Easter sourdough Colomba

Titti
Apr 4, 2021
4 min read

Updated: Apr 23, 2021

Easter time in Italy means Colomba!

A wonderful homemade recipe with #sourdough.

It starts with a #sourdoughstarter refreshed 3 times.

1° Refreshment: Starting from about 50 gr of sourdough starter you need to add the same amount of flour type “00” (50 gr) and half of the starter weight of water (25 ml). Mix with your hands and knead to shape a ball, cover with cling film and wait until is at least double.

2° Refreshment: weight the starter and proceed as above. Example: if you have 90 gr of starter, add 90 gr white flour, 45 ml cold water. Mix with your hands and knead to shape a ball. Place in bowl, cover with film cling and let it rise.

3° refreshment: repeat as previous step. Before covering, make a cross with a very sharp knife.

These steps are necessary for your starter to build the appropriate strength to help the dough in the raising process, as it doesn’t have the same strength of brewer’s yeast or chemical yeast.

Before moving to the next step, remember to take at least 40 gr of starter, refresh it and put away in the fridge. For some ideas look at: https://www.tittifood.com/post/sourdough-rye-bread and https://www.tittifood.com/post/sourdough-mixed-flour-and-seeds-bread.

From here, 3 mixture steps will follow. At each step, the dough has to rise cover with cling film (eventually with some towel on top if room is cold), out of the fridge and away from any air stream.

Sugar will be added as syrup, here how to prepare it.

Sugar syrup: put the sugar in a pot and add water to cover it for half cm. Simmer on gentle heat without moving the pot. When the sugar is melted and before it turns colour the syrup is ready. Pour it into a bowl. You will need it at room temperature. (For some pictures look at: https://www.tittifood.com/post/sourdough-traditional-italian-panettone)

In case you don’t have clarified butter, you can make from normal butter.

How to clarify butter: put the butter in a pot and keep it on a very low heat. It takes some minutes, but patience is essential as the butter must not burn. In this process the water in the butter has to separate. At some point the melted butter starts to bubble and create a sort of "foam". This is good. Be patience. Carefully, pour it into a bowl: with a spatula try to keep as much water (the "foam") as possible away. Bear in mind that during this process the weight will lower, therefore if, for example, you need 50 gr of clarified butter, start from at least 70 gr. (For some pictures look at: https://www.tittifood.com/post/sourdough-traditional-italian-panettone)

Final glazed: 3 white eggs slightly whisked with a fork. Add 90 gr almond flour (of which 30 gr should be bitter almonds).

1° Mixture, ingredients:

100 gr sourdough starter

30 gr sugar syrup room temperature

2 eggs room temperature

~100 gr sifted flour “00”

Milk room temperature (you might not need it: it is required if your dough is not soft)

Break your starter with your hands into the bowl, add the syrup and start to mix on low speed with a K shape tool. Then add the eggs, followed by the flour spoon by spoon. The dough should be smooth. Keep mixing with a hook tool, increasing a bit the speed, for at least 15 minutes. Here you have to check if more flour (or milk) is needed. The dough should be wrapped by the hook. Using your hands, shape your dough folding it like a book ('bottom-up') in every direction, until you get a smooth and firm ball. Transfer in a bowl, cover with film cling and let it rise for about 6 hours (it depends on the temperature of the room). The volume should be double before moving to the second mixture.

2° Mixture, ingredients:

50 gr sugar syrup room temperature

50 gr clarified butter room temperature

4 yolks room temperature

~200 gr sifted flour “00”

Break your dough with your hands into the bowl, add the syrup and start to mix on low speed with a K shape tool. Add the yolks one at the time, then the flour spoon by spoon. Now, keep mixing with a hook tool and add the butter. Again, check if you need to add all (or less or more) flour. (If the dough is too hard, add a bit of milk at room temperature). Increasing a bit the speed, for at least 15 minutes. The dough should be wrapped by the hook. Using your hands, shape your dough folding it like a book ('bottom-up') in every direction, until you get a smooth and firm ball. Transfer in a bowl, cover with film cling and let it rise for about 7-8 hours (it depends on the temperature of the room). The volume should be double before moving to the third mixture.

3° Mixture, ingredients:

70 gr sugar syrup room temperature

80 gr clarified butter room temperature

8/10 yolks room temperature (it depends on their size)

~150 gr sifted flour “00”

100 gr of candied orange

Proceed as per second mixture. Add the candied orange and mix just for a minute. Transfer the dough on a surface and shape it. Divide the dough in 3: for a 1 kg colomba, about 550 gr for the body and about 200 gr each wing. Place the dough into a colomba shape paper baking pan, dust with some flour and cover with 2 layers of film cling. Let it rise for about 7-8 hours (it depends on the temperature of the room).