Mocha Panettone : Bake-Along #89

It's time for Bake-Along. And since Christmas is just round the corner, we thought it would be fun to do a special Christmas theme by baking yeasted breads. Come and join us, bake your favourite Christmas yeasted bread and join Lena, Zoe and myself as we bake-along together with our theme, "Theme : Christmas Yeasted Breads".

I've made a lovely loaf of Mocha Panettone. According to the book, "Panettone is the traditional Italian Christmas bread from Milan. This tall domed loaf is usually filled with dried fruits, for a change try this coffee-flavoured bread studded with chocolate and pine nuts". However I have replaced the pine nuts with dried cranberries.

This Mocha Panettone bakes up really tall. It stands at 7-3/4" high, very impressive!

The dough is mixed in the bread machine right up to the first rising. There's cocoa powder, instant coffee powder and cinnamon, so it smells really, really nice. After the first rising, take the dough out of the bread machine pan, place it on a lightly floured work surface and knead in the chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Shape it into a ball and place it in the prepared pan. This bread will bake up very tall, so prepare the baking pan as per instructions given in the recipe. 

Leave it rise until the dough almost reaches the top of the paper. Brush the top with melted butter and cut a deep cross at the top. Bake as per instructions in the recipe. It smells fantastic while it is baking in the oven!

This bread is really good. The crumbs are soft, fluffy and tastes absolutely wonderful with the aroma from the coffee and cinnamon. Of course, the melted chocolate chips in there with the dried cranberries makes it all the more yummier! It did not last long in my house. We finished the whole loaf by the next day. Absolutely lovely with a cup of hot coffee. 

Mocha Panettone
(adapted from "Bread Machine Kitchen Handbook" Jennie Shapter)
2 tbsp instant coffee powder
140ml/scant 2/3 cup milk
1 egg, plus 2 egg yolks
400gm/3-1/2 cups unbleached white bread flour
15ml/1 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)
5ml/1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
75gm/6 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
75gm/6 tbsp butter, softened
1-1/2 tsp easy bake (rapid-rise) dried yeast
115gm Continental chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use chocolate chips)
3 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted  (I use about 1/3 cup of dried cranberries)
melted butter, for glazing

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the coffee in 30ml/2 tbsp hot water. Pour the mixture into the bread machine pan and then add the milk, egg and egg yolks. If the instructions for your bread machine specify that the yeast is to be placed in the pan first, simply reverse the order in which you add the liquid and dry ingredients.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together. Sprinkle the mixture over the liquid, ensuring that it is completely covered. Add the ground cinnamon. Place the salt, sugar and butter in separate corners of the bread pan. Make a small indent in the centre of the flour (but not down as far as the liquid) and add the yeast.
3. Set the bread machine to the dough setting; use basic dough setting (if available). Press Start. Lightly oil a 15cm/6in deep cake tin (pan) or souffle dish. Using a double sheet of baking parchment that is 7.5cm/3in wider than the depth of the tin or dish, line the container so that the excess paper creates a collar.
4. When the dough cycle has finished, remove the dough from the machine and place it on a lightly floured surface. Knock it back (punch it down) gently. Gently knead in the chocolate and pine nuts (chocolate chips and dried cranberries) and shape the dough into a ball. Cover it with lightly oiled clear film (plastic wrap) and leave it to rest for 5 minutes.
5. Shape the dough into a plump round loaf which has the same diameter as the cake tin or souffle dish, and place in the base of the container. Cover with oiled clear film and leave the dough to rise in a slightly warm place for 45-60 minutes, or until the dough has almost reached the top of the greaseproof paper collar.
6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Brush the top of the loaf with the melted butter and cut a deep cross in the top. Bake the bread for about 10 minutes.
7. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and continue to bake the panettone for 30-35 minutes more, or until it is evenly golden all over and a metal skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean without any crumb sticking to it.
8. Leave the panettone in the tin or dish for 5-10 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave it until it is quite cold before slicing.

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Do stop by Lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

For our next Bake-Along, we will be baking Ruby Jewel Cookies, from Williams-Sonoma Baking Book, pg 46 or here.  Link your post to our linky which will open from 7th to 16th January. Everyone is welcome to join us! Only current posts please.

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1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (Joyce, Lena or Zoe)

2. Please link only new and current post, PLEASE FOLLOW THE BAKE OR THEME provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.

3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.

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I'm also linking this post to Cook & Celebrate organized by Bake For Happy Kids, Goody 

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