The classic almond-glazed Colomba is the quintessential Easter colomba, and here is my version. The colomba was invented in Lombardy around 1930 by Motta and subsequently became the most commercially popular throughout Italy; the other more ancient traditional sweet is the Easter colomba widespread in Sicily, also known as palummeddi or pastifuorti.
Both have been officially included in the list of traditional Italian agri-food products.
The difficulty of this sweet and its preparation is quite long and laborious, it’s important not to rush to allow the dough to ferment for a long time.
So follow my recipe and make the classic almond-glazed Colomba.
If you make this or any of my other recipes from my blog, feel free to send me your photos and I will post them on my Facebook page in your name.
Approximately 420 Kcal per person
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 10 servings
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter
Ingredients for making the Classic Almond-Glazed Colomba
For a 2.2 lbs Colomba
- 0.63 oz Fresh yeast
- 2 tbsp Whole milk
- 0.11 cups Manitoba flour
- First dough
- 0.63 cups Manitoba flour
- 3.7 oz Lukewarm water
- Second dough
- 0.53 oz Butter
- 0.7 oz Sugar
- 0.63 cups Manitoba flour
- Third dough
- Zest of 2 grated oranges
- Zest of 1 grated lemon
- 2.47 oz Butter
- 4.23 oz Sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1.05 oz Almond flour
- 2.47 cups All-purpose flour
- 2.11 oz Raisins
- 1.05 oz Almonds
- 1 egg white
- 3.53 oz Powdered sugar
- 1.76 oz Almond flour
Tools
- Molds Colomba molds
Preparation of the Classic Almond-Glazed Colomba
First, let’s prepare the starter dough by dissolving the yeast with lukewarm milk, adding the flour, and kneading.
We will obtain a dense batter, but that’s how it should be!
Let it rise for about 30 minutes, covered in a warm place.
After the time has passed, take the risen dough and add the lukewarm water and the flour indicated for the second dough.
Let it rise covered for about 45 minutes.
Once the second dough has risen, add the ingredients for the third dough, starting with the sugar and kneading well, then add the softened butter and knead until absorbed, finally add the flour a little at a time until you incorporate all that is necessary for the third dough.
Up to this point, I have done everything with a spatula and by hand, but if you have a stand mixer, it will be much better to continue the processing.
Let it rise again covered in a warm place for about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, soak the raisins in water.
To the risen dough, add the final ingredients for the fourth dough. I used a stand mixer, but other times I just used a hand mixer.
Start by adding the sugar and knead until it is incorporated, then add the grated orange and lemon peels, mixing until absorbed.
Add the flour a little at a time and knead for a few minutes until the dough becomes homogeneous again.
At this point, add a pinch of salt, knead, and then add the eggs one at a time, kneading well with each addition.
Add the softened butter, knead well, add the almond flour, and knead again for a few minutes.
Finally, add the vanilla, knead again, then drain the raisins well and add them to the dough, working the mixture for a long time until it is very homogeneous and when picked up and stretched, the dough should be transparent and elastic.
If it remains too soft and sticky, try adding a little extra flour and knead well; this could depend on the eggs being too large at times.
Let it rise in a container for at least 2 hours.
Once the dough has risen, take it, place it on a lightly floured work surface, and form a ball
…then divide it so that it’s distributed in 2/3 and 1/3, one part for the body and the other for the wings.
Work the larger part and create a roll to form the body in the colomba mold, then divide the smaller dough in two to create two small rolls for the wings.
At this point, let our colomba rise covered in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until it doubles.
Once the rise is complete, prepare the glaze by whipping an egg white, then add the powdered sugar and almond flour, mixing well until the result is a dense but not too liquid batter.
Gently spread it well over the entire colomba, then take the whole almonds and distribute them here and there on the surface.
At this point, we can bake in a preheated oven at 338°F for 1 hour and a few minutes, checking the cooking.
Cooking time can vary from oven to oven, but the surface should be slightly tanned at the end of cooking.
Generally, the colomba, after cooking, should be cooled upside down suspended, but I must say that I didn’t do it, and it came out perfectly risen, and if I may say…better than store-bought ones!
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