COLOMBA PASQUALE - COLOMBE DE PÂQUES

When Elra from "Elra's Baking" and "Elra's Cooking" (USA) contacted me and invited me to make a "Colomba Pasquale" (a.k.a "Easter Dove" the national Easter bread of Italy) together with four other lady foodbloggers (Cindystar ,Zorra, Lien, Natalia) my answer could not have been else than "yes, of course"!

Elra didn't have to convince me at all as it could not have been a better opportunity for me to bake that brioche for the very first time and put my sourdough know-how as well as my courage and resilience as a mad homebaker to the test...

At first, I was a little nervous regarding the recipe we were asked to use as it calls for a sourdough starter. Knowing how tricky it is to work with such an unstable living entity/ingredient, I was not too sure regarding the outcome of the recipe.

Anyway, I made Beth Hensperger's ridiculously easy "Sourdough Starter" for the first time and luckily, the "monster" proved to be more tame and stable than the ones I had made in the past and which needed more attention.

So, I followed the recipe and adapted it according to my baking modest experience. Thankfully, everything went smoothly and I came across no problem at all. This led to good results as the end product was mindblowingly beautiful and stunningly toothsome!

Rarely have I eaten such a heavenly delicacy! This lovely Italian egg brioche is somehow similar to "Panettone" or "Pandoro" (not exactly though as there are slight differences in the making, composition and texture) and is a delicate candied bread that could very well be compared to a cake as it is sweet and luscious. The tangy and yeasted flavor of the sourdough starter contrast wonderfully with the more fruity as well as nutty mellowness flavors of the "Colomba Pasquale". And, it's light, shreddy and divinely smooth texture will leaves me all the more speechless. This godly brioche is a revelation!

Homemade "Colomba Pasquale" brioches are mighty scrumptious and sooooo good that eating a slice will instantly put you in a state of total bliss that'll take hours to fade away! Trust me, it is definitely worth all the efforts and time put into their making!

This post is submitted to Yeastspotting.

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Cindystar at "Cindystar" (Italy) will be hosting a "Colomba Pasquale" event, so if you want to participate, here's what you have to know:

1. Bake your colomba, feel free to follow any recipe, and blog about it.
2. Please link back to this announcement in your post, and eventually to the round up.
3. Leave a comment to her post linking your entry.
4. The last day of submission is April 18th, 24.00 Rome Time.

5. For further information please do not hesitate to contact her at cmc(at)cindystar(dot)it. 6. The roundup will be on line on April the 21st 2009.

We all chose different recipes, but everybody is free to follow their favorite one. So, if you think it's a good challenge, if you have already done and blogged about your "Colomba Pasquale", if you are going to do so, if you don't yet know which recipe to follow or if you would like to take part in the "Happy Baking Easter" event, then this event is for you!

~ Easter Dove or Colomba Pasquale ~
Recipe by Papum and adapted by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2009.

Makes 2 breads.

Ingredients for the "First Dough":
135g Sourdough starter (see recipe)
390g Strong white Flour
155g Unsalted butter, softened
105g Castor sugar
3 Egg Yolks
150g + 50g Lukewarm water
Ingredients for the "Second Dough":
1x First dough
85g Strong white flour
15g Runny honey
4g Sea salt
30g Castor sugar
3 Egg yolks
30g Unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
1 Tbs Orange zest (organic)
300g Candied orange peels, chopped (see remarks)

Ingredients for the "Frosting":
30g Hazelnuts
55g Blanched almonds, toasted
10g Pinenuts
225g Sugar
Enough egg white to blend
Pearl sugar, for sprinkling
Confectioner's sugar, for decorating

Method for the "First Dough":
1. Over low heat, melt the sugar in 150g water.
2. Let cool until lukewarm.
3. Whisk the sourdough starter together with the egg yolks.
4. Add the sugar syrup, 1/3 of the flour and the butter. Beat well until blended.
5. Add the rest of the flour and continue to beat for about 5 minutes, until you obtain a viscous dough.
6. Add 50g water, little by little and beat well until incorporated.
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise, for about 12 hours in warm place (at room temperature).

Method for the "Second Dough":
8. Add to the first dough : flour, honey, salt and sugar. Beat well with a spatula.
9. When the dough comes together in a ball add the yolks, one at a time and then the melted butter (not too hot) little by little, while beating well.
10. Then add the orange zest and candied orange peels. Incorporate well.
11. Let the dough rest one hour covered with a cloth/towel
12. Then shape (as shown here/first the wings and then the body over them).
13. Let the the colomba breads rest for 3 to 4 hours until they reach the edges of the mold.
Method for the "Frosting" and "Baking":
14. Finely mince all the dry fruits (apart from the almonds) and set aside.
15. Incorporate enough egg white to the sugar in order to obtain a soft batter to spread.
16. Cover the colomba breads with the frosting, sprinkle with the chopped nuts and almonds as well as with the pearl sugar.
17. Cover with a lot of icing sugar.
18. Bake at 180° C (350° F) for 50 minutes.

Remarks:
Instead of using candied orange peel only, you can also use any other chopped candied fruits (lemon, mixe peel, etc...).
I didn't have pinenuts, so I used 65g almonds instead of the 55g requested.
If you don't have dove paper moulds, then you can also use Panettone paper moulds or round (and high) pans.

Serving suggestions:
These "Colomba Pasquale" brioches are so good that you should eat them without restraint or moderation!!!
They are delicious with a good cup of tea or coffee.

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~ Colombe De Pâques ~
Recette par Papum et adaptée par Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2009.

Pour deux grosses brioches.

Ingrédients pour la "Première Pâte":
135g de Levain naturel (voir recette)
390g Farine à pain blanche
155g de Beurre non-salé, ramolli
105g de Sucre cristallisé
3 Jaunes d'oeufs
150g + 50g d'Eau tiède (en dessous de 50° C)
Ingrédients pour la "Deuxième Pâte":
1x Première pâte
85g de Farine à pain blanche
15g de Miel liquide
4g de Sel de mer
30g de Sucre cristallisé
3 Jaunes d'oeufs
30g de Beurre non-salé, fondu et à temp. ambiante
1 1/2 CC d'Extrait de vanille pure
1 CS de Zeste d'Orange (bio)
300g Ecorces d'orange confites, hachées (voir remarques)

Ingrédients pour le "Glaçage":
30g de Noisettes
55g d'Amandes blanchies, torréfiées
10g de Pignons
225g de Sucre cristallisé
Assez de blanc d'oeufs pour former une mixture étalable
Sucre perlé, pour saupoudrer
Sucre en poudre, pour décorer
Méthode pour la "première Pâte":
1. Faire fondre le sucre dans 150g d'eau, à feu doux.
2. Laisser refroidir afin que le sirop ne dépasse pas les 50° C.
3. Battre ensemble le levain et les jaunes d'oeufs.
4. Ajouter le sirop, 1/3 de la farine et le beurre. Battre énergiquement (au fouet) jusqu'à ce que le mélange soit homogène.
5. Ajouter le reste de la farine et continuer à battre (avec une spatule) pendant au moins 5 minutes, jusqu'à ce que vous obteniez une pâte visqueuse.
6. Ajouter 50g water, petit à petit et battre à nouveau jusqu'à ce que le liquide soit entèrement incorporé.
7. Couvrir le bol avec une feuille en plastique et laisser lever pendant au moins 12 heures à température ambiante.

Méthode pour la "Deuxième Pâte":
8. Ajouter la farine, le miel, le sel et le sucre à la première pâte. Bien battre à l'aide d'une spatule.
9. Quand la pâte sera homogène, ajouter les jaunes d'oeufs un à un, puis incorporer le beurre fondu (tiède) très lentement pendant que vous battez la pâte.
10. Ajouter le zeste et les écorces d'orange confites. Bien incorporer.
11. Laisser reposer, couvert (linge), pendant une heure.
12. Former vos colombes (comme montré ici/en commencant par les ailes puis en finissant par le corps).
13. Couvrez-les avec un linge et laissez-les lever pendant au moins 3 à 4 heures, jusqu'à ce que vous colombes atteignent le rebord du moule.
Méthode for the pour le "Glaçage et la Cuisson":
14. Hacher finement tous les fruits secs (à part les amandes). Mettre de côté.
15. Incorporer assez de blanc d'oeuf au sucre afin d'obtenir un mélange épais qui pourra être réparti sur le dessus des colombes.
16. Recouvrir le dessus des colombes avec le glaçage, saupoudrer avec les noix hachées et entières ainsi qu'avec le sucre perlé.
17. Saupoudrer les colombes avec beaucoup de sucre en poudre afin de recouvrir entièrement le dessus de chacunes d'elles.
18. Cuire à 180° C (350° F) pendant 50 minutes.

Remarques:
Au lieu d'utiliser des écorces d'orange confites, vous pouvez aussi prendre des écorces de citron confites ou un mélange de fruits confits (citron, orange, angélique, cerise, etc..) que vous hacherez finement.
Comme je n'avais pas de pignons, j'ai remplacé les 10g par des amandes (65g en tout au lieu des 55g requis).
Si vous n'avez pas de moules en forme de colombe, alors vous pouvez tout à fait utiliser des moules ronds (et haut) ou des moules en papier pour Panettone.

Idées de présentation:
Ces "Colombes Pasquales" sont si délicieuses qu'elles se dégustent facilement et sans modération!!!
Un bon thé ou café sera l'accompagnement parfait.