Recipe

Servings Feeds 8 to 10

Ingredients For the Biga: (to be made 16 hrs in advance)

• 1-1/4 cup of All Purpose Flour

• 1/4 tsp of Instant Yeast

• 2/3 cup of Water

For the dough:

• 3-1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour

• 3/4 cup of Granulated Sugar

• 1/2 cup of Golden Raisins

• 1/2 cup of Candied Orange Peels

• 1/2 tsp of Salt

• 1 Packet of Vanillina (or 2 tsp Vanilla Extract)

• Zest of 1 Orange

• 3 Eggs

• 1/2 cup of Milk

• 2-1/2 tsp of Instant Yeast

• 5 Tbsp of Butter, softened at room temperature and cut into small pieces

For the Topping:

• 1 Egg Whites

• 1-1/2 Tbsp of Ground Almonds

• 1 Tbsp of Granulated Sugar

• 2 Tbsp of Pearled Sugar

• A Handful of Whole Almonds

Preparation

1) About 16 hours in advance, make your biga by mixing together all 3 ingredients, cover with plastic wrap and set it aside on the counter for 16 hours.

2) In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, add all of your ingredients in including the biga, knead for about 5 to 6 minutes on medium speed.

3) Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set it aside to rise for a couple of hours.

4) Grease a colomba mold (or make one out of aluminum foil) and set aside.

5) Deflate the dough, dump it onto a clan surface (try not to add any flour if you can avoid it, yes it will be tacky but shouldn’t be wet or runny) cut it into 2 pieces to fit the mold and gently place it in while pressing it with your fingers to cover the base of the mold.

6) Grease a piece of plastic wrap (this is so that the dough won’t be disturbed when we uncover it) place it greasy side down on the colomba and let it rise for another hour and a half or until the dough just reaches the top of the mold

7) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and make the topping. In a small bowl, whisk the eggwhite until frothy, add the granulated sugar and ground almonds, mix them in and gently pat this mixture all over the surface of the colomba making sure not to deflate the rise, sprinkle the pearled sugar all over, dot some whole almonds on top and pop this bad boy into the oven to bake for about 35 minutes (place it on a baking sheet first) then let it cool for about half an hour or so before slicing into it.