The Ultimate Panettone starter guide
So anyone making panettone, or at least trying to, has realised that the first element, and probably the hardest to maintain, is the panettone starter or also called Lievito madre or Pasta madre.
In this guide, we will go over:
What qualities can you expect in a pastry produce with a panettone starter?
What are the key points in panettone starter?
How to store you panettone starter for a few days ?
How to store you panettone starter for a few weeks ?
How to remove the excess acidity built in the fridge over a long period of time ?
FAQ (Frequently asked questions about panettone starter)
I would also like to mention Thomas Teffri-Chambelland who published so much information i’ve used in this article in his books. I recommend anyone to own a copy. It’s much much more detailed than this guide and will for sure help you in your panettone making quest.
What is a panettone starter?
A panettone starter, is pretty much a stiff starter (45-50% hydration), containing the right bacteria for dextran production (later, in sweetened doughs), which is fed (refreshed) on two different cycles (short-long/day-night).
What qualities can you expect from a pastry produced with a panettone starter?
Some of the qualities you can expect from using a panettone starter when respecting a few rules in your pastry making are :
Improved volume (30%)
Improved softness
Improved shelf-life
No acidity at all in the final product
What are the key points in a panettone starter ?
You need to have the right bacteria in order to produce something called dextrans
You need to feed it a lot at warm temperatures to boost the yeasts/bacteria ratio
You need the right balance of lactic and acetic acids, which is regulated from the feeding cycles
Why do we focus on dextrans?
Dextrans have a strong affinity for water and improve gas retention in doughs, therefore improving the volume increase. They also reduce the retrogradation of starch which improves the final product’s shelf-life.
How to produce dextrans ?
In most sourdough starters, one of the most represented bacteria in the total flora are the sanfranciscensis, a heterofermentative species of lactic acid bacteria. It represents 99.9% of the population in a starter, which we will then call the majority bacteria.
The remaining 0.1% are other bacteria which we will call minority bacteria, they will differ from sourdough to sourdough both in quantities and species.
The ones we are interested in are to name a few, Streptococus, Weisselia, Leuconostoc and Lactoccocus which are known to produced dextrans.
When introduced to a dough with a high sugar concentration, the sanfranciscensis LAB decreases considerably, leaving room for the minority bacteria cited earlier to grow and to produce dextrans.
Dextrans are produced slowly and need a long period of time to be significant (15-24h). A warm environment is also best (26ºC-30ºC). This explains why most sourdough pastries require warm long fermentations, sometime over multiple doughs in order to have a softer, bigger, better keeping product.
Sugar & Yeasts
Sugar is an hydrophilic, meaning it loves water. When sugar is in contact with yeast cells, it draws the water from it, which dehydrate them and slow their growth rate. You can read more in detail about it here.
Most sourdough pastries and panettone doughs are so high in sugar concentration (to limit acidification & for dextran production) that you need to maximise the yeast cells population in order to make sure that your sweetened doughs will rise.
How to feed (refresh) your starter ?
The short warm cycle (day):
The panettone starter is fed at a 100% inoculation ratio and 50% hydration
It is fed 2 to 3 times every 3-4H, fermenting at 28ºC-30ºC.
The ideal PH when refreshed is between 4.0-4.2
The main goal here is to awaken the yeast cells, boost their population while limiting over-acidification.
The long cold cycle (night):
Also called purification stage, the main goal is to purify the starter from any unwanted bacteria that would try to populate the starter during the short warm cycle.
The starter is kept in anaerobic condition, creating an osmotic stress on the yeasts and limiting their growth over the 16-18h period. If their growth was not limited, we would expect a loss in yeast population and a growth in bacteria (more acidified starter, lower PH).
The panettone starter is fed at a 100% inoculation ratio and 50% hydration.
It is put under anaerobic condition
It ferments for a maximum of 16-18HH at 18ºC
The Ideal final PH is between 3.9-4.0
Panettone starter ready for the long cycle at 18ºC,
What is a stable panettone starter ? How do I know that my starter is healthy ?
In order to check if your starter is behaving normally, we have to make sure that everything is taken in consideration :
A Panettone flour (W>300, P/L 0,5-0,7) has been used (this will dictate the volume increase, dough consistency and fermentation rate)
A 100% inoculation ratio and 50% hydration
Final dough temperature should be as close a possible as the fermenting temperature (your dough will either be slowed down or fastened if this is not the case)
The dough is well mixed and laminated for maximum oxygenation of the yeasts and perfect gluten development (this will affect the volume increase and rate of fermentation)
For the day cycle :
The starter is proving in a warm environment (28ºC-30ªC), either covered or with enough humidity so that a crust doesn’t form and limit it’s growth. (temperature will affect it’s fermenting rate )
For the night cycle:
The starter is proving in a cold environment (18ºC), in a anaerobic condition for 16H. (temperature will affect it’s fermenting rate )
If all the above has been done, the starter should triple in volume and reach the right PH (4.0-4.2) in 3-4H during the short cycle. It should also be at the right PH every morning after the long cycle.
Make sure it happens over a few days to be sure that it is stable before using in a sweetened dough.
Panettone starter tripling in size in 3-4H at 28ºC
How to store you panettone starter for a few days ?
If you are not going to be able to look after your panettone starter for a few days, you can put it in the fridge after the last feed and wrapping it tightly in a couche as seen in the photo above. Once you take it out, the PH should be around 3.8-4.0.
How to store you panettone starter for a few weeks ?
When leaving your panettone starter in the fridge for longer, in order to limit over-acidification, you can dilute the panettone starter in more flour. I have done 1 part starter 2 parts flour for 2 weeks, up to 5 parts flour for 2 months in the fridge, Hydration always stays the same.
How to remove the excess acidity built in the fridge over a long period of time ?
If your pasta madre is over-acidified when you take it either from the fridge or from the long cycle, it will be sticky, smell too acidic and sometime looks degraded, mushy. In order to rebalance the acidity, you can also dilute the starter and the acidity in more flour. I would do 1 part starter - 3 parts flour, then make sure that you only feed it again once the right PH is obtained (4.0-4.2), it might take 3h, but it might take 8h too..
Make sure to keep feeding your starter as mentioned in the guide above, and only when stable, you can use it in pastry production.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (This will be updated as I receive more questions)
How can I ensure the correct necessary bacteria are present when starting a new pasta madre?
Unless you can send your starter to a lab to analyse it, you can’t. The best way to make sure you have them is to get your starter from a panettone maker.
How do you knead it? Mixer? Do you pass it through a pasta roller or rolling pin ?
At work, I mix in a planetary mixer for 5 min, then laminate until it is smooth. At home, i mix it in my Thermomix on mixing mode for a few minutes, then finish it by hand. I do not laminate it, and since the gluten development isn’t as good, I have less volume expectations (double only), however it still works fine.
My pasta madre doubles in 4h the volume but not triple. What do I have to do?
Make sure the gluten development is perfect if you want to achieve the x3 volume. The flour needs to be a panettone flour, the hydration 50%. If it still doesn’t, it means your yeast production isn’t strong enough. Make sure to keep feeding following the guide above for a few days.
Is it possible to have a recipe to start from scratch ?
I won’t write a recipe about it as a believe it’s easier to ensure that you have the right bacteria when you take a starter from a panettone maker rather than starting out, however if you are still keen, you can check Bake-street’s article on how to create a panettone starter.
To make a good panettone, is checking the PH of the pasta madre a very important task?
No, I have succeeded at making panettones without a PH meter, however I wished I had one to understand all the difficulties I went through.
When keeping the PM in the water overnight, is the temp of the water important?
In order for the fermentation to be done properly, water temperature should be as closed to the fermentation temperature. (18ºC).
How to manage the last daily feed when temperatures are high ? During summer for exemple.
The best way is to buy a tiny wine fridge/cabinet. Otherwise you can slightly dilute the pasta madre in more flour to make sure that the required PH in the morning is right (3.9-4.0). Start by increasing the flour by 0.2 each time until you find the right amount. Hydration should stay the same. (ie 1 part PM, 1,2 flour, 0,6 water).
My pasta madre is a bit too soft, is that normal ?
Are you using the right flour ? you can reduce the hydration to 45% if you like but the volume increase might be less.
What is the main difference between a regular sourdough starter ? the strength ?
The differences are the yeast populations and the minority bacteria present to produce dextrans.
At home, with no fuss, how do you do it ?
I have a proofing cabinet from Brod & Taylor and a Thermomix. I also have a PH meter. I believe those tools are essential to take good care of your pasta madre.
What is is about the pasta madre that preserves the panettone so well?
Dextrans ! You can read the section about it above.
If you wanted to use a high extraction flour, what modifications do you make ?
I would see what problem occurs first. Is it a mixing issue ? then maybe two or three doughs would help reduce the stress on the gluten. Is it a fermentation issue ? can different temperatures help ? It really depends on the problem arising. I would however recommend to learn the craft using the right tools then move on to different tools. Once you have the knowledge.
Which flour works great ?
Any panettone flour with a W above 300, a P/L between 0.5-0.7. However for other products likes my sourdough shokupan a strong T55 is enough.
What taste, smell and texture are you looking for on a PM indicating that it is ready to be used ?
It smells slightly lactic and acetic, it is mellow on the tongue with a slight tang coming afterwards. The texture is spongy but springy.
Why do you have to “peel” the pasta madre before it’s refreshment ?
Sometimes the outside of the pasta madre dries out, which means the yeasts might have died off on the dry parts, Therefore removing them assure that you are using the best part of you PM.
What is the minimum you would use for maintenance feeding ?
The minimum you can mix and hold. I personally do 125gm total or 50gm PM.
How could we achieve an open crumb panettone ?
I haven’t personally achieved such a result. I believe it’s a combination of less yolks, more water, strong less mixed primo, very extensible secondo.
Are they any American flours you recommend using for maintaining a pasta madre ?
I think you could use any strong white flour, it might ferments differently and have a different volume increase. However I would recommend using a dedicated panettone flour when making panettone.
