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Sweet Leavened Breads

Homemade Pandoro

Pandoro is a classic Christmas sweet from Verona with an ultra-soft texture, perfect served with sweet creams that bring out its flavor.
Recipe Homemade Pandoro
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Preparation 1 hour and30 minutes
  • Cooking 35 minutes
  • Servings for 8 people

Homemade Pandoro is a truly irresistible recipe that brings the typical touch of traditional sweets to the Christmas holidays. In this recipe we’ll make a Pandoro Without Lamination, simpler to prepare than the traditional version, with no fewer than three doughs and three rises.

In this Pandoro Recipe we’ll use only vanilla extract to flavor the dough, but as we’ll see, you can enrich it however you like, especially with Indulgent Filling Creams that make the dessert the true star of the menu. For more ideas, also check out our guide on How to Fill Pandoro and Panettone, where you’ll find lots of useful tips and original ideas.

Very soft and fragrant, this Soft Homemade Pandoro will be the perfect breakfast for the whole family during the holidays, adding a wholesome, sweet touch that will start your day off right. We’re sure nobody will be able to resist the fragrance and delicate flavor of its dough: you’ll see, it will disappear in no time.

If this Home-Style Pandoro has made your mouth water, also take a look at the recipes for Homemade Panettone, No-Rise Pandoro, and the indulgent variation, Chocolate Panettone. If you’d like to try other Traditional Christmas Desserts, take a look at our collection of the Best Traditional Christmas Desserts.

Now let’s tie on our aprons and get the ingredients ready: today we’re making a very soft Homemade Pandoro together.

Ingredients for 8 people

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Method

  1. To make the Homemade Pandoro, first prepare the biga: dissolve the yeast and the sugar in the lukewarm water, then add the flour and start kneading until you get a smooth ball of dough. Let it rest for 1 and a half hours in a bowl, well covered with plastic wrap.
    Homemade Pandoro, step 1: kneading the biga into a smooth ball
  2. After this first rise, transfer the risen biga to the bowl of the stand mixer, add the flour and the sugar (listed in the ingredients for the first dough), and gradually add the eggs while kneading everything with the dough hook. Run the mixer for about 15 minutes, until you get a smooth, elastic dough, then let it rise in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for 2 hours.
    Homemade Pandoro, step 2: kneading the first dough in the stand mixer
  3. After the second rise, transfer the dough back to the stand mixer and add the remaining flour, the sugar, the honey, the eggs, and the vanilla extract. Knead the dough for 5 minutes and, when you have a smooth, even dough, start adding the pieces of softened butter, a little at a time so it is absorbed. Once the butter is completely absorbed, knead the dough on speed 3 for about 35-40 minutes.
    Homemade Pandoro, step 3: working the softened butter into the second dough
  4. Now transfer the dough to the work surface and work it with buttered hands until you get a well-greased ball, then place it in the pandoro mold to rise, covered with plastic wrap. Put the mold in the oven, turned off but with the light on, and let it rise for 3 hours.
    Homemade Pandoro, step 4: the dough rising in the pandoro mold
  5. After the last rise, put the mold in a preheated conventional oven at 150 °C (300 °F) and bake for 35-40 minutes. Once it is fully baked and golden, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely before unmolding it and dusting it with powdered sugar. Your Homemade Pandoro is ready to enjoy. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!

Variations and Alternatives

If you want to make your Homemade Pandoro even more indulgent, you can add dark chocolate chips or raisins softened in rum to the dough, or you can flavor it with orange or lemon zest.

Tips

To make sure the Pandoro is fully baked, you can do the Toothpick Test during the last 5 minutes of the suggested baking time. We recommend not doing it earlier, so you don’t ruin the rise of the cake.

Storage

You can store Homemade Pandoro in large food storage bags for 4-5 days.

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