• Make sure that you have read through the entire recipe before you start so that you understand each step and the timings required.

Poolish:

• The evening before the day you want to bake the Colomba Pasquale, prepare the poolish by mixing together the flour, water and yeast in a bowl until well combined. Cover tightly and leave to ferment at cool room temperature overnight, 8-12 hours.
  100 g manitoba flour, 100 g cool water, ⅛ teaspoon fast action

First Dough:

• The following morning the poolish should look bubbly. To make the first dough, scrape the poolish into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, lukewarm milk, yeast and butter and mix until well combined with no dry patches of flour; it should be quite wet, almost more of a batter than a dough. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours at warm room temperature. (I just leave it in the stand mixer bowl to rise).
  200 g manitoba flour, 200 g unsweetened soya milk lukewarm, 40 g vegan block butter softened, 11 g fast action

Second Dough:

• Once the first dough has risen, add the flour, sugar, vanilla and orange extracts and orange zest to the bowl.
  180 g manitoba flour, 130 g caster or granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract, 2 teaspoons orange extract or orange blossom water, finely grated zest of 2 large oranges
• Knead with the stand mixer until the dough is very smooth, elastic and looks like it is forming strings as it mixes (see post above for reference photo). Check the temperature every now and again with a probe thermometer and do not allow the dough to become too warm, it should never exceed 28°C/82℉. If it starts to get too warm, refrigerate the bowl for 5 minutes before continuing to knead.
• Add in the butter a little at a time, allowing each addition to be incorporated fully before adding more. The dough should be soft and sticky, do not add extra flour.
  100 g vegan block butter softened
• Once all of the butter has been added, sprinkle in the salt and mix until combined. The dough should pass the windowpane test - you should be able to stretch it thinly enough to see light through it without it tearing.
  8 g (1 ¼ teaspoons) fine table salt
• Finally add the candied peel, mix until evenly distributed.
  150 g candied peel
• Lightly oil a large bowl and your hands, shape the dough into a ball as best you can. Place it in the oiled bowl, cover and set aside to rise at warm room temperature until tripled in size, about 3 ½ - 4 ½ hours.

Final Shaping And Rising:

• Once the second dough has risen, use your hands to scoop it up and fold it back on itself a couple of times to deflate it. Turn it out onto an unfloured surface and divide it into two pieces, one just slightly larger than the other, shape each into a ball.
• Flatten the smaller piece out into a rough rectangle then roll it up tightly into a log. Roll it out into a skinny log just slightly shorter than the length of the Colomba mould. Place it seam side down lengthways in the mould to form the head and tail of the dove. Make an indent in the middle where the wings are.
• Flatten the other ball of dough out into a rectangle as before, and roll up tightly into a log. Make this one shorter and fatter than the other, slightly shorter than the width of the mould. Lay it seam side down across the other piece of dough to make the wings and body of the dove.
• Cover and leave to rise at warm room temperature until it has at least doubled in size and almost reached the top of the mold, if you look at it from the side the centre of the dough should be peeking above the mold, but the sides should be about an inch below the top. If you poke it with a floured finger the dough should spring back most of the way but leave a small indentation. This will take about 3 hours at warm room temperature but could take longer if it is cold.
• While the dough is rising mix together the ground almonds, milk and caster sugar for the glaze.
  30 g ground almonds (almond flour), 30 g soya milk, 40 g caster or granulated sugar
• When the dough is nearly ready, preheat the oven to 200℃/180℃ fan/400℉/gas mark 6. Uncover the Colomba and allow to sit uncovered for 15-20 minutes while the oven heats up.
• When the Colomba is ready to bake, very gently spread the glaze over the top of the dough, being careful not to deflate it. I find it easiest to use my hands to spread it.
• Scatter the flaked almonds and pearl sugar over the glaze, then dust with icing sugar.
  30 g flaked almonds (or whole almonds), 2 Tablespoons pearl sugar, icing (powdered) sugar for dusting
• Place the Colomba on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180℃/160 fan/350℉/gas mark 4. Bake for a further 45-50 minutes, until the internal temperature has reached 94°C / 200°F on a probe thermometer. Loosely cover with tin foil after about 40 minutes to prevent the top from burning before it is cooked through.
• Place the Colomba on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.