n one block of Martha Street, it feels like Christmas came early. Panettone — sliced and dolloped with whipped cream — is already officially for sale.
The traditional Italian holiday sweet bread is part of the lineup at Formosa, the pop-up bakery from James Beard-nominated pastry chef James Matty that’s taking over the bottle shop inside Picnic on Saturday and Sunday mornings this October.
Matty, who oversees the pastry program for Defined Hospitality restaurants including Suraya and Condesa, said Formosa is shorthand for Aquaformosa, the tiny mountain village in Calabria, Italy, where his grandfather was born. Likewise, the pop-up’s menu spans bread-forward (and seasonally anachronistic) sweets that are meant to evoke a sense of warmth. There are oversized cinnamon rolls swirled with blueberry jam, a sticky-sweet plum upside down cake, and doughnut shop-style maple pecan cruellers, among other delights.
The panettone is Formosa’s crown jewel. Flecked with dark chocolate chips, pecans, and Luxardo cherries, Matty’s version splits the difference between classic and new-aged panettones, which tend to be airier and more voluptuous. His bread is buttery soft and light, with a crackly crust that’s fun to peel off.
To me — a panettone novice — it tasted like a cross between the world’s moistest poundcake and a sourdough loaf.
Matty, who grew up in Trooper, Montgomery County, was also not raised in a panettone family. His fixation with the bread began in adulthood while studying at the Culinary Institute of America, where he became enamored with the craftsmanship good panettone requires.
Panettone is “like the mountaintop” of bread, said Matty. “It’s the most difficult to pull off consistently.”
Formosa’s version takes the equivalent of a work week to prepare. The dough must ferment for three days, said Matty. It takes another two to proof and bake. The most stressful test comes at end: Panettone must hang upside while cooling so it doesn’t collapse inward under its own weight.
The first time Matty made panettone, he said called it a “complete flop.”
“It literally flopped out of the mold,” he said. Upwards of twenty retries later, and Matty’s panettone hangs steadily on the cooling rack, sort of like muffin-shaped bats.
At Formosa, Matty’s panettone will be served in $9 slices topped with whipped cream. As for selling whole rounds in time for the winter holidays, Matty said to “wait-and-see.”
For now, I’ll just be adding it to the top of my wish list.
Formosa at Picnic, 2421 Martha St., instagram.com/formosa.philly. Hours: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. (or sell out) Saturday - Sunday from Oct. 3 to Oct. 25.
