Homemade Pandoro

Method

1. Prepare the lievitino: mix 80g warm milk, 8g yeast, 10g sugar, and 80g Manitoba flour. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
2. Prepare the milk roux: in a saucepan, combine 100g warm milk and 20g Manitoba flour. Cook over low heat, stirring, until it reaches 65°C and thickens into a gelatinous cream.
3. In a large bowl, combine the lievitino, milk roux, orange zest, vanilla seeds, rum, honey, whole egg, egg yolks, caster sugar, icing sugar, 320g Manitoba flour, and salt. Mix until a dough forms.
4. Gradually incorporate the soft butter, a little at a time, without adding extra flour. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
5. Transfer the dough to a buttered bowl. Let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate for 10 hours, then bring back to room temperature for 1 hour.
6. Butter an 800g pandoro mold. Invert the dough into the mold (place it upside down).
7. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it reaches 1 cm from the rim of the mold.
8. Bake in a static oven preheated to 170°C for 40 minutes. After 30 minutes, cover with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.
9. Allow the pandoro to cool completely before serving.