Italian Bread and Cakes 914-364-2012 Bronx NY

Italian Bread and Cakes 914-364-2012 Bronx NY

IL PANDORO DI VERONA This is a very traditional cake eaten all over Italy. Tall and fluffy, pandoro needs to rise almost a dozen times, before being baked and covered in sifted powdered sugar. They are sold commercially almost everywhere-- especially around the winter holidays: Christmas, New Year's Eve and the Befana. We can kindly take you back to the Austrian Asburgico Empire with the story of pandoro: it would have been the pastry makers of the Royal House of Vienna to prepare l'antenato of pandoro (pan:bread. Oro: gold). They named it "the bread of Vienna," and it was born as a variant of French brioche dough. Others argue that pandoro was native to the Republic of Veneto, and more precisely to Venice, and that it had been created much earlier than the 19th century: according to this specific version of the story, the pan de oro had been baked for the first time in the Renaissance, for the wealthy family of the Serenissima. The cake was entirely covered with thin gold leaves, made from gold coins. Another theory, seemingly more appropriate, is the one wanting pandoro as an evolution of the Veronese nadalin, a traditional, star shaped cake. Nadalin is somehow heavier and more dense in texture, but has similarities in flavor with pandoro. Pandoro is widely available in stores, but if you are a keen baker, you may like to try to make it yourself. Be aware, though, that you have to follow the recipe scrupulously and be very careful with the raising times of the dough. Ingredients: 650g Flour (23oz) 250g butter (8.82oz) 200g sugar (7.05oz) 8 eggs 30g beer yeast (1.06oz) 1\2 cup of whipping cream (not whipped) lemon rind grated 1 package of powdered vanilla 0.5g (1.76 oz) 50g of powdered sugar Preparation: Place in bowl 75g (2.65 oz) of flour with 10g (0.35oz) of sugar and the crumbled yeast, then add one egg yolk and blend into the mix. If the dough is too solid add a little warm water. Combine the ingredients well, and place the bowl in a warm place. (18-20°C \ 64°-68°F) to let it rise for about 2 hours. After the two hours have passed, add 160g (5.64oz) of flour, 25g (0.88oz) of softened butter, 90g (3.17oz) of sugar and 3 more egg yolks to the dough. Blend to perfection and place in a warm place to rise for another 2 hours. After that, add another 375g of flour, 40g of softened butter, 75g  of sugar, 1 whole egg, and 3 yolks. Work the dough again and blend in the ingredients then place to rise again for 2 hours. Now, put the dough on a counter or flat surface and knead incorporating the 1\2 cup of liquid whipping cream, the grated lemon peel, and a dash of powdered vanilla. Now weigh the dough and calculate for every Kilo-(2.2 lbs) 150g of butter. With the rolling pin, roll out the dough and make a square (not too wide!) and place the right amount of diced out butter in the middle. Fold up the dough and roll out with you rolling pin. Once it is large enough, fold the dough on itself three times, roll out again and fold in three twice more. Once this is done, let the dough rest for 30 minutes.