Leading Italian baked goods company Grondona S.p.a. has launched its popular CIAMBELLONE oven-baked donut cake with sultanas in a larger format (2,500g, 5.5lb). 

 

Made with all-natural ingredients and homemade sourdough, the unique CIAMBELLONE raisin cake from Grondona has already been recognised by the UK’s Great Taste (one star). 

Grondona currently sells its products in Europe, the UK, the USA, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore – and the firm is confident that the large-sized 2500g format CIAMBELLONE will be particularly popular with consumers in the USA and the UK. 

Soft and fragrant sweet sourdough cake

Grondona’s CIAMBELLONE is a sweet, oven-baked donut cake, made with wheat flour, leavened with pure sourdough. 

The pastry is cooked for 55 minutes at a temperature of 180ºC in a continuous linear oven – and product is then slow-cooked to refresh naturally for eight hours. 

The resulting product has characteristics of softness and fragrance, with an easy digestibility – due to the slow, natural rising processes.

Likewise, the ingredients list reflects the naturalness of Grondona’s CIAMBELLONE: Sultanas and raisins, wheatflour, yeast, sourdough, water, cane sugar, butter, candies orange peel (orange peel, glucose-fructose syrup, cane sugar, lemon juice concentrate), pasteurized egg yolk, milk powder, natural orange flavour, natural vanilla flavour, and salt. 

Moreover, the product contains no mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, and is completely free from GMO-derived ingredients.

High-quality raw materials for the perfect CIAMBELLONE

“The decision to use high quality raw materials is mandatory for anyone who believes in the intensity of a simple taste. Likewise, the search for special, rare raw materials is never-ending,” the company said in a statement. 

“No normal flour would be good enough for Grondona. Grain for grain, the flour that we use offers a more complete taste and is rich in glutens and proteins, which are ideal for enhancing the natural leavening,” the firm continued. 

“According to our recipe, the butter must always be of the highest quality. Our butter is pure – obtained by churning fresh cream, with no lactose, ethyl vanillin or artificial colours added. 

“The Smyrna sultanas (golden raisins) are grown and sun-dried in Turkey, before being checked and selected by hand. Their skins are fine and tender – all the better to ooze their flavor and softness into the dough.

“Meanwhile, the orange peel is whole and not pressed, so that it retains all of its essential oils. Indeed, the quality of the peel is perceived by all the senses: the peel is the colour of precious quartz, the scent is rich and the intense flavor has no bitterness. As the oranges are harvested and chosen at just the right time, the richness of the natural fragrance is at its height. The peel then acquires the characteristics of softness and extraordinary taste after six months of ageing in tanks, without the addition of sulphur dioxide,” stated Grondona. 

Grondona Sourdoughs: Growing a living history

The beneficial properties of sourdough are many – ranging from an increased bioavailability of bioactive compounds and increased mineral bioavailability, to increased shelf-life, increased digestibility, increased organoleptic complexity, balance of gut microbiota, and a lower glycaemic index. That’s why Grondona uses sourdough – in fact, the identity of the company’s sourdoughs are subject to constant monitoring by the University of Florence. 

For Grondona’s CIAMBELLONE, the production cycle from sourdough to finished product encompasses many stages (regeneration, two phases of propagation, first leavening, portioning, second leavening, and baking) and takes around 65 hours in total.

“A sweet bread of the future”

Due to the many beneficial attributes of Grondona’s CIAMBELLONE, and the rising number of consumers that are seeking out health-boosting and functional foods, the firm has touted its product as “a sweet bread of the future”. 

The product also boasts an impressive six-month shelf-life.

Serving suggestions: For breakfast or dessert, with coffee, or thinly sliced with cheese and fruit. 

For further information on Grondon’s product range, go to: www.biscottificiogrondona.com  – or connect on Facebook www.facebook.com/GrondonaSpa or Instagram www.instagram.com/grondona_spa/?hl=en