Pan Meino with sourdough starter

Pan Meino (literally from the dialect, millet bread) is a traditional dessert from Lombardia

(northern Italy), especially in the areas around Milano and Como. It is a sort of sweet focaccia aromatized with elderflowers.

Tradition wants to prepare Pan Meino and it with cream on Saint George’s day.

Two legends are around the born of this dessert. One legend tells it was first made in the farmlands around Milan for celebrating the defeat of the brigands during he XIV century. The second legend describes this dessert as side dish to cups of cream, which were used to be offered to milkman on the 23rd April, Saint George, their protector.

The recipe imposes yellow flour (corn flour) mixed with white flour, milk, butter, eggs, sugar and elderflowers.

This dessert is still a tradition in my house, even if cream as side dish something is missing (it is delicious also on its own). This year, my mum and I baked some following family’s recipe, a sourdough version.

---

It starts with a #sourdoughstarter refreshed twice.

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. Once ready, you will need 200 gr of this.

Ingredients (about 24 pieces, depending on their shape):

200 gr sourdough starter refreshed twice

300 gr corn flour

100 gr white flour "type 1" (in addition, measure 50 gr more in case your dough is to loose)

50 gr manitoba flour

150 gr clarified butter room temperature

150 gr sugar syrup room temperature

3 eggs room temperature

100 ml milk room temperature (the exact amount of milk will depend on the density of your dough)

Pinch of salt

More information about clarified butter and sugar syrup here: https://www.tittifood.com/post/sourdough-traditional-italian-panettone

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 10 minutes. Here you have to check how much milk (and eventually flour) is needed.

Transfer the dough in a pastry bag.

Cover a couple of baking trays with some parchment paper (alternatively you can use a muffin tray shape and fill each muffin at 3/4).

Shape your Pan Meino with the pastry bag (in this way it is easier to keep the same size). Sprinkle generously them with eldeflowers, cover with cling film, put in a warm place until risen (I did overnight).

Static oven 200° C about 15 minutes.