{"id":8287,"date":"2026-10-19T15:18:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T06:18:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8287"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:49:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:49:27","slug":"pandoro","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/pandoro\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandoro"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A dusting of white powdered sugar makes its eight points and hollows stand out, and cutting it reveals a golden crumb made with plenty of eggs. Verona’s pandoro is a tall, star-shaped Christmas sweet fragrant with butter and vanilla. Basic pandoro contains no pieces of fruit, and its fine air bubbles are formed evenly. The rise of its sponge-like yellow crumb comes not only from egg foam but also from fermenting a dough rich in eggs and butter.<\/p>\n

\n\"Side\n
Pandoro with fine air bubbles visible on its cut surface (January 19, 2008). The baked exterior contrasts with the light-colored interior. Photo: Kuebi = Armin K\u00fcbelbeck \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>. Downsized version retrieved from Commons. No content alterations or cropping made by us.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Refreshing the starter and working in the fat in stages<\/h2>\n

Rather than combining flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and natural leaven all at once, the first dough is fermented, and then new flour, eggs, and fat are added. The ingredients are gradually worked in while the dough’s elasticity and extensibility are maintained.<\/p>\n

In Giovanni Ricciardella’s method, the starter is refreshed three times; egg yolks, sugar, water, and flour are combined, and cold butter is added once the dough has developed elasticity. The first dough, fermented until it has tripled in volume, is refrigerated. The next day, flour is added and the dough is kneaded again, and then an emulsion of butter, egg yolks, sugar, honey, vanilla, and other ingredients is added in several portions.<\/p>\n

Cocoa butter is sometimes included in the emulsion. It is worked into the dough as a fat, not as an inclusion like chocolate pieces. Separately, there is also IRCA’s method for professionals, which makes the dough in three stages, adding whole eggs, egg yolks, and butter a little at a time and bringing the dough temperature to 26\u201328\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

\n\"A\n
A whole pandoro and a cut slice (December 31, 2022). The star-shaped ridges run from the top all the way down to the base. Photo: Wittylama \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Downsized version retrieved from Commons. No content alterations or cropping made by us.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

For home baking, there are also methods that replace the process of refreshing a natural leaven with dry yeast. Sachiko Fujino’s recipe makes the first dough with milk, honey, flour, and other ingredients, adds eggs and the remaining flour and lets the dough ferment, and then wraps cold butter in the dough, rolls it out, and folds it. Because it uses a kugelhopf mold with a hole in the center instead of a dedicated star mold, its shape and process differ from the traditional star-shaped method, even though it is presented under the same name.<\/p>\n

On the outskirts of Verona, some makers bake pandoro at home in winter to give to family, relatives, and friends. Giovanni Castellani, featured in 2023, bakes 30 or more every winter and recommends starting preparations four days before they are to be eaten. In his own method, if the dough exceeds 26\u00b0C during kneading, he stops and chills it, and the later fermentation in the mold proceeds at 26\u201328\u00b0C. He also chills the mixer bowl, the beater, and the egg yolks until just before use, managing separately the mixing, which must not warm the dough, and the fermentation, which involves waiting while holding the temperature.<\/p>\n

Proofing in the mold and baking into an eight-pointed star<\/h2>\n

The divided dough is shaped by pirlatura, rounding it by rotating it on the work surface so its surface becomes taut, and is placed in a buttered mold. Because the dough rises along eight points that continue from the sides down to the bottom, the star shape is not merely a decoration on top but the form of the entire cake. Proofing in the mold proceeds without forming large voids, with the internal air bubbles also kept even.<\/p>\n

After it has baked through to the center, it is left to cool in the mold for a while, then removed and left to continue cooling. When the separately supplied powdered sugar is dusted on just before eating, the cake and the powdered sugar are placed in a bag and shaken lightly. The sugar reaches even into the hollows, accentuating the contrast with the golden crumb.<\/p>\n

\n\"Unbaked\n
Pandoro dough in a star-shaped mold, ready for baking (December 18, 2010; location unknown). The dough has risen above the rim of the mold. Photo: Paola Sucato, \u201cGonfia il pandoro\u201d \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY 2.0<\/a>. Image retrieved as distributed by Commons. No content alterations or cropping made for this use.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The 1894 advertisement and application, and the 1895 certificate of protection<\/h2>\n

Domenico Melegatti advertised \u201cPan d’Oro\u201d in the local newspaper L’Arena on March 21\u201322, 1894. In the application filed in October of the same year, it became the single word \u201cPandoro,\u201d and on March 20, 1895, a three-year certificate of industrial property was issued. The sweet advertised as \u201cPan d’Oro\u201d was subsequently filed under the name \u201cPandoro\u201d and received protection the following year.<\/p>\n

\n\"Certificate\n
Domenico Melegatti’s certificate of industrial property. The application of October 1894 can be read in the body text, and the issue date of March 20, 1895, at the bottom. A historical document that makes it possible to distinguish the 1894 application from the certificate issued the following year. Image: Ministero di Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio del Regno d’Italia \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ Public domain<\/a>. Downsized version retrieved from Commons. A reproduction of a flat historical document issued in 1895. Excluded from the count toward the minimum of three photographs. The original source is an image published by Melegatti. No content alterations or cropping made by us.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The refinement of the leva, and the stories behind the star shape and the name<\/h2>\n

According to the family’s account, its basis is the leva, a leavened dough made in Verona on Christmas Eve. It is said to have been refined by increasing the eggs and butter and removing elements such as the topping, which were thought to hinder its rise. The area’s older nadalin is also star-shaped, but it is a denser sweet. The tall, soft form is described as a reworking of a festive leavened dough.<\/p>\n

As for the name, which evokes \u201cgolden bread,\u201d there is also a family legend that a young worker, seeing the cut surface in the sunlight, said, \u201cIt truly is bread of gold.\u201d As for the mold’s eight points, the City of Verona’s industrial heritage documents attribute them to the work of the painter Angelo Dall’Oca Bianca. Through refined ingredients and an ingenious mold, it is finished as a soft, tall star.<\/p>\n

Melegatti’s own company history also includes a story that he challenged competing artisans, offering 1,000 lire to anyone who could make public the true recipe (the proportions of ingredients and the method). It has been handed down as a promotional anecdote that stressed the secrecy of his own formula as artisans making similar sweets appeared.<\/p>\n

Differences from panettone<\/h2>\n

Milan’s panettone<\/a> is also a leavened Christmas sweet, but the basic version has a round body and a cracked top, air bubbles that stretch vertically, and raisins and candied citrus mixed in. Pandoro is star-shaped, with a fine, uniform crumb and characteristic aromas of butter and vanilla. Some panettone contain no fruit, but even these differ from pandoro in shape and crumb texture.<\/p>\n

Ingredient ratios under the naming regulations, and special formulations<\/h2>\n

Italy’s 2005 naming regulation and its 2017 amendment set out requirements for shape, fermentation, and ingredients. They require the use of Category A hen’s eggs or egg yolks, with at least 4% egg yolk and at least 20% milk fat derived from butter made from milk cream. Both percentages are calculated on the dough just before dividing, converted to dry weight, and based on the portion excluding solid additions such as fruit. Even when whole eggs are used, they are converted to the dry-matter equivalent of egg yolk. These figures are neither the weight of the butter itself that is added nor the fat percentage on a per-slice nutrition label.<\/p>\n

Some versions are filled with cream or coated in chocolate, and the regulations also set conditions for added ingredients and for special formulations that replace gluten-containing ingredients with technologically necessary ingredients. The fine, soft texture of star-shaped pandoro comes from a method in which eggs and butter are worked in stages and the dough is fermented.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Giovanni Castellani<\/strong>: A home baker on the outskirts of Verona who bakes pandoro to give to family and friends. His process was featured in a 2023 article.<\/p>

Sachiko Fujino<\/strong>: A culinary expert who teaches Italian cooking, bread, and sweets. This article covers her home method using dry yeast and a kugelhopf mold.<\/p>

Kugelhopf mold<\/strong>: A baking mold with a central tube and ridges on its sides as well. Its shape differs from the dedicated eight-pointed pandoro mold.<\/p>

Angelo Dall’Oca Bianca<\/strong>: A painter from Verona. He is presented as a figure connected with the star-shaped pandoro mold.<\/p>

Natural leaven<\/strong>: A starter containing yeasts and other microorganisms, maintained by refreshing it with flour, water, and so on. For pandoro, it is based on the Italian pasta acida.<\/p>

Emulsion<\/strong>: An ingredient in which fat is blended with egg yolks or similar ingredients. In some methods, it is mixed into the dough in several portions.<\/p>

Cocoa butter<\/strong>: A fat obtained from cocoa beans. It is also used in some pandoro formulations.<\/p>

Pirlatura<\/strong>: The step of rounding the dough by rotating it on the work surface to shape its surface.<\/p>

Giovanni Ricciardella<\/strong>: An Italian cook. He has published a pandoro method in which the natural leaven is refreshed three times.<\/p>

Domenico Melegatti<\/strong>: A confectioner in Verona in the late 19th century. His name appears in the records of pandoro’s advertisement and industrial property.<\/p>

Leva<\/strong>: A dough of flour, milk, and leaven, said to have been made in Verona on Christmas Eve.<\/p>

Nadalin<\/strong>: An old Christmas sweet of Verona. It has a star shape similar to pandoro and is known for its denser texture.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. \n

    Italia Zuki, \u201cI Want to Try Baking Pandoro! Tips on How to Make It, Taught by a Former-Banker Dad\u201d (December 17, 2023)<\/a>: A report on home baking on the outskirts of Verona. The temperatures and schedule apply only to this maker’s formula and process.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  2. \n

    Storia del Pandoro Melegatti, l’Originale – Melegatti<\/a> \u2014 1894 advertisement \/ October application \/ March 20, 1895 certificate, modification of the leva, increased eggs and butter, the family’s naming legend, and the company’s own history stating that 1,000 lire was offered to competing artisans.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  3. \n

    Ricetta Pandoro con lievito madre – La Ricetta di GialloZafferano<\/a> \u2014 Starter refreshed three times, egg yolks and cold butter in the first dough, fermentation to triple volume and refrigeration, adding flour the next day and adding the cold emulsion in portions, rounding, mold, cooling, and powdered sugar.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  4. \n

    IRCA Group | PANDORO RICETTA RICCA<\/a> \u2014 Three-stage dough, a temperature of 26\u201328\u00b0C and staged addition of whole eggs, egg yolks, and butter, voids in the mold, final proof, baking, and cooling.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  5. \n

    Pandoro di Verona dal 1922 | Bauli<\/a> \u2014 Basic ingredients of wheat flour, eggs, sugar, butter, and natural leaven; no fruit; powdered sugar supplied separately.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  6. \n

    Ministerial Decree of July 22, 2005, Article 2: Pandoro<\/a> \u2014 Eight-pointed star shape \/ soft exterior \/ fine, uniform air bubbles \/ butter and vanilla; natural leaven mandatory, with added yeast and the like optional.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  7. \n

    Ministerial Decree of July 22, 2005, Article 7: Special formulations and added ingredients<\/a> \u2014 Additional fillings \/ coatings; panettone without fruit also exists.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  8. \n

    Ministerial Decree of July 22, 2005, Annex II: Production process<\/a> \u2014 Leaven, fermentation, mixing, dividing, rounding and placing in molds, proofing in the mold, baking, cooling, optional powdered sugar.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  9. \n

    Gazzetta Ufficiale: 2017 decree amending the regulations on production and sales names for baked confectionery (published June 14, 2017)<\/a> \u2014 2017: Category A eggs \/ egg yolk 4%, milk fat from butter made from milk cream 20%, whole eggs converted to dry egg-yolk equivalent, special formulations regarding gluten.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  10. \n

    Christmas in Verona<\/a> \u2014 Christmas in Verona and the denser star-shaped nadalin, a related leavened sweet.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  11. \u30fbCity of Verona, \u201cPatrimonio Industriale\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The shape of the mold and Angelo Dall’Oca Bianca.<\/p><\/li>

  12. \u30fbMelegatti, \u201cStoria\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Its brief company timeline gives October 14, 1894, as the date of the certificate. The main text distinguishes the advertisement, the application, and the 1895 certificate based on the detailed history of the sweet.<\/p><\/li>

  13. \n

    Ministerial Decree of July 22, 2005, Annex I: Method for calculating ratios<\/a> \u2014 The denominator for egg yolk and milk fat; dry-matter conversion of the dough just before dividing, excluding solid additions.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  14. \n

    Tomizawa Shoten \/ Sachiko Fujino, \u201cPandoro\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Home method with dry yeast, cold butter folded in, kugelhopf mold. Not used as a general definition.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  15. Editorial notes<\/h2><\/li>

  16. The Melegatti family’s recollection of staking 1,000 lire is treated as an anecdote conveying promotion built around a secret formula and the spread of competing products. It is not used as evidence of an invention that preceded all related sweets.<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Dusted with white powdered sugar, pandoro looks like a tall star. It is a leavened Christmas sweet associated with Verona, and when sliced, it reveals a yellow crumb inside an eight-pointed outline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6810,"menu_order":42,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Pandoro","subtitle":"A Verona Christmas sweet with powdered sugar settled on its star-shaped cross-section","topics":"Verona \/ Star shape \/ Fermentation and butter","country":"Italy","show_toc":true,"ingredients":[],"texture":[],"occasion":["christmas"],"method":["fermented"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[166],"class_list":["post-8287","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"manual","sweetlore_related_articles":[8286,8274,8295,8296,8302,8303,8304,8245]},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t