Preparation

• Put the soft butter, the sugar, the water at 68°F (20°C) and the flour into the mixing bowl of your stand mixer and mix until the dough begins to come together, then add 1/3 of the egg yolks.

  Gradually the dough’s texture will change and it will seem to tear; keep going, don’t give up and continue mixing, increasing the speed as needed.

  It will take at least fifteen minutes before the dough is ready. When the mass is silky, elastic and homogeneous — in other words when it has come together on the hook — you can proceed with the subsequent additions. Then add the sourdough starter, which must have been refreshed at least three consecutive times and be well matured.

  When the starter has been fully absorbed by the dough, add the rest of the yolks and continue mixing.

  

• When the dough sticks to the mixer hook leaving the bowl clean and appears shiny (but not too shiny, which would mean it has been overworked), you have finished the first dough.

  Turn the mass out onto a non-floured work surface, set aside a walnut-sized piece and shape the main dough into a smooth ball using a bench scraper (pirlate).

  Also shape the walnut-sized piece and place it in a glass; it will be used to monitor the progress of the fermentation.

  

• Let the dough rest covered in a bowl together with the reserved piece inside a proofing chamber at 79°F/82°F (26°C/28°C) for at least ten to twelve hours, until it has tripled in size. Of course, if you don’t have a proofing chamber you can warm your oven with the pilot light on to obtain a temperature of about 79°F (26°C).

• I recommend preparing the glaze when you close the first dough. Blitz and reduce all the glazing ingredients to a powder, then add the egg whites. Store in the fridge until needed (it will keep for several days).

  

• If you closed the dough the evening before, as advised, the next morning—if everything went well—you will find the mass tripled. Since this is not an exact science, if there are delays, wait and do not proceed: insufficient fermentation will delay subsequent rises by a time equal to three times the missing fermentation from the previous step. (In the glass you will see the little reserved dough used to monitor the fermentation).

  Place the risen dough into the mixer, add the flour and aromatics and allow them to be incorporated—this will take about 18 minutes—until the dough is smooth and has come together on the hook.

  

• Continue with the other ingredients and add the sugar and the honey.

  Immediately after, add 1/3 of the yolks.

  The mass will first tear, then regain its consistency.

  

• Only when the dough is perfectly developed on the hook (absolutely not before) should you add the salt and the rest of the yolks and let the dough come together again.

  

• At perfect development, and not before, add the soft but not melted butter, keeping back about 0.5 oz (roughly 15 g). Wait for everything to come back together perfectly and add the water little by little; this is used only to adjust the dough, so you may decide not to pour it all in.

• When the dough is perfect, pulling a flap will stretch it like a sheet, forming almost a window pane without tearing.

• It is time to add the melted butter we had reserved, the candied peels, citron and raisins. The raisins were first soaked for a couple of hours and then left overnight between two sheets of absorbent paper to dry without becoming dry again (so prepare them when you close the first dough).

• To better incorporate the inclusions, turn the dough out onto the work surface and fold the edges toward the center a couple of times; do not use any flour at this stage.

  

• Shape the dough into a ball (pirlate) and place it in a bowl; put the bowl in the oven or proofing chamber at 79°F/82°F (26°C/28°C) for one hour so it can start to rise again.

• After an hour, turn it out onto the work surface and let it rest exposed to the air for half an hour (the recipe does not technically require this, but it helps dry the surface slightly and give tension before the final shaping).

  

• Portion the dough, shape it into balls, let it rest another fifteen minutes and then repeat the shaping. I made two panettones of 1/2 kg each.

• Place them in baking molds and let them proof in the oven or proofing chamber for the necessary time.

• After 6 to 8 hours at 79°F/82°F (26°C/28°C) the dough should be risen. When the panettone has reached about 3/8 in (1 cm) from the rim or slightly less, you can bake it: preheat the oven to 338°F (170°C). Now you can decide whether to glaze the panettone or not.

  

• If glazing, put the amaretti-style glaze into a piping bag fitted with a narrow tip, pipe it over the panettone, add whole almonds and almond flakes and dust with powdered sugar.

• If not glazing, make a cross incision with a razor blade or a sharp blade, notch it slightly, insert small knobs of butter and close the flaps.

• Place in the oven on the second-to-last shelf. The 1 kg portions will be baked after 55 minutes at 338°F (170°C); the 500 g portions will be done after 33 minutes at the same temperature. In any case, check the internal temperature: it should not exceed 205°F (96°C), so get a probe thermometer to monitor it. As soon as you take them out of the oven, insert skewers (even knitting needles) and turn them upside down immediately; keep them in this position for at least two hours.

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