This year, I wanted to prepare the Easter Colomba without candied fruits using sourdough. This is a recipe by Sonia Peronaci, but I made some personal variations from the original recipe. In my version, I did not use candied fruits, but I must say I was really satisfied with this dough, both for its softness and aroma. Finally, a crunchy glaze and a cascade of almonds make it even more delicious.
The colomba remains soft and fragrant for many days; I really recommend trying it, and for those who want, they can add candied fruits or chocolate chips. Also, I leave you with a good and beautiful dessert to decorate the table, I find it perfect as a placeholder, too, don’t miss it!

Ingredients for Easter Colomba without Candied Fruits

3.53 oz sourdough starter (refreshed)
1.81 cups flour (strong, 300/350 W)
0.59 cups water
5 tbsp butter (softened "Use quality butter")
0.35 cups sugar
2 oz egg yolks
0.42 cups flour (strong, 300/350 W)
0.3 cups sugar
3.53 oz butter
3 oz egg yolks
1 tsp honey (One teaspoon)
5.3 oz candied fruits (Optional)
0.11 oz salt
1 orange (untreated peel)
2 tsp vanilla extract (otherwise 1 pod)
0.71 oz acacia honey
2.12 oz egg whites (about 2)
1.06 oz almonds
0.71 oz hazelnuts
0.53 cups sugar
0.35 oz potato starch
0.35 oz fine cornmeal
1.41 oz almonds (with skin)
1.76 oz sugar granules

Tools

1 Mold 1 Kg colomba mold
1 Stand Mixer
1 Blender
Bowl large
Bowl
Hook
Iron colomba skewers
Food Wrap
Grater

Preparation of Easter Colomba without Candied Fruits

Preparation times are calculated without the refreshments of the sourdough and the cooling of the colomba.
The day before:
To strengthen the natural yeast it is advisable to start refreshing it in the morning, making three refreshments at 9:00 am – 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm, with a strong flour. Be sure to use the refreshed yeast no later than 3 hours after the last refreshment.
Prepare the Aromas Mix:
Put the honey, the grated peel of the “untreated” orange, the vanilla extract, or the seeds from the pod in a bowl. Mix everything and let it rest at room temperature.
Prepare the glaze:
Put the almonds, sugar, hazelnuts, cornmeal, and potato starch in a mixer. Blend until you get a flour, then in a small bowl lightly beat the egg whites and add them to the mix. Now cover with cling film and place to rest in the fridge.
First dough no later than 8:00 pm
In the bowl of the stand mixer with hook attachment, put the sourdough starter in pieces with the flour and water, let the mixer work for at least 10 minutes.
To prepare a great leavened product and reduce work and difficulty, a good stand mixer is recommended. You can find it here
Ensure the dough doesn’t overheat, then add the sugar in small doses, also add the softened butter little by little. Once the ingredients are well combined, add the egg yolks, one at a time. Add the second only after the first has been incorporated.
Let the mixer work for at least 20 minutes, until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Once ready, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and create a ball. Let the dough rest in a large buttered bowl, cover the bowl with cling film.
Let the dough rise in the turned-off oven with the light on for 12 hours, it should grow a lot, until it triples in volume. If after the time it hasn’t, you will need to wait until it has fully risen.
The next day, second dough
After our dough has risen, place it in the bowl of the stand mixer, add the 60 g of flour with the teaspoon of honey. Knead at medium speed for 10 minutes, then slightly increase the speed and add the sugar in small doses.
Now also add half of the egg yolks, the salt, and the aroma mix, let the mixture work well, we need to get a well-combined dough. Add 75 g of the 100 g of butter in small pieces, which should be soft but not melted.
Once the butter has been incorporated well, add the remaining egg yolks and let the stand mixer work until you have a well-bonded dough. Add the remaining 25 g of butter, but melted, and only after it has cooled.
If you like candied fruits, this is the moment to add them.
Once the dough is ready, let it rest covered for half an hour. After the time has passed, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface.
Let’s start making folds: spread the dough and bring the two opposite sides of the dough to the center, overlapping them with the other sides. Let rest for 15 minutes, after this time make another round of folds and let it rest for another 15 minutes.
Divide the dough into two parts and create strands to lay in the mold, placing the first strand in the wing parts and the other on top, until covering the entire body of the colomba.
Now let our colomba rise in the turned-off oven, it should grow in volume and reach more than halfway up the mold. Mine rose in 5 hours, but no need to rush for a good result.
Baking phase:
When our colomba is well risen, take the glaze and pour it into a piping bag without a nozzle. Now cover the whole colomba and decorate the surface with sugar granules and almonds.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 320°F for about 60 minutes, the time and baking are always indicative “always follow your own oven.” Before removing from the oven, do the skewer test. Once ready, remove from the oven and pierce the colomba, in the lower part of the mold with special skewers, “two are enough” I use steel skewers.
Turn it upside down and place the ends of the skewers on supports; for convenience, I use two chairs facing each other. Keep it suspended in this position until it is completely cooled. Once ready, remove the skewers and Enjoy your Easter Colomba without candied fruits
Happy Easter!
Here you can visit Sonia Peronaci’s website
Recipe by Sonia Peronaci, all rights acknowledged.
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