Fennel, orange, raisin & pine nut bread

This sweet bread is a synthesis of different pandolci (sweet bread) in Santa Margherita Ligure, Recco and Genoa (Liguria region, northern Italy), created by Nick Malgieri. I like any bread that requires longer fermentation, like this one; the crumb is usually more tender, with a deeper wheat-y aroma. From its title name you properly are overwhelmed, but not yet, wait until the first bite, you'll start to wonder if everyday there's carnival along the Ligurian coast, and that's why the people can come up such an incredibly festive and soul-warming bread! This is my entry for Waiter there is something in my ... Bread, this round is hosted by Andrew over Spittoon.

Recipe: (yield 6 loaves)

*recipe from Great Italian Desserts by Nick Malgieri*

For sponge: 1/2 cup bread flour, 1/4 cup lukewarm water, 2 1/4 tsps active dry yeast

For dough:

• 3 cups bread flour
• 3/4 sugar
• 2/3 lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tsps salt
• 4 tbps unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 candied orange peel, rinsed and chopped
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1 Tpb fennel seeds
• marmalade as glazing, slightly heat up

Directions (I did it by hand):

For the sponge, combine the ingredients and rise in 75F for 30 minutes or until double

For the dough:

• Mix the sponge with the water, use your hand to squeeze or break up that sponge, the water should turn chalk white. Combine it with flour, sugar, salt and butter, knead until elastic and smooth.
• (1st rising:) Then combine the raisins, candied orange, nuts and fennel seed into the dough ... don't worry if you see these bites keep falling off, just be patient, they will eventually stick... Cover the bowl and let it rise in fridge (lowest shelf) overnight *
• (2nd rising:) Take the bowl out of the fridge, sit for an hour let the dough return to room temperature. Fold it a few times, divide into 6 portions *, roll each into a log, you should let them rest in between shaping so that the log can stretch more. Tight each into a knot, place them on a slightly greased large baking tray, cover, rise for 2 - 3 hours, double of the volume.
• Pre-heat oven to 375F, bake loaves for 20 minutes (mine were "almost" done during this time), check the doness by tapping its bottom to hear hollow sound. Quickly brush marmalade on each loaf, back to oven to bake for another 5 minutes. Transfer the loaves on a rack to cool completely.

My notes:

• For the 1st rising, the author originally suggested rising the dough in room temperature (but he didn't mention which temperature) for 3 - 4 hours, double of its volume. I have done other Italian slow-fermented bread which usually rise in a slightly cool room, but not sure if it is the same for this bread
• After the 2nd rising ready for final shaping, the author just did one big loaf. In his case he formed the dough into one round loaf, slashed the top, baked it for about 1 hour.
• The interior of my bread is tender, but not porous, not sure it's the bread supposed to be, or because my more shaping actions have altered the interior. Anyway, even it's soft, they definitely not the cotton-light type that popular in Asia.

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