There simply is no better Panettone than the Poli and because Giulio Ferrari, Riserva del Fondatore is the probably the best spumante in Italy we’ll suggest you buy a bottle if you’ve managed to locate this Panettone. Panettone cake originated in Rome when the ancients made a leavened bread much like the panettone we know today. The word comes from the Italian word “panetto” which is a small loaf of bread. The beautiful, well known, legend about the noble Ughetto Atellani who fell passionately in love with Adalgisa, the baker’s daughter is a little confusing, but it goes like this.

In order to get her to fall in love with him he pretended to be a baker and created this enormously rich bread especially for her. When he asked permission to marry her, the famous Duke of Milan, Ludovico il Moro (of risotto fame) consented to the marriage and when she  finally tied the knot, she did so in the presence of the esteemed Leonardo da Vinci. The wonderous bread was named after her father, Toni as a sign of respect, hence pan di Toni became panettone.  Of the many legends, this is my favourite. What is true, however, is that in the early 1900′s two hard working bakers from Milan started baking these cakes in large quantities for distribution throughout Italy and in 1919 Angelo Motta, then in full swing, gave the cake it’s traditional dome shape.

The Poli that is wickedly enriched with a grappa cream, the grappa made in an artisan distillery at Schiavon near Bassano di Grappa in the Veneto region.

Ingredients

• 1, 5 kgs, sifted all purpose flour
• 20 g dry yeast (this certainly depends on the kind of yeast and the country, so look at the flour and see exactly what kind of yeast you have & take the instruction from there)
• 250 ml lukewarm water
• 7 tablespoons, melted butter
• 200 g white sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon,salt
• 4 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 whole egg
• ½  cup, candied citron peel finely diced
• ½  cup seedless raisins
• ½  cup pine nuts

Method

• Combine yeast with 1 cup of water and add to 1 cup of flour in mixing bowl, mixing thoroughly.
• Put the dough on a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes.
• Make a ball with the dough and put in floured bowl.
• Cover with a cloth or some cling wrap and let it stand in a warm place for an hour.
• Put 1 cup of flour in a separate mixing bowl and now add about ½ a cup of lukewarm water as well as the dough ball.
• Make a new ball with this mixture, cross with a knife and put the ball in a floured bowl, cover with a cloth or cling wrap and set aside in a warm place for 2 hours.
• After this, once again put 1 ½ cups of flour and ½ cup of lukewarm water to another clean bowl with the dough ball, knead mixture on floured surface for 10 minutes and now put in a really big floured bowl, cover with cloth and allow to stand for 2 more hours.
• No, you are not going nuts – go ahead and just do it.
• Put the butter and salt in large mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and the ball of dough, and mix with your hands until the dough becomes a smooth again.
• There is nothing wrong with using a food processor here if you like!
• Combine sugar, honey, 3 tablespoons of lukewarm wate and add dough mixture.
• Beat with spoon or processor until dough is smooth and glossy.
• Mix about  ½ of the rest of the flour with the dough, put on floured bread board, knead for 2 – 3 minutes and finally add the rest of the flour.
• Knead for about 20 – 25 minutes.
• Add raisins, pine nuts and citron peel, knead for about 5 – 10  minutes to incorporate everything well.
• Cut the dough in half, and roll each half into a ball.
• Bake in a deep, well greased baking and cover the bottom layer with about 3 layers of wax paper.
• Cover with cloth or cling wrap and allow to stand in a warm place for about 6 hours.
• Make a cross with a knife on top of the dough, and place in 180 C oven, and bake.
• Put a small cup of water in the oven to help the cake to rise and make the crust glossy.
• After the first 10 minutes, enlarge cross marks and drizzle about 2 tablespoons of butter into the cross.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes more, then reduce heat to 160 C and bake about 40 minutes longer.
• The cake will be ready when a skewer comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack.

Have an ice cold glass of spumante with your first slice.

THE TRENTINO FERRARI

Giulio Ferrari was born in 1879, studied at Institute of Viticulture in Montpellier and started his own vineyard in 1902. He knew the business well and realized that there was no need to re-invent the wheel so he planted cuttings, that had been smuggled from Epernay in Champagne, just outside Trento because the soil was almost like the soil in the French Champagne area. He sold the vineyard to Bruno Lunelli for an undisclosed fortune and the right to make make this wine for the rest of his life. He died a happy man in 1965. Today the grapes come from the Lunelli family’s own vineyard, the Maso Pianizza, still in the commune of Trento. The Riserva del Fondatore is made from 100% Chardonnay and I inhaled so much rich apple and nut puree that almost missed the fresh marmalade perfume. It tastes crisp and alive and quite unlike any spumante I have ever tasted. Before any of you wine connoisseurs faint from apoplexy, please remember that I am still learning about wine and until I smell those things that I am supposed to, you’ll just have to make do with this.