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from Jono in San Francisco

Originally from A World of Bread, by Dolores Casella (David White 1966).
Worth looking for in second-hand shops.

This is the Italian Pandora de Verona; traditionally, after folding and rolling with
only the butter between the layers, it is baked in a tube pan.
We thought the dough might lend itself to variations, and with a bit of
experimenting came up with a few.

  • 1 cake yeast, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup soft butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 7 egg yolks, or 4 whole eggs
  • 3/4 cup cold butter
  • sugar
  • slivered blanched almonds
Combine the first 6 ingredients in the order listed. Blend into a dough and knead. Place in a bowl, brush with a small amount of butter. Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch dough down and place on a floured breadboard. Roll the dough into a long rectangle and sliver 1/4 cup cold butter over it. Fold the dough over the butter and roll it out again into a long rectangle. Sliver another 1/4 cup cold butter over the dough and repeat the folding and rolling. Do this a third time, using 3/4 cup butter in all. Now fold the dough once more (making it 4 times in all), folding both ends toward the middle so they overlap.
Place dough in a well-buttered, sugared 9 by 13 inch tube pan. Brush the top with more butter and sprinkle with sugar and slivered blanched almonds. Cover pan and let rise again until doubled. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until done. Cut into squares and serve.

Note: If desired, the sugar and almonds may be omitted and the top just brushed with butter. In this case frosting is reccomended.

Filled Verona Bread

After the third rolling, spread the center of the rectangle with very thinly sliced apples. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts. Fold both sides over the middle, overlapping the ends and covering the filling. Place upside down, in a pan. Frost while warm. Or use chopped dates as a filling. You can also roll this dough around just about anything, jellyroll style, and bake in a shallow pan.(But I like the apple filling myaself)