The Not-So-Great Defector Bake Off Attempts Panettone, For The Simple Joy Of Baking – Defector
Chris and I felt that our triumphant baking series needed a beautiful conclusion, as we refused to compete in the finale of the Great British Bake Off, which both had a gross technical challenge and published no recipe online. Because it is the holiday season, we decided to make something festive. Really, we wanted to make something that was a real dessert that we would be happy to have and not some stupid torture device invented by Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.
We tossed around the idea of decadent apple pies, of making four types of cookies in a limited time frame, of mousse cakes and breads, and dozens of other ideas. Mostly, we were listing desserts we would like to eat, and making very little progress toward a conclusive choice.
That is, until Chris set his sights on panettone.
Panettone is an Italian sweet bread and fruitcake. Usually, when you buy it at the store, it is very dry and very boring. But when it is good, it is light and fluffy and luxurious and very, very festive. Chris brought up panettone as an option for us, and I tried—I really did—to shut him down. But I made a fatal error. I told him about how my friend Dayna Evans (a professional baker) has been on an infinite quest to make panettone. I know this because I have begged her to tell me about her many panettone trials and tribulations. I had heard the horror stories of dough that didn’t rise, of the dozens and dozens of eggs gone to waste. If she couldn’t do it, I tried to relay, we Defector Idiots were a lost cause.
Chris, though, was thrilled to hear about Dayna doing this because it was Dayna’s recipe for sourdough starter that inspired him to bake during the pandemic. He said, “Oh man, this seems significant to me, that she is struggling with panettone just when I am searching for a fulfilling baking challenge.” Great, I thought. He’s been dissuaded. But he had not. Quite the opposite. Immediately afterward he typed, “I think I’m gonna try it.”
As she is a professional baker and a panettone expert, and we are very, very dumb, we asked Dayna to spiritually guide us through the process, and now she is here to blog with us! Dayna Evans is an excellent writer about food and other topics. She is also a newly full-time baker as the founder of Downtime Bakery in Philadelphia. Dayna tried to dissuade us, but we are stubborn.
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