Saffron Panettone With Crushed Sugar Topping Food

SAFFRON PANETTONE WITH CRUSHED SUGAR TOPPING

Steps:

• Combine milk, cardamom pods, and saffron in small saucepan; bring to simmer. Swirl pan to distribute saffron; remove from heat. Cover and let steep until instant-read thermometer inserted into milk mixture registers 110°F, about 20 minutes.
• Strain milk mixture into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; discard solids in strainer. Sprinkle yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar over milk mixture. Let stand until yeast is dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes. Mix in remaining 1/2 cup sugar, butter, 4 eggs, and salt. Add 2 cups flour and beat on low speed until smooth. Increase speed to medium. Gradually add 2 1/2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Beat in candied orange peel and raisins. Continue beating until dough pulls away fromsides of bowl in long stretchy strands, about 3 minutes (dough will be sticky). Butter large bowl; scrape dough into bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then towel. Let rise in warm draft-free area until doubled, about 2 hours.
• Butter 10x4-inch angel food cake pan. Using rubber spatula, press lightly on dough to release air. Turn out onto lightly floured surface; form into 18- to 20-inch rope. Transfer to prepared pan and wrap around center tube, pushing and pinching ends together and pressing top of dough slightly with rubber spatula to distribute evenly. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, then towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Brush top of dough with beaten egg white. Sprinkle with crushed sugar cubes. Bake until golden brown and tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan on rack about 30 minutes. Turn out onto rack to cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil; store at room temperature.)
• *Candied orange peel can be found at specialty foods stores or at chefshop.com.
• Baker's wisdom:
• Beating the dough until it forms stretchy strands traps air bubbles that expand with heatthus helping the dough rise.

PANETTONE

Steps:

• Make the first dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together sugar and 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water. Fit mixer with the dough hook attachment and add egg yolks to bowl; mix to combine. Add yeast starter in tablespoon-size pieces, mixing well after each addition; continue mixing 2 to 3 minutes more. Add both flours and mix until well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Butter a large bowl and transfer dough to prepared bowl. Brush top of dough with olive oil and let stand in a warm place until tripled in size, about 15 hours.
• Make second dough: Transfer dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add both flours. Mix until well combined, about 10 minutes.
• Add salt and mix for 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon sugar; mix until well combined. Repeat process two times with remaining egg yolks and sugar. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into a small bowl; add butter and mix to combine. Increase mixer speed and add butter mixture gradually, mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing until dough is smooth and glossy, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir in candied orange peel and raisins. With the mixer running, slowly drizzle in 2 1/2 teaspoons water; mix until water is fully incorporated. Let dough rest in bowl for 10 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto work surface and divide into 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into a round and let stand 30 minutes. Transfer each piece of dough to a 5 1/4-by-3 3/4-inch panettone paper mold. Loosely cover each piece of dough with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until dough reaches the top of the mold, 7 to 8 hours.
• To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds, hazelnuts, 1/3 cup pearl sugar, and maizena in the bowl of a food processor; process until powdery. With the mixer running, slowly drizzle in eggs whites. Transfer mixture to a disposable pastry bag; snip 1/4-inch opening from the bottom. Pipe mixture over the top of each panettone leaving about a 1 1/2-inch perimeter; sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons pearl sugar. Garnish each with 6 to 8 roasted almonds and dust with confectioners' sugar. Place panettone on a baking sheet and transfer to oven; bake until dark brown, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Remove panettone from baking sheet. Insert two or three 8-to-12-inch knitting needles through the bottom half of each panettone and suspend each upside down between two boxes for 6 hours before serving.

ORANGE AND SAFFRON PANETTONE

Steps:

• Prepare the sponge the night before you mix the dough: Mix 1.5 cups all-purpose flour with 1/8 teaspoon yeast in a bowl. Add 2/3 cup cool water. Cover with plastic wrap and let sponge stand at room temperature 8 hours to overnight.
• Toss raisins with Cointreau in a bowl. Mix orange and lemon peel in with raisins and add an extra tablespoon of Cointreau and let them soften, if they are on the hard side. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 8 hours to overnight.
• Pour milk into a saucepan and crumble in saffron threads; heat just to a simmer. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer, taking care to get all of the saffron bits into the bowl. Let cool to just barely warm (110 degrees F) or room temperature.
• Transfer sponge to a mixing bowl, breaking up slightly with a spoon. Mix in eggs, stirring a few times by hand. Add 2 1/3 cups bread flour, sugar, 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast, and salt. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed for about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl occasionally; the dough will be very loose.
• Switch to the dough hook attachment and increase speed to medium. Add butter, one piece at a time, mixing until each piece is fully incorporated. Increase to high speed for 1 minute if the mixer can handle it; the dough should be climbing the dough hook and starting to clear the sides of the bowl. Add soaked raisins, orange peel, and lemon peel. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes; the fruit may not be fully dispersed.
• Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Flop the dough over itself a couple of times (it's a little too wet to fold), cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise for 60 minutes.
• Fold dough a few times to release gas and mix in fruit. Cover again with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
• Turn the dough onto a floured work space. Divide in half and shape into 2 balls. Place each ball seam-side down in a 6" paper panettone form and set on a baking sheet. Beat egg with water, and brush egg wash onto each loaf. Cover panettone forms loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Brush loaves with egg wash again and sprinkle pearl sugar on top.
• Place baking sheet in the hot oven, immediately reducing the temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking until a tester inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean, about 20 minutes more. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.