Pandoro Morandin: A Step-by-Step Recipe for a Festive Delight

After a period of absence, I'm back to share a recipe that holds a special place in my heart: the Pandoro Morandin. This recipe, for me, is a symbol of tradition and celebration.

Introduction

The pandoro, a traditional Italian sweet bread, is a staple during the Christmas and New Year season. Its star shape and delicate vanilla flavor make it a beloved treat for both young and old. While many recipes exist, the Pandoro Morandin stands out for its unique approach and exceptional results. I didn't know Maestro Morandin, but I trust my friend Monica, so I started studying, as is my habit when I'm about to do something I don't know how to do, and in the end I tried. This article will guide you through the process of creating this delicious pandoro, step by step.

Essential Preparations

Before diving into the recipe, there are some crucial preparations to ensure success.

Strengthening the Mother Yeast (Lievito Madre)

The key to a successful pandoro lies in a healthy and active mother yeast. In the week leading up to the first dough, refresh the yeast frequently. On the evening before making the first dough, take the mother yeast out of the refrigerator. On the day of the first dough (which should be made around 8 PM), perform three refreshments of the mother yeast. The processing of the 3 refreshments will be as usual, in order to obtain a compact and homogeneous dough. The pasta madre needs to be at its maximum strength and health. Therefore, it is advisable to refresh it often in the days before, and on the day when the first dough is made, make three consecutive refreshments and perhaps a bath at the beginning of the day. Always let it grow in the heat, i.e. 28°C covered with film, and check that it doubles in 3 hours.

Temperature Control

Maintaining the correct temperature throughout the process is vital. Attention always to the final temperature of the two doughs (the 1st dough and the 2nd dough) which must never, under any circumstances, exceed 28° (the temperature. If the temperature. If you notice that the dough increases too much in temperature: stop and put everything (including bowl and hook of the mixer) in the refrigerator for a good ½ hour or a few minutes in the freezer. Also, before kneading, it is my habit to keep all the liquid ingredients in the refrigerator to help the dough stay at the right temperature without getting too hot.

Leggi anche: Idee Anti-Spreco con Pandoro

Preparing the Aromas

The pandoro's distinctive aroma comes from a blend of ingredients. In a mixer, combine the juice and pulp of an orange + glucose + powdered sugar and the peeled rind, blend until you get a smooth and creamy paste.Prepare the custard according to the master's recipe (so not using the "family recipe"). Beat the egg yolks with sugar until whitened, add the cornstarch and mix. In the meantime, bring the milk and cream to a boil and then add to the mixture. Mix with a whisk until it has dissolved and return to the heat over medium heat, stirring constantly with the whisk until the cream has thickened. Transfer immediately to a glass bowl covering with plastic wrap to contact and when lukewarm transfer to the refrigerator.

Pandoro Morandin Recipe

Now, let's get to the heart of the matter: the recipe itself. This recipe is for a 1 kg pandoro.

First Dough (Impasto)

The first dough is crucial for developing the pandoro's structure and flavor.

Ingredients:

• 200g strong flour (farina 00 w 400)
• 88g sugar
• 50g water + 30g to add at the end (only if the flour absorbs it)
• 125g egg yolks (from about 7-8 eggs)
• 100g mother yeast
• 100g butter

Instructions:

1. In the mixer bowl, combine the first dose of water, the first dose of egg yolks and the sugar, and work for a few minutes with the leaf until the ingredients are mixed and the sugar is dissolved.
2. Change the leaf with the hook and add the natural solid yeast (or the li.co.li), and work again for a few minutes.
3. Add all the flour, and work well until the dough is strung. It will take a while and it is good to understand what we will have before going forward with the addition of the other ingredients. Up to here the hydration is not yet sufficient to have a smooth and homogeneous dough, so strung will mean that it will be cohesive, compact, but still quite granular, also because it turns out to be very sticky and to have a strong adhesion to the bowl, and to climb very towards the upper part of the hook. Be patient and stop from time to time to detach it from the hook and bring it back to the bottom of the bowl.
4. Then add the second dose of egg yolks in several times and then the second dose of water in several times. When I write "in several times" I mean to add for example in three times the egg yolks and wait for the dough to have absorbed them before adding the next ones. At this point we will have a dough already strung, smooth and homogeneous, but still very sticky.
5. Insert in several times the butter in the classic consistency to ointment (will be left at room temperature for a couple of hours before use, or softened to microwave for a few seconds). Knead until you get a smooth, silky, homogeneous and elastic dough, which leaves the bowl clean turning. Be careful not to work the dough too much, measure the temperature with the thermometer and if you notice that you are approaching 26° stop, put the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes before proceeding, this discussion also applies in the second dough.
6. Pour the dough on the surface and roll it up with a spatula without using flour to help.
7. Place it in a container with straight edges to be able to evaluate the increase in volume and mark with an elastic band or a marker the initial level. If we do not have a suitable container, we use a fairly large bowl and make a leavening spy detaching a piece from the dough that, after making a nice ball, we will put in a graduated container with straight edges, always marking the initial level and letting it rise near the rest of the dough, under the same conditions.
8. Cover everything with plastic wrap and store to rise trying to have a constant temperature of about 27/28°C. Obviously put the mass and the spy close because they must respect the same leavening conditions.
9. The dough must triple (1+2), that is, it must grow twice the initial level, and if we can have a stable leavening without temperature changes, our dough will be ready in about 12/14 hours. In the meantime, weigh the ingredients for the second dough, and when the next morning the first will be leavened and ready, I recommend to deflate it and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour, to start with a cold mass.

Second Dough (Impasto)

The second dough refines the pandoro's texture and incorporates the aromatic elements.

Ingredients:

• All of the first dough
• 100g strong flour (farina 00 w 400)
• 50g pastry cream
• For the emulsion:
  • 85g butter
  • 15g cocoa butter
  • 25g egg yolks (from about two eggs)
  • 20g acacia honey
  • 20g sugar
  • 6g salt
  • Seeds of 1 vanilla bean

Instructions:

1. To proceed with the second dough transfer all the first dough deflated and cooled, and all the flour. Start working with the hook very slowly, otherwise the flour will fly everywhere.
2. Work then maintaining a medium-low speed until the mass is again strung, that is cohesive, elastic and smooth.
3. Add the pastry cream. In this regard, it is good to clarify one thing: the dose to prepare the cream of the recipe is greater than what is really needed, because otherwise it would be impossible. So prepared the cream and allowed to cool, WEIGH what is really needed to add to the dough.
4. Absorbed the cream, add the egg yolks in several times, always without losing the stringing of the dough.
5. And finally the emulsion in 4 or 5 times, which I remind you will have to pull out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before using it to have it at the right consistency. Also in this case, with the emulsion you can increase the speed of the mixer working at a medium speed, and you must never lose the rope of the mass, not adding more until the previous part has not been absorbed and the mass has not returned homogeneous and elastic, being obviously always careful to the temperature of the dough.
6. Finished the dough, turn it on the surface and let it rest for an hour.
7. After that, weigh the amount needed depending on the molds available. You always put 10% more weight than the size of the mold to compensate for the evaporation of water in cooking. This dose of pandoro Morandin is from a kilo, so we will put in the mold 1100 g of dough. But the recipe is for 1200 g total, because along the way you always lose something, and if you do not abound you risk finding yourself with insufficient weight.
8. After having pezzato, form the loaf with the method of pirlatura, and let it point for another 15 minutes. This time is variable and depends on many factors, and we could extend it even to half an hour, but it is important so that the mass dries and takes strength before proceeding to the second pirlatura in which we will find a more tenacious and sustained dough.
9. After having pirlato again then, we will put the loaf in a correct way inside the mold previously buttered, that is with the closing of the loaf (the part that before rested on the surface) towards a lateral of the mold.
10. Cover with plastic wrap and place our pandoro to rise at the possibly constant temperature of 28/30°C for about 4/6 hours.

Baking

The final step is baking the pandoro to golden perfection. In all the steps, starting from the refreshments of the yeast, it is important to have a constant temperature, so if you do not have a particularly warm room as a boiler area in your own home, it is convenient to let it rise in the oven off with only the light on, after making sure that the temperature in this way does not rise too much out of control.

Leggi anche: Torta al Pandoro: la ricetta facile

1. Our pandoro Morandin is ready for baking when it has reached 3 cm from the edge of the mold.
2. So turn on the oven setting the temperature to 150°C static function, and leave our sweet at room temperature discovering it from the film.
3. Let form on the surface a thin dry skin, and before baking with a stick or a steel wire make (if we prefer) small deep holes a couple of cm above the dome of the pandoro to avoid the formation of large air bubbles in cooking.
4. Once baked is cooked when it reaches the heart, that is in its center, the temperature of 94°C. It will take about 50/55 minutes, and will need a probe thermometer to measure exactly and without the possibility of mistake the temperature, piercing it just above the mold.
5. The last 10 minutes of cooking, do them with the oven door ajar by a teaspoon interposed to the closure, simulating the open valve of professional ovens.
6. The master advises to let the pandoro cool in the mold before unmolding it. Then it will cool at least 10 hours before packaging it.
7. It is appropriate wanting to keep it for a long period, that is even 60 days, nebulize inside the bag in which we will keep it pure food alcohol, that is to understand the one to make liqueurs, which will reduce the risk of mold formation.

Cooling and Serving

Let the pandoro cool completely before dusting it generously with powdered sugar. Before passing to the procedure I would like to make some clarifications, give some answers a priori to questions that in these years ask us with a certain frequency about the pandoro. First of all the sweetness: the powdered sugar on the surface is not a simple decoration but a necessity, since the dough of this leavened is not particularly sweet. Another characteristic of the pandoro is the softness of its crumb, and this is enhanced when it is served at a temperature of about 30°C. Butter is a raw material that acquires a solid consistency when cold while with heat it softens until it melts. In a leavened with a large amount of butter (as also in the panettone) the cold stiffens the crumb reducing the softness that instead returns perfect if served warm. It is sufficient to place the pandoro on a warm radiator or stove, or near the fireplace or in the worst case heating it a few seconds in the microwave.

Tips for Success

Here are some additional tips to help you achieve pandoro perfection:

• Use high-quality ingredients: The flavor of the pandoro depends on the quality of the ingredients.
• Be patient: The pandoro-making process takes time and patience. Don't rush any of the steps.
• Monitor the temperature: Keep a close eye on the temperature of the dough and the oven.
• Don't overbake: Overbaking will result in a dry pandoro.

Leggi anche: Pandoro e Mascarpone: Idee

tags: #pandoro #morandin #con #lievito #di #birra