5% whole dark rye
• 80% hydration
• 20% levain
• 15% coarsely grated cheese (I had cheddar and pecorino Romano on hand)
• 15% diced onion
• 3% neutral oil
• 3% curry powder
• 2.5% salt

Method:

• sauté onions in oil till translucent, dump in curry powder, take off heat, and mix into a paste
• dissolve salt into water
• add levain into salt water and break up into pieces
• add flours and mix until no dry flour clumps are left
• rest for 45 minutes
• 4 stretch and folds every half hour. Mix in the cheese and the onion-curry paste after the first set of folds.
• bulk till 1.5x in size
• preshape and rest 30 minutes
• shape and place in banneton
• cold ferment overnight
• bake at 450F in dutch oven with lid closed for 30 minutes
• remove lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes

IMG_8270.jpeg

Please see here and here to learn more about concentrated lactic acid sourdough (CLAS). 

It's been a busy week as I've explored a different approach to making panettone. I made Chef Bigot's panettone before, but this time, I've skipped the starter upkeep, pH checks, and avoided all the unnecessary hassle. I can bypass these tedious tasks thanks to CLAS, offering both efficiency and an exceptional flavor profile, distinct from traditional sourdough. This refined approach also involves proving and baking panettone in the bread machine, giving me more freedom to prioritize what truly matters - caring for my loved ones and myself. Using this approach, making panettone is a breeze—I can make it whenever I want, just like baking any other bread, and enjoy it daily. It is also adaptable to any panettone recipe and consistently works well with recipes from chefs like Giorilli, Pepe, and others.

Most ingredient ratios in my formula align with Chef Bigot's, and I'll specify any deviations from the original recipe (marked as 'OR').

Ingredients

Pre-dough

A.

3% WW flour in WW CLAS (OR 12% pre-fermented flour in starter)

59% Beehive AP (OR 62% AP flour)

38% Giusto Ultimate Performer (OR 38% bread flour, including the flour in starter)

4.5% water from WW CLAS

30.5% water

1% gold yeast (OR nil)

B.

39% sugar

add the following gradually and alternately 

C.

44% yolk

D.

17% butter

until a moist and smooth dough forms

Ferment pre-dough

using Zo's "Rise 3"

38C x 100mins 

Dough

pre-dough

E.

9% butter

2% gold yeast (OR nil)

1.5% salt (OR 0.5%)

F.

1% rum

18% raisin

18% candied fruits

nil orange peel (OR 6%)

nil lemon peel (OR 6%)

Total dough weight ~570g per panettone

Mix

in the Zo by programming it for a ten-minute cycle. The paddles stir gently for 3 minutes to combine the ingredients, followed by kneading for the remaining 7 minutes.

First, combine A and B to form a dough, similar to mixing a whole wheat dough. Gradually and alternately add C and D until a moist and smooth dough is formed, typically taking around four cycles for the pre-dough. Combine E in another cycle and F in half a cycle. Mixing the dough in this order helps maintain its temperature below 27C while reinforcing its strength.

Bulk

using Zo's "Rise 1"

28C x 150mins

S&F every 30 minutes until the folds can no longer hold and the dough slips apart immediately after folding.

If baking in the oven, preheat to 356°F and position baking stones on both the top and bottom shelves.

For baking in a bread machine, prepare 3-4 layers of 'foil cups' to insulate the panettone paper mold. Note: The bread machine can only bake one panettone at a time.

Scale 

~570g@

last gentle folds

place the dough in the mold

Prove

using Zo's "Rise 1"

28C x 60mins

beauty makeover - egg wash (optional)

salon treatment - blow-dry with a hairdryer 

score a cross and peel the skin back

sprinkle pearl sugar 

Bake

in the bread machine

Set up trivets and a (optional) stainless steel dish to support the mold with the bottom insulated by foil.

Select the dark crust setting; set the machine to bake for 70 minutes, including preheating the machine in the first 10 minutes. After 60 minutes, check the dough temperature, and if needed, leave it in the bread machine for an additional 15 minutes.

P.S.20240110

I don't use the bread machine for baking very often, so when I decided to try making panettone, I knew the first attempt might not be spot-on. I started with some foil insulation experimentation and considered using a cylindrical cake pan for the bake. But little did I know, I had overlooked a crucial detail until Precaud shared some bread machine wisdom. With that insight, I fine-tuned the plan and sealed the viewing window. The second bake turned out significantly better. Thank you, Precaud!

The updated bread machine baking procedure includes the following:

1. Sealing the bread machine's viewing window with foil.

2. Preheating the cake pan on the stovetop for about a minute before placing it in the bread machine.

3. Setting the Zo to bake for 70 minutes, with the first 10 minutes preheating the machine and the cake pan.

4. Placing a stainless steel dish in the cake pan.

5. Placing a trivet on top of the dish and using an S-shaped hook to connect the trivet to the rim of the pan.

6. Placing the panettone paper mold with the risen dough in the cake pan.

7. Rotating by gliding the hook along the rim after 20 minutes, then after 10 minutes, and again after 10 minutes, followed by rotations after 5 minutes each. Total bake time 50 minutes. 

8. Checking the bread's temperature, removing it from the machine and mold, and hanging it upside down to cool.

For future bakes, I will experiment with the following:

1. Skipping the preheating of the cake pan on the stovetop.

2. Insulating the cake pan with foil.

3. Rotating the dough sooner at the beginning.

4. Checking the bread temperature sooner.

5. Reduce the baking time if needed.

Bake

in the oven

Preheat to 356F with two stones, no steam

lower to 320F after loading

320F x 20

rotate

320F x 20

rotate

320F x 5

rotate

320F x 5

Mixing pre-dough

             +A + B                  +some C and D                          DT25.5C                             +all C and D

Mixing dough

                   +E

                  +F

grease the hands, the container, and its lid 

Bulk

using Zo's "Rise 1"

28C x 150mins

S&F every 30 minutes until the folds can no longer hold and the dough slips apart immediately after folding.

Scale 

~570g@

Prove

using Zo's "Rise 1"

28C x 60mins

beauty makeover - egg wash (optional), salon treatment - blow-dry with a hairdryer 

score a cross and peel the skin back, sprinkle pearl sugar 

Bake in the bread machine

For baking in a bread machine, prepare 3-4 layers of 'foil cups' to insulate the panettone paper mold. 

Set up trivets and a (optional) stainless steel dish to support the mold with the bottom insulated by foil.

The bread machine can only bake one panettone at a time.

Select the dark crust setting; set the machine to bake for 70 minutes, including preheating the machine in the first 10 minutes. After 60 minutes, check the dough temperature, and if needed, leave it in the bread machine for an additional 15 minutes.

P.S.20240110

1. Sealing the bread machine's viewing window with foil.

2. Preheating the cake pan on the stovetop for about a minute before placing it in the bread machine.

3. Setting the Zo to bake for 70 minutes, with the first 10 minutes preheating the machine and the cake pan.

4. Placing a stainless steel dish in the cake pan.

5. Placing a trivet on top of the dish and using an S-shaped hook to connect the trivet to the rim of the pan.

6. Placing the panettone paper mold with the risen dough in the cake pan.

7. Rotating by moving the hook along the rim after 20 minutes, then after 10 minutes, and again after 10 minutes, followed by rotations after 5 minutes each. Total bake time 50 minutes. 

8. Checking the bread's temperature, removing it from the machine and mold, and hanging it upside down to cool.

Bake in the oven

Preheat to 356F with two stones, no steam

lower to 320F after loading

320F x 20

rotate

320F x 20

rotate

320F x 5

rotate

320F x 5

oven-baked loaves

Bread machine loaves

 P.S.20240110

            bread machine loaf                           oven-baked loaf

bread machine loaf on top

oven-baked loaf cross-sections

Crumb shots - The lighting in different rooms caused the color difference in the crumb.

oven-baked loaf

bread machine loaf 

Here is the latest in the 100% spelt Laurels Loaf For Learning series. It's the 2nd one I made with a scald. 

The first I tried (not pictured) used the original recipe hydration of 73%, which gave me a dough remarkably lacking in extesibility. The final bread tasted good but didn't rise well and had a bit of a claggy crumb.

This time I increased the hydration to 75%, keeping everything else the same,  and got a much better result.  The gluten was still very fragile. As you can see, the top surface isn't smooth and there is crumb compression in the lower half of the loaf. But the rise was decent and the mouth texture is excellent. It's tender, moist, and just a touch chewy.  It toasts like a dream.

Next time, I want to experiment with adding the scald at the end of kneading,  after the gluten is developed.  I also want to try adding the oil at the end of kneading after the gluten is developed,  but not in the same bake because I don't want to change more than one thing at a time.

A few days ago I posted about a loaf of bread that included cooked oatmeal and graham flour (see https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/73391/oatmeal-graham-flour-sourdough-pullman-bread). I wanted to try it with buckwheat, and I found a box of Wolff kasha, which are toasted buckwheat groats.  Perfect!

The bread is very good in taste and texture, and the striking feature I want to highlight is how very open the crumb is. I didn't think a porridge loaf could have such an open crumb.  I used less flour for this loaf compared with the earlier oatmeal one, 300g vs 370g, yet it rose as high in the Pullman pan. Otherwise the recipe is the same: 20% (pre-cooking) kasha, 30% graham flour, 65% hydration, 30% innoculation with 100% hydration starter, 2% salt.  The starter was a little old, though, and had gotten somewhat thin.

I used the amount of water the package recommended for the weight of kasha I used.  The cooked porridge had absorbed almost all the water.  I had to hold it covered in the refrigerator over night for timing reasons, and the next day it was very dry and crumbly.  I loosened it up with a little milk, maybe an ounce/30g, and squeezed the porridge between my fingers until it turned into a thick paste.  After all the ingredients were mixed, the dough was a wet, thick paste.  I didn't worry about it since the previous loaf had the same pasty consistency.

One other change was that I bulk-fermented in my proofing box at 76 deg F/24.4C since my work counter was a little cooler, enough to slow down the development.  After I put the dough into the Pullman pan, I increased the proofing temperature to 78 deg F/25.6C.  It rose very well over the next 2 1/2 hours.

I baked with the lid for 40 minutes at 350 deg F/177C.  Then I removed the lid and baked at 400 deg F/204C for another 20 minutes.  As with the previous loaf this was enough to develop a thin but crunchy crust.  I think it would have been good to continue cooking the loaf for another 10 minutes, perhaps, to drive off more moisture since even the next morning the loaf had a very moist crumb.

With the previous oatmeal-graham loaf I found that the bread grew on me as I ate more, and this new loaf with kasha instead of oatmeal has an even richer flavor. And it toasts up so well!

TomP