I decided to make these mini panettone as little gifts for Christmas to go with my festive marmalade.
It is an Italian sweet bread not dissimilar to brioche. With this version I have made it more traditional with mixed dried fruits and brandy. It also works well with rum or amaretto.
Start by putting the mixed dried fruit, mixed peel, orange zest and brandy in a medium sized bowl and mix. Cover with cling film and set aside.
Put the strong white bread flour, caster sugar, salt, yeast, water and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Make sure the salt and yeast are not touching or this will kill the yeast.
Mix the dough on a slow speed until everything is incorporated and you have a sticky dough.
Then add the butter a few cubes at a time. Do not add the next cubes until the previous butter has gone.
Turn up the mixer speed and knead for 8 minutes. The dough will be very wet but shiny.
Transfer the dough to a greased large bowl and cover with cling film and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This will take 2-3 hours.
Put 8 mini panettone cases on a baking tray and set aside.
Knock the dough back and add the prepared fruit. Knead the fruit into the dough while still in the oiled bowl so it is fully incorporated through the dough. It is much easier to do this in the bowl as it is still pretty sticky.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 8 pieces.
Shape the dough into balls and place a ball in each of the mini panettone cases.
Cover the cases with oiled cling film and set aside in a warm place to rise just above the top of the cases. This could take 1-2 hours.
Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade (170 fan).
Brush the tops with egg wash then bake for 25 minutes.
Mini Fruit Panettone
Sarah's servings: 8
Sarah's skill: Medium
Baking time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
300g Mixed dried fruit
30g Mixed peel
Zest of Orange
3 Tbsp Brandy
450g Strong white bread flour
65g Caster sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
7g Sachet of yeast
170ml Tepid water
2 Large eggs
80g Soft unsalted butter
Method
Put the mixed dried fruit, mixed peel, orange zest and brandy in a medium sized bowl and mix. Cover with cling film and set aside.
Put the strong white bread flour, caster sugar, salt, yeast, water and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Make sure the salt and yeast are not touching or this will kill the yeast.
Mix the dough on a slow speed until everything is incorporated and you have a sticky dough.
Then add the butter a few cubes at a time. Do not add the next cubes until the previous butter has gone.
Turn up the mixer speed and knead for 8 minutes. The dough will be very wet but shiny.
Transfer the dough to a greased large bowl and cover with cling film and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This will take 2-3 hours.
Put 8 mini panettone cases on a baking tray and set aside.
Knock the dough back and add the prepared fruit. Knead the fruit into the dough while still in the oiled bowl so it is fully incorporated through the dough. It is much easier to do this in the bowl as it is still pretty sticky.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 8 pieces.
Shape the dough into balls and place a ball in each of the mini panettone cases.
Cover the cases with oiled cling film and set aside in a warm place to rise just above the top of the cases. This could take 1-2 hours.
Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade (170 fan).
Brush the tops with egg wash.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Sarah’s extra slice……
The mini panettone cases I used had a base size 70mm and height 50mm.
You can use rum or amaretto if you want in this recipe.
You could also use the zest of a lemon instead of the orange.