Orange and Saffron Panettone

Night Before: Prepare the Sponge: In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and 1/8 teaspoon yeast. Add cool water and mix until just combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 8 hours to overnight.

Night Before: Infuse the Fruit: In a separate bowl, toss the raisins with Cointreau. Mix in the candied orange and lemon peel, adding an extra tablespoon of Cointreau if the peels seem dry. Cover and let stand for 8 hours to overnight, allowing the flavors to meld.

Infuse the Milk: Gently heat the milk in a saucepan until it just simmers. Crumble in the saffron threads. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer, ensuring all saffron threads are included. Let cool to lukewarm (110°F) or room temperature. (10 minutes)

Combine Sponge and Dough Ingredients: To the mixing bowl with the saffron-infused milk, add the prepared sponge, breaking it up slightly. Mix in the eggs by hand. Add the bread flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. The dough will be quite loose. (5 minutes)

Incorporate Butter and Fruit: Switch to the dough hook attachment and increase speed to medium. Gradually add the butter, one piece at a time, mixing until each piece is fully incorporated. Increase speed to high for 1 minute if your mixer can handle it – the dough should begin to climb the hook and clear the bowl sides. Add the soaked raisins and candied peels, mixing on low for 2 minutes to distribute them (they may not be perfectly dispersed). (10 minutes)

First Rise: Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Gently fold the dough over itself a few times (it will be quite wet). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 60 minutes. (60 minutes)

Refrigerate: Fold the dough a few times to release any trapped gas and further distribute the fruit. Cover again and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.

Shape and Second Rise: Turn the chilled dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide it in half and gently shape each half into a ball. Place each ball, seam-side down, into a 6-inch paper panettone form set on a baking sheet. Beat the remaining egg with water to create an egg wash. Brush the tops of the loaves with the egg wash. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, approximately 90 minutes. (90 minutes)

Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

Bake: Brush the loaves again with egg wash and sprinkle generously with pearl sugar. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven, immediately reducing the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet and bake for another 10 minutes. (30 minutes)

Final Bake: Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and continue baking until a tester inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean, about 20 minutes more. (20 minutes)

Cool: Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving. Enjoy the culmination of your efforts!