Recipe uses an overnight starter which apparently keeps the bread fresher longer. I couldn't stop myself from making the starter with wholewheat pastry flour to add some fiber into the bread. Other than that I followed the recipe to the T.
Recipe from King Arthur Flour:
Overnight Panettone
Ingredients:
- ¾cup Wholewheat Pastry flour or All purpose flour
- 1/16tsp (a pinch) Instant Yeast
- ⅓cup Cool Water
- 2¼cups All purpose flour
- 1tbsp Instant yeast
- ⅓cup Sugar
- 1¼tsp Salt
- ¼cup Unsalted butter, softened
- 2 Large Eggs (I used 2tbsp egg replacer whisked with 6tbsp water)
- ¼cup Lukewarm Water
- ½tsp Fiori di Sicilia (or 1tsp vanilla extract+1/8tsp orange oil)
- ½cup Golden Raisins
- ½cup Cranberries
- ½cup Dried Apricots, chopped
- ½cup Dried Pineapple, chopped
- 2tbsp Orange or Lemon zest
- Make the Starter: Combine wholewheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour), pinch of yeast and cool water; mix well, cover and set aside for 8~12 hours.
- Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the starter, flour, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, eggs (egg replacer mixture), fiori di sicilia and lukewarm water. Mix and knead to form a soft and smooth dough.
- Transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover and set aside for 1½~2hours until almost doubled in volume.
- Gently deflate the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead in the dry fruit and orange/ lemon zest. Place it in a panettone pan or other straight sided, tall 1½~2 quart pan. Cover and set side for 1½~2 hours or until the dough crests just over the rim of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake for 10 minutes, reduce the oven to 375°F and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350°F and bake for 25 minutes. Tent the pan lightly with foil if the bread starts to brown too quickly.
- Remove from the oven and let the bread cool completely before slicing. Wrap well and store for up to a week at room temperature. Otherwise freeze for longer storage.