Thank you very much again for your prompt response. Really appreciate your effort. Will try out your recipe soon.

Hello again,
With the amounts we are talking about, it does not really matter if the sourdough added to the mix contains a little more or less water.
But the fact is we do keep a slightly stiffer starter at the moment, almost like a thick paste. The reason for this is that it will develop slower with less water, so it matures during the week and is ready for baking the next weekend. The feeding and refreshing, to be honest, we do ‘by feeling’. Because after so many rounds you just know what it needs to look like and how it feels when stirring and so on.
But again, do not worry about it being a little more or less hydrated in the ‘grand scheme’ of the total recipe.

Enjoy the process!

Thank you Ed and Marieke for your prompt response. Much appreciated. I will monitor the development of dough 1 closely as suggested. I also noted that you use a 100% hydration sourdough starter, different from other Panettone recipes which use stiff starter. Possible to share your rationale please? Thank you.

Hello Lim Lian,
After day one the dough looks springy and plump with us. It looks like a developed dough, more like a stiffer biga than a wetter poolish.
We have discussed it and we came up with two suggestions for you:

1. Use less yeast- our estimate is to use halve of the amount of yeast from the recipe and use the ‘coolest’ spot in the house to leave the dough overnight, so you come closer to 26 degrees Celsius (because even higher would mean even less yeast). Our development period is 12 hours, you can also take a look after 8 to 10 hours and if your dough already looks plump and springy and developed go ahead to fase 2.
2. Use your fridge at least for part of the development process. Maybe 8 hours fridge and a few hours at your ‘room temperature’.

‘Double in size is really hard to access and usually not correct unless you use a perfect cilinder for the dough to proof in. (also see our article about why this is: www.weekendbakery.com/posts…e-in-size/)

It will maybe take some trial runs for your exact situation, but by doing more runs you will also get a feel for the dough and can finetune the proofing times and best way to move forward under your challenging conditions.
And make notes! This will help you immensely.

Beste of luck and we hope it will turn out well!

Ed & Marieke

Hello Gill,
So nice to ‘hear’ from you. The recipe works for us as described and our yeast performs well / as expected for this recipe. Certain ingredients like fat (salt also) help keep the yeast growth in check, during longer fermentation. But if you are not sure or having problems with the development of the dough, then it is OK to add the potential yeast inhibitors like the butter and egg yolk on day 2.

We hope we will have more time to bake and post the coming period, because we have such fun with it, but sometimes life takes over and priorities shift.

Enjoy your baking this festive season and all the best to you and your loved ones from Holland,

Marieke & Ed

Hello Lisa,
Sorry for the late reply. It is a bit of a mystery what happened, seeing as you describe one as fine and the other gummy. As stage 1 is supposed to be a shaggy mess, the butter not fully incorporated will not be a problem.
Could there be something going on with the yeast you used? Was it past the sell by date, or did you use an already opened packet? Using older yeast can account for the lack of rise.

Very happy with how well the recipe works for you too Liuda!

Also, adding dried yeast is not necessary – just wait a little longer to rise if only using sourdough starter.

I used 2 cup (472mL) glass bakeware/storage containers to make individual sized panettone because I didn’t have paper moulds. It worked but they were more round than tall – still tasty!

Insert skewers – I used metal barbecue ones before filling with the dough – it forms a seal as it bakes around them and the slide out cleanly when it’s cooked. I made the cases out of grease proof paper glued with egg white and flour with staples on the join- they stood up fine. Inverted over a couple of bread tins ..

I made one of these years ago, try inserting the skewers about an inch (2.5cm) from the base, or higher, it should hold ok, and not tear