Ever since I began baking sourdough, I’ve wanted to to bake a true, traditional sourdough panettone for Christmas time. I love the sweet-tart flavor and the airy crumb of a bread that’s at once delicate and rich. Panettone is a marvelous bread, jeweled with sweet raisins and candied citrus peel – especially when you serve it with a mug of dark, inky tea or coffee.
This version not only uses sourdough starter to give the panettone its loft, but also einkorn flour and honey for sweetness in a nod to traditional and ancient baking.
What is Panettone and where does it come from?
Studded with candied citrus and raisins, Panettone is a a delicate, light bread enriched with eggs and butter. While Panettone is traditionally enjoyed both in Italy and throughout the world during the winter holidays, it comes from the northern Italian city of Milan.
While Panettone was popularized by a Milanese bakery in the early part of the 20th century who can lay claim to transforming Panettone from its roots as a small, heavy, fruited style of bread to the light-as-air, tall and domed bread you enjoy today, its exact origins are muddled and cloudy. There are many apocryphal stories and bits of folklore that hold that panettone was created by a poor baker who wished to marry the daughter of a wealthy Milanese nobleman, or that a cook, having burned the dessert of a ducal banquet entrusted a little boy to make dessert with what he had on hand.
While we may never know the exact origins of panettone, we do know that fruited, sweetened breads have baked and served as a treat since the Roman era, if not earlier. And unless one came from a wealthy class, breads made from expensive ingredients like wheat flour, eggs, butter, sweeteners and candied fruit would be only a rare treat, and reserved for times of celebration which is why panettone, regardless of its exact origins, is associated with Christmas.
How to Make Sourdough Panettone
True panettone achieves its lofty rise and delicate structure with sourdough starter, not bakers yeast which is an inauthentic, modern addition. Sourdough panettone has a light, airy crumb and a faint tartness that balances the sweetness of honey and candied fruit. Just as, traditionally, bakers used sourdough to leaven breads, they would also use flour made from farro, or any of the three grains: einkorn, emmer and spelt – which they used in absence of modern wheat.
Modern recipes for panettone often include making two separate doughs which are then combined together, and up to three rises; for ease, you can make a leaven by combining proofed sourdough starter, water and flour, and then blend that leaven with the remaining ingredients for your dough: additional flour, flavorings, honey, salt, butter, egg yolks as well as dried and candied fruit. From here, you allow your panettone to rise twice: the first is a bulk rise in an airtight mixing bowl, and then you allow it to rise a second time after shaping it and placing it in a panettone paper. A panettone paper is similar to a paper muffin cup, only larger.
Sourdough Einkorn Panettone
Ingredients
For the Leaven
- 2 ounces sourdough starter (active and bubbly)
- 1 ounce water
- 3 ounces all-purpose einkorn flour
For the Dough
- 3 ounces milk
- 3 eggs beaten
- 2.5 ounces honey
- 18 ounces all-purpose einkorn flour
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 3.5 ounces butter softened
- 1 tablespoon orange flower water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup chopped candied citrus peel
- 1/4 cup raisins
Instructions
Prepare the Leaven
- Whisk starter with water, and then stir in 3 ounces einkorn flour. Cover and let sit on your counter at least 8 and up to 12 hours.
Prepare the Panettone
- Beat the milk, eggs and honey together, and then beat in the leaven. When the leaven's incorporated into the liquid ingredients, beat in the flour, salt, butter, orange flower water and extracts. Form it into a ball, and let it rest in a mixing bowl, covered with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the dough to rise about 4 hours.
- Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface, and flatten it into a rectangle with your hands sprinkle the the rectangle with candied citrus peel and raisins, and then form the dough into a boule. Place the dough into a panettone form, and allow it to rise (covered) about 2 hours.
- Heat the oven to 350 F.
- Bake the panettone in the center of the oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until risen and golden brown on top. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
Where to Find Einkorn Flour for Sourdough Panettone
Traditionally, before wheat was modernized, bakers used grains like einkorn to bake most breads – including panettone. Einkorn is an ancient variety of wheat, with a rich flavor and a more nutrient-dense profile than modern wheat. It is richer in beta carotene, protein and micronutrients like B vitamins and minerals than modern wheat; further, when baked, einkorn experiences less nutrient-loss.
You can buy sustainably produced, organic flour from Jovial Foods here.
If you like Sourdough Einkorn Panettone, try these:
Sourdough Panettone is a a fun treat to make for the holidays, and if you’re keen on trying more authentic sourdough einkorn recipes, you might try these recipes below.
Sourdough Einkorn Dinner Rolls are sweetened with the lightest touch of maple syrup.
Sourdough Einkorn Pizza Crust is a great recipe to have on hand for pizza night.
This classic Sourdough Einkorn Boule is easy to make too.
