milan Archives - On Pleasureful Pastry

Over millennia story telling has become a hard-wired feature of our consciousness. As a child, the master story tellers of Disney educated me on ideas and concepts beyond my young worldview. Each visual story elevated my understanding of what life was like and how I could imagine my future.

Features of the panettone origin story in Milan, Italy appeal to the scientific aspect of my brain as it relates to product development. Maximizing textural development by pushing sourdough starter to its limits lures me suggestively into the personal challenge of accomplishing it.

Essential Panettone has no commercial yeast. Its ethereal texture arises exclusively from the simplest combination of flour, water, the wild yeasts present in the atmosphere and the good bacteria that is inherent to us all.

The simplicity of those early stories still has great appeal for me, though the vehicle for my communicating them has taken a new turn toward the visual medium of video.

This is one small piece of the story of the finest quality panettone: Essential Panettone Artisan Milanese, and this season’s debut, Essential Panettone Northwest – each in a half-kilo size.

Italian Christmas cake on wooden table. Homemade Panettone

The Essential Panettone order window – 3 weeks only – opens on 23-Oct.

Please join us.

www.EssentialConfection.com

#essentialconfection

Thrusts of gluten evolve into an elegant savoring…

That pastry chefs seek challenge in our daily work is inherent in the role. Working in the sweet spot of math, science and creativity every day is the best part of the challenge. Ingredient performance changes, evolves, is subject to barometric swings, increased or decreased humidity and deterioration of the ingredients themselves. What worked once may not perform the same way again.

The epitome of baking accomplishment is an artisan panettone loaf, the pinnacle of elegance, flavor and texture having its roots in the Milanese baking culture.

The best loaves are light, tall, ethereal cathedrals of pull-apart quality historically housing internal garnishes of golden sultanas and candied orange peel. Most significantly, the way to get there is through the use of only a sourdough starter – sans commercial yeast of any kind.

Essential Panettone is such a cathedral – an absolute joy to savor and an unmitigated challenge to execute, every single time. Our process takes 60 hours, devoted in the early stages to pushing the gluten-rich starter to its limit of performance. There are two doughs mixed on consecutive days designed to be built upon each other with 4-12 hour rest and rise times interspersed in between. Post-baking at 340 degrees to a 200-degree internal temperature, the loaves must hang for 12 hours – upside down – to prevent collapse.

It’s the most stress and the most fun.

Essential Panettone is in two flavors: Essential Panettone Northwest garnished with Oregon cherries and toasted local hazelnuts, and candied Valencia orange peel. Essential Panettone Artisan Milanese showcases traditional garnishes of golden sultanas and candied Valencia orange peel, the dough effused with lemon and orange zest.

This holiday season both panettone will be available. Unlike Italian-legislated size requirements of 1 kilo, ours is a half kilo and is perfect for gift giving to family and friends and gifting to business colleagues. They’ll be baked as orders are placed.

And, oh yes, they ship. One of the magical benefits of a 60-hour process is an extended shelf life – without sacrificing quality or tenderness.

We celebrate the events of our guests’ lives, one event at a time.

We serve joy. Celebrate with us.

Chef Linda's Confection Commentary

Tag: milan

The Story-Telling of My Youth

How I Terrify Myself into the Glorious State of Baking