We just came back from Padova, where we visited Pasticceria Biasetto and had the honor to take a tour of their immaculate, almost scientific new pastry lab. Chef Luigi introduced us to his almost centenarian sourdough starter and showed us the fermentation room, where the magic of the Panettone and Pandoro rising begins.
Chef Luigi treats his Lievito Madre with great care and reverence. “We are in the house of the mother yeast, welcome to the room where my 90 years old sourdough starter lives. Using a smaller sample that reflects the development of the whole yeast, we measure temperature and pH 4 times a day, to get a better understanding of the rising levels.”
Alessandro Biasetto, Luigi’s brother, walked us around the stanza dei lievitati, where Panettone and Pandoro rest for more than three days to complete the leavening, waiting to be baked.
“This is the Panettone Tradizionale at 2/3 of the rising, so almost ready to go in the oven. And in this big mixing bowl is the primo impasto: the first dough for the Pandoro, that has to double in volume before we mix in the flour, honey, butter, vanilla, and yolks. And we only use real free-range eggs from happy chickens in our Pandoro!”
We were truly inspired by the dedication to the supreme quality of ingredients, observance of exact techniques, and uncompromising freshness of the final products. Grazie team Biasetto for sharing some secrets of the Panettone and Pandoro production with us.