Does “Panettone” really mean “Toni’s Bread”?

No, reader Lusi, it certainly doesn’t. That story is but one of the many myths that attempt to explain the origin of panettone. For those of you who’ve never heard it, the legend holds that a prince of Milan once fell in love with the daughter of a local baker, Antonio, whose business was faltering. The prince disguised himself as a baker’s apprentice and began working at the bakery where he “mysteriously” began acquiring expensive ingredients like eggs, butter and candied fruits, all of which he put into a new bread he called “Toni’s bread.” Of course it was a smash hit among the populace. The bakery was saved, the prince married the daughter and everyone lived happily ever after. Ugh.

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Christmas as a Verb

Well my pre-Christmas preparations have certainly been getting the best of my schedule. This morning I’ve been shopping, simmering stock, baking panettone and assembling a rather complex gingerbread interpretation of our house (a special request from elves 1 and 2). So it’s been a rather busy morning. I hope for better this afternoon. If not […]

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What we know so far…

I’ve had a cold the last few days which is why I’ve been moving slow (that Christmas party in Chicago was a doozy). However I did give the recipe a dry run last week and since then four other readers have done the same. The jury is in agreement that the Fiori di Sicilia is […]

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God in the Starter Bowl

This last week I’ve received quite a bit of correspondence from readers who, motivated by the prospect of home baked pannetone, have initiated their own homegrown bread starters. The giddy joy they’ve radiated has charmed me to say the least. And indeed I relish an opportunity to help modern bakers get personally acquainted with some of the best & tiniest friends mankind has ever had.

To say that I’m impressed by fermentation is a vast understatement. In truth I am in awe of it. Who, after all, can fathom how it came to pass that almost without fail — on virtually any part of the planet — the microbes that will win the day in a bowl of flour-water slush won’t give you anthrax, hemorrhagic fever or acne, but will instead leaven your bread or ferment your beer for you? I mean…what are the odds?

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Christmas Insecurity Complex

When Pasplore invited me to contribute a recipe to their holiday recipe mosaic I was quite flattered. A little holiday recognition for Joe! I thought. Then I saw the thing. Very cool, but talk about making a guy feel small — Lord! The size of the food blogosphere boggles the mind. That so many of you have found your way here is something of a miracle. That so many of you keep coming back, given all the nonsense you regularly find here, is an even greater miracle (and one I an extremely grateful for).

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Hold your horses…

There are a few too many Sicilian flowers in this recipe for my liking. Just too much perfume. I’m going to change the formula (no offense, Peter!) and perhaps eliminate the fiori completely. I think some extra vanilla plus some orange zest is all the perfume I need. Otherwise, I’d put a teaspoon of Fiori […]

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Duty Calls

And when it does you’d darn well better pick up the phone. Seems I gotta run to Chicago tomorrow morning for an overnighter. I’ll back back on Monday to tell you all about the panettone I made today. Later bakers!

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What is Fiori di Sicilia?

I’m glad you asked, reader Katie, because I forgot to make a note about it. Fiori di Sicilia is an extract that combines vanilla, citrus and flower essences. “Flowers of Sicily” is what it literally means. I’ve looked around and can’t determine for certain if Italians use this exact product in their panettone baking, however it seems clear that extracts containing flower essences are fairly common there. The most dominant flavors in Fiori di Sicilia are vanilla and orange, so, if you can’t find — or don’t want to order — the actually item, a blend of 50 percent orange extract and vanilla works just fine.

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What is “sulphured” fruit?

This question comes in some form every year, and it’s always worth answering because the answer is, well, fun. Any time you set out to buy dried or candied fruit you can count on seeing labels that say things like “Naturally Unsulphured!” which has to be good, right? But then what is “sulphuring” anyway, and is it really a bad thing?

The process of sulphuring has to do with plant enzymes. Enzymes are and always have been a major headache for fruit eaters, since they cause picked fruit to brown and soften. And that’s a bummer if you’re the type of person that likes to make picked fruit last. Humans have expended lots of time and energy over the millennia trying to figure out ways to shut enzymes down (even if they didn’t realize what enzymes were). But then what are these browning enzymes doing in fruit in the first place? The answer is because they’re a key part of a plant’s natural pest control system.

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