[Sca-cooks] Pannetoni

[Stefan li Rous]

Johnnae said:
> The List has been rather quiet again this year. Maybe everyone is over on Facebook.

Maybe. :-(  I've seen some conversations in the FB "Medieval & Renaissance Cooking and Recipes" that I wish had been here. People tend to talk in much shorter snippets there and references are given less. For that and other reasons, it is much easier for me to capture interesting and useful comments here. But I'm probably biased because of my ongoing search for snippets for the Florilegium.

Unfortunately, even my local baronial list seems to be getting less traffic while more people post to FB. :-(

> We also have our traditional pannetoni, cookies, and brownies for munchies.

Did you make your pannetoni from scratch? Looking it up in Wikipedia, I see:
"It has a cupola shape, which extends from a cylindrical base and is usually about 12–15 cm high for a panettone weighing 1 kg"

That's a heavy, dense bread!

"It is made during a long process that involves the curing of the dough, which is acidic, similar to sourdough. The proofing process alone takes several days, giving the cake its distinctive fluffy characteristics. "

How can it not be dense? It looks like whole wheat or similar grain. I thought at first it sounded complicated, but perhaps not.

"It contains candied orange, citron, and lemon zest, as well as raisins, which are added dry and not soaked. Many other variations are available such as plain or with chocolate. It is served in slices, vertically cut, accompanied with sweet hot beverages or a sweet wine, such as Asti or Moscato d'Asti."

Other than the chocolate, it looks like it could be period or at least it seems very similar to some period sweet/fruit breads.

I like the idea of eating it with hot beverages or a sweet wine.

I have the second half of our family holiday gatherings in a week or so. My brother's family spends Christmas with his in-laws, so this is when we get together. I'm thinking this might be a nice thing to make. Of course, it's my in-laws that are more into the wine.

Is "pannetoni" similar to panforte?

panforte-msg (32K) 2/11/12 A medieval Italian, sweetened, spiced dessert
bread similar to fruitcake or Lebkuchen.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-SWEETS/panforte-msg.html

Wikipedia goes no to say "The origins of this cake appear to be ancient, dating back to the Roman Empire, when ancient Romans sweetened a type of leavened cake with honey. Throughout the ages this "tall, leavened fruitcake" makes cameo appearances in the arts: It is shown in a sixteenth-century painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder and is possibly mentioned in a contemporary recipe book written by Bartolomeo Scappi,"

I think that's a pretty far jump to make, unless there is some more info not given, from Roman bread sweetened with honey to a leavened fruitcake!

Anybody have a redacted version of Scappi's pannetoni?

Thanks,
  Stefan

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marksharris
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****