The 12 Weeks of Christmas: Week 12-Italy

 

The 12 Weeks of Christmas: Week 12-Italy

(Source: Britannica.com)

Well, here we are, at the very end of this Christmas food blog project. Twelve weeks turned into fourteen weeks! I started this back in October and now it's January!! Italy showed up as a very small percentage on one of my two DNA tests when I was planning this project, but by the end of October, it had updated and Italy was no longer on the test results. Because it was there when I planned it, I decided to keep it because I really, really wanted to make this recipe. It's one of my favorite Christmas foods and I always buy it because I didn't think I could make it myself. Luckily, it worked out really well! So, I decided to think of this week as the honorable mention. I'm also thinking of it as the beginning of my next food blog project. More on that later...

Today's recipe was panettone. Every year I buy a mini panettone from Trader Joe's because most of the ones you find in the stores are gigantic and would go bad before I could eat it all. They're also really expensive. The mini ones are a bit more affordable. It always seemed like a really fancy and tricky bread to make, and I never bothered looking into making it for myself. They are made in special paper molds and I had no idea how to get my hands on one, so I just never considered it. But as I researched it for this project, and talked with one of my Twitter friends, I was inspired to track down the papers and just order them online, which I did. I now have enough molds to make one of these every Christmas for the next ten years probably!

This bread is way easier to make than I thought it would be. It was ridiculously easy. And I think it turned out really well. I am extremely excited to end this project on this note. I purposely didn't buy a mini panettone this year, so I finally got to enjoy it, at long last!

Here was my baking experience:

 

So, the recipe calls for this to be made entirely in a mixer. The mixer does all the kneading for you. But I think bread is better when you mix and knead it yourself. It might sound really hippie dippie of me, but I think when you make bread with your own hands, you pour your energy into it. The love and enjoyment of making it affects the food, and there's just something missing when you let a mixer make it for you. But if a mixer is a better option for you, by all means, go for it!

This is what the dough looks like after you add all the water. It's gloppy and really weird-looking and the recipe doesn't say to, but add more flour and keep kneading, and it'll be just fine. I added about a half cup more flour.

This is what it looks like once you finish kneading it. You want to keep adding flour and kneading for several minutes, until it's really too tough to knead any longer.

Here is the paper mold. You've probably seen the commercially-made versions in the store with this type of paper mold. It turns out you can just by them online!

Here is the dough, after I added the fruit. I used half raisins that I soaked in hot water, and a blend of diced candied orange peel, lemon peel, and citron, and the smell was amazing! I know a lot of us think we don't like this candied fruit in baked goods, but it's really delightful. I quite enjoy it!

Post first rise, post second rise. I find that turning my oven on a low temp and setting the bowl or whatever the dough is in over the vent on the stove is the best way to let the dough rise.

The mini version I bought at the store doesn't have this topping. It's basically a crumble topping.

I was also unsure about adding the powdered sugar before baking it, but I followed the recipe exactly and hoped for the best.

And as you can see, it turned out perfectly! I did it for 40 minutes, then put it back in the oven for a few more minutes for good measure.

Here is what it looks like from the side when I tore open the paper mold to get a good look at it. It's just perfect!

And here is a slice of the finished product. The texture is great, very much like the panettone I used to buy. The flavors were a bit muted, but it was still too warm to really be eating yet. I wanted to get a picture of the final product, and a taste so I could write this up tonight. Otherwise, I would have waited longer. This didn't come out of the oven till 6pm.

I am so happy with how this turned out! I don't think I'll ever need to buy one again. I have ideas for how to add even more flavor next year. Soaking the raisins in orange juice, or brandy will definitely add more flavor. It's not typical, but I could see adding diced candied cherries to this too, but that might make it lean too fruitcake-like. If we're able to get together as a family again this next Christmas, I might have to make one for Christmas Eve!

Well, if you have read along with me this whole time, thank you for sticking around! I have had a lot of fun with this project. I have a few recipes that I might incorporate into my Christmas traditions. I had several total fails that probably won't become tradition! But it was all fun, regardless of success or failure. I even have an idea for another addition of the project later this year!!

And that leads me back to what I was saying earlier about this recipe being the segue from this Christmas project, to my next project. I have decided to do a winter baking project that will focus on bread! I'm calling it The Baker's Dozen. This is the "bonus" week, so starting next weekend, I will be beginning a 12-week project that focuses on different bread recipes from my files. Not just yeast breads. There will be scones, muffins, and quickbreads as well! So, make sure to keep tuning in each weekend to see what I make next!!

Buon Natale!