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Pandoro

Traditional Italian Pandoro

3877kcal
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Prep 1 hour
Cook 55 minutes
Night Before (Biga Fermentation) 12 hours 30 minutes
Total 1 day
A traditional Italian holiday sweet bread baked in an eight-pointed star mold. Features a light, cloud-like brioche texture enriched with butter, sugar, and egg yolks, built across a three-stage fermentation process and finished with powdered sugar.
Servings 1 Pandoro Loaf (1000 g mold / ~950 g dough)
Cuisine Italian (Veronese)

Ingredients

Stage 1 — Overnight Biga
  • 250 g Strong bread flour
  • 125 g Water
  • 1 g Instant dry yeast
Stage 2 — First Dough
  • All of the Overnight Biga
  • 60 g Strong panettone flour
  • 80 g Sugar
  • 90 g Egg blend (1 whole egg + 3 yolks)
  • 100 g Soft unsalted butter
  • 1 g Instant dry yeast
Stage 3 — Second Dough
  • All of the Chilled First Dough
  • 70 g Strong panettone flour
  • 1 g Instant dry yeast
  • 10 g Water
  • 5 g Fine salt
  • 40 g Egg yolks
  • 70 g Sugar
  • 100 g Soft unsalted butter
  • 15 g Honey
  • 5 g Vanilla paste
Finishing
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Equipment

  • Digital Kitchen Scale
  • Stand Mixer with paddle attachment
  • 1kg Star-Shaped Pandoro Mold
  • Digital Instant-Read Thermometer
  • Ice Packs to place under mixer bowl to prevent dough from exceeding 80°F / 27°C

Method

1. Night Before: Prepare Biga
  1. Dissolve 1 g instant yeast in 125 g water. Add 250 g strong flour and knead by hand. The dough should remain lumpy.
  2. Form into a ball, cut a cross on top, cover, and let ferment for 12–14 hours at 72–76°F (22–24°C).
2. Next Morning: First Dough
  1. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine biga, egg blend (90 g), 1 g yeast, 80 g sugar, and 60 g panettone flour. Mix on low for 2–5 minutes, then medium for 7–10 minutes until dough wraps around the paddle.
  2. Add 100 g soft butter. Knead on medium speed for 7–10 minutes until fully incorporated, smooth, non-sticky, and cleaning the bowl sides. (Keep internal dough temp under 80°F / 27°C using ice packs if needed).
  3. Transfer to a container, cover, and let rise at 28–30°C for 3–4 hours until tripled in volume.
  4. Chill container in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Second Dough
  1. Mix chilled first dough with 70 g panettone flour on low speed for 3–5 minutes.
  2. Add 70 g sugar and knead on low speed for 3–5 minutes until strong and shiny.
  3. Add 100 g soft butter, increase to medium speed, and knead for 3–5 minutes until incorporated.
  4. Add 40 g yolks and 1 g yeast, kneading on medium for 3–5 minutes.
  5. Add 10 g water, 15 g honey, 5 g salt, and 5 g vanilla paste. Knead for 5–7 minutes until strong and wrapped around the paddle. (Monitor temperature to stay under 80°F / 27°C).
4. Preshaping, Shaping & Final Proof
  1. Turn dough onto a well-buttered surface and preshape into a tight ball. Rest uncovered for 20 minutes.
  2. Generously spray a 1kg pandoro mold with non-stick oil.
  3. Shape dough (~950 g total) into a very tight ball and place smooth-side down into the mold.
  4. Proof at 30°C for 4–6 hours until dough rises to 5 cm below the top rim.
5. Bake & Serve
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake for 30 minutes.
  2. Lower temperature to 330°F (165°C), cover top with foil, and bake for 25–30 minutes more until internal temperature reaches 99°C (210°F).
  3. Rest in mold for 20 minutes, shake well, invert onto a wire rack, and cool completely. Dust heavily with powdered sugar before serving warm.

Nutrition

Calories3877kcalCarbohydrates446gProtein69gFat204gSaturated Fat116gPolyunsaturated Fat14gMonounsaturated Fat58gTrans Fat7gCholesterol1834mgSodium2040mgPotassium610mgFiber10gSugar167gVitamin A6880IUVitamin C0.1mgCalcium281mgIron7mg

Notes

  • Temperature Control: Keeping the dough under 80°F (27°C) during long mixer kneading is vital to prevent butter from breaking its emulsion and melting out.
  • Flour Strength: High-protein Italian Panettone flour (W 340–380) or 13–14% protein bread flour is required to hold up the heavy fat and sugar content.

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