Hello! Welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here!
We are have finished the first week of Advent and the second is upon us. Although I have been busy preparing to make a quick trip to Texas to see family, I have still been trying to enjoy the quiet and the anticipation of Advent through foods of the world.
Earlier this week, I featured Christmas cookies from Germany, cured salmon and beet salad, inspired by the celebratory foods of Finland.
Today, I am featuring panettone–click here for the recipe:
Panettone: that bread that is quintessentially associated with Christmas in Italy…and big box stores. I admit that I have never actually had panettone. Frankly those giant packages that sit on store shelves starting in September until well through the holiday hold little appeal to me, as I can’t imagine that they’re anything but stale, unappealing stand-ins for the real thing. So this year, as part of my observance of Advent, I decided to make one from scratch. This experience turned out to be both frustrating and sublime.
This recipe starts with making a starter the night before. When I got up in the morning, it was bubbling away and it was obvious that overnight, the magic had happened and I had a healthy little starter.
The panettone dough itself is not unlike a brioche bread, but doesn’t include the milk and has fewer eggs. It went together very easily and then began the wait. The final rise should take only about an hour. Mine…took…all…day. Fortunately, I had started the process early enough in the day to be able to get the loaf baked before bedtime, although I did finally give up and bake the loaf before it rose to the top of the panettone form, as it should.
The result, however, was well worth the wait. I couldn’t resist biting into a warm slice of the bread shortly after it came out of the oven. I smoothed a little butter on it, which melted into the nooks and crannies of the bread and danced over the bits of dried fruit. The bread was rich, slightly sweet and had a creamy, buttery texture that melted in my mouth.
This morning, I toasted a slice of it to go with breakfast. I again smoothed a little butter on it and the combination of a little crispness from the toaster, the rich bread studded with dried fruits and the creamy texture of the bread was really quite heavenly.
I was again reminded of what we are called to do at Advent–to wait…and to prepare. To wait to see what is coming. This bread made me be patient, and it made me wait to see what was coming. And what came of my waiting was a little miracle.
Tune in later this week when I’ll be sharing more Advent foods from around the world.
Until then,
Peace, love and good food,
Keri
