Homemade pandoro

The origins of the pandoro are not certain. Some date them back to the Hapsburg Empire of Austria; according to them, the confectioners of the Royal House of Vienna made the “forefather” of the pandoro referring to the “bread of Vienna”. An alternative to the French brioche. Others argue, instead, that it was created in the Republic of Venice of the Renaissance, when the rich noble families ate a dessert called “pan de oro” (golden bread), entirely covered with thin leaves of fine gold. The most reliable sources, however, seem to be those that lead back to “nadalin“. A cake shaped like a star, a tradition for the late nineteenth century families of Verona, that used to make it during Christmas time. It is very likely that for the making of this sweet also the Austrian confectioners left their mark; in fact, in those days many of them worked for the most famous pastries in the city centre of Verona.

Since the nineteenth century the pandoro has been the most typical manifestation of the sweet production of Verona; today is eaten throughout Italy and has become, along with the panettone, a sweet typical of Christmas time. The name “pandoro” perfectly describes its colour, a gold yellow, conferred by the eggs. The consistency is soft and light, like the brioche, from where it maybe comes; it has a delicate flavour with lightly scents of vanilla.

From the “nadalin” the pandoro inherited the star shape. Its unique structure of a truncated cone with large ribs, according to the typical design of an eight-pointed star, is obtained using a high mould with the shape of a truncated pyramid divided into segments at an acute angle. Today the sweet pandoro of Verona is produced on a large industrial scale and sold mainly in supermarkets. But, next to this industrial production, a homemade one continues to exist, indeed it is in constant growth and appreciated by consumers.

Ingredients: plain flour, eggs, butter, sugar, powdered mother yeast, wheat gluten, egg yolk, emulsifier E471, cocoa butter, brewer’s yeast, salt, non-fat dry milk, flavours.
Decoration: powdered sugar.

Product weight: kg 0.8