Tall Genoese pandolce leavened with sourdough starter, recipe by Massari, taken from the book “cresci”. Perfect to enrich the holiday table together with all the other desserts to make at Christmas, such as Panforte, Pandoro, Pandolce, homemade soft white Torrone, Zelten and many more from North to South! The Genoese pandolce (tall version), or as the master calls it in his book “panettone genovese“, is a traditional Christmas sweet very similar to the classic low Genoese pandolce, but with a slightly more laborious preparation because it requires a longer fermentation. The pandolce can be made with sourdough starter (my preferred version) or with baker’s yeast. In the first case it will keep longer and will be much more aromatic; in the second case you will save time, but shelf life and aroma will be slightly reduced (while still obtaining a good product).
Are you ready to get your hands on the dough? Let’s run to the kitchen, let’s prepare the tall Genoese pandolce. Before we start, if you want to stay updated on all my recipes, you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
Also take a look at these recipes for desserts to make at Christmas:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 6 Hours
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 3 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, New Year's Eve
Ingredients to make the tall Genoese pandolce
- 9 oz sourdough starter (or 9 oz of dough made with baker's yeast – read below)
- 3.4 fl oz water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups type 0 flour (for long fermentation)
- 1.8 oz egg yolk (about 3 large egg yolks (≈50 g))
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 9 tbsp butter (about 9 tbsp (≈4.4 oz))
- 4.6 oz candied orange
- 3.5 oz candied citron
- 1.5 cups raisins
- 1/2 cup pine nuts (about 2.5 oz)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- as needed orange zest
Tools to make the tall pandolce
- Ovens
- Stand mixer
- Baking pan
Preparation of the tall Genoese pandolce
You can make the tall Genoese pandolce with sourdough starter or with baker’s yeast. In this recipe I will explain both methods, starting with the first, which is the one used in the book.
To make the pandolce with sourdough starter, start by refreshing the starter at least three times: you might refresh at 7:00, 11:00 and 15:00, letting it rest at about 79°F–82°F. After the third refresh and once fermentation is mature, gather the starter, the sugar and the flour in the bowl of the stand mixer and work until you obtain a well-developed, elastic dough. Add the butter and, once incorporated,
add the egg yolks and then the salt. Work until the dough is smooth, elastic and homogeneous.
Finish by adding the candied fruit, but avoid overworking the dough; instead, help the candied fruit by adding a little melted butter to them. Turn the dough out onto the work surface, let it rest for one hour at room temperature, then divide it and shape into rounds: I made 3 loaves of 500 g each (about 1.1 lb each). Let them rest for another 30 minutes exposed to the air, then shape again into nice round loaves and place in a warm spot to proof at about 86°F for 10–12 hours.
Once doubled in size, score a triangle on the surface of the pandolce and bake at 356°F for 30 minutes in a conventional oven. For 1 kg loaves (about 2.2 lb), bake for 1 hour. If you have a kitchen thermometer, check the internal temperature, which should not exceed 201°F. Remove from the oven, let cool and enjoy.
If, by mistake or due to the oven, the pandolce browns too much, cover it with aluminum foil and continue baking.
The tall Genoese pandolce stays compact and, even though tall, it will never reach the height of a panettone, remaining more similar to a classic bread loaf.
If you do not want to use sourdough starter as in Massari’s tall pandolce recipe, mix 200 g of flour, 80 g of water and 2 g of dry baker’s yeast (or 4 g fresh). Form a ball and place it in a warm spot to rise until doubled, which will take at least 2–3 hours; then proceed as above, using only 250 g (about 9 oz) of this pre-ferment.
With baker’s yeast the final proofing will take about 5–6 hours in a warm place, for example in the oven with the oven light on.
Storage notes and tips
Store the tall Genoese pandolce inside a food-grade plastic bag, in a dry place, for up to one week. If after that time you haven’t finished the pandolce, slice and toast it in the oven or in an air fryer—it makes a fantastic snack!
You can replace candied fruit, raisins and pine nuts with other dried fruit and dried figs.
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