The night before baking

1. Dough Starter: Combine the starter ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix with a fork until a shaggy mixture. Cover, and allow it to rest in a warm place for 8-12 hours. This is called your biga- a type of pre-fermentation. You can also use a sourdough starter if you have some and skip this step (use 190 g of the starter if you have it already).
2. Prepare Mix-Ins: In a small bowl, combine the honey, vanilla extract, orange peel, and lemon + orange zest. Mix to combine. Cover and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine raisins with water. Cover and set aside. This step makes sure the raisins stay moist during baking. Let them rest overnight. 

Baking day

1. Dough Part 1 and 1st rise: in a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine the dough starter (biga), half of the flour, and all of the water and yeast. Mix until combined, and knead with the dough hook (or by hand) for about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place. The dough should triple in size. 
2. Dough Part 2: After the dough rises for 1 hr, add the rest of the flour and mix to combine. The dough will look shaggy and crumbly. Let rest for 10 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl until fluffy and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add the honey, candied orange, and zest mixture to the beaten eggs and stir until combined.
4. Slowly add the egg and orange mixture to the dough. Mix with a dough hook until the dough is sticky and uniform; mix with a dough hook (or by hand) for about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky, and it will take several minutes to come together, about 10 minutes of kneading! 
5. Add the butter to the dough, small bits at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix dough with a dough hook (or by hand) until a smooth dough forms (still sticky). After the butter is incorporated, add the raisins (remove excess water, if any). Gently mix until the raisins are incorporated into the dough.  Make the dough into a ball. Move the dough to a clean and greased bowl.
6. Dough Rise 2. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours or until it’s puffy or proofed and doubled in size. Gently deflate the dough.
7. Fold Dough (see the video in this post for a visual view). Move to a greased baking sheet or countertop (do not add extra flour use greased hands to work with dough). Start clockwise- by taking the top corner of the dough (12 o’clock position), pinch a corner of the dough and lift it up and let the dough stretch by lifting your hands up. Fold the stretched dough back on itself (6 pm location). Turn the dough clockwise so (your 12 o’clock position is now the 3 pm location). Repeat the same process of stretching and folding the dough onto itself 3 times total. This fast process takes about 1 minute from start to finish.
8.  Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes and repeat the folding process 2 more times with these exact directions of stretching and folding.
9. Shape Dough. Bring the corners in toward the center to form a ball, and pinch the loose ends together. Cup your hands around the dough to round the ball. Place it in a well-buttered or sprayed panettone pan, mold paper, or other straight-sided, tall 1 1/2- to 2-quart pan.
10. Dough Rise 3. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it reaches over the rim of the mold, about 1 1/2- 2 hours (time varies depending on humidity and temperature). You want the dough just at the rim or slightly above the mold. When the rise is complete, brush the top with egg wash. Make cross cuts on the panettone with a sharp knife, and put a small pat of butter in the center of the cake. Sprinkle with the desired amount of pearl sugar (optional).
11. Bake. Bake the cake in a preheated 375°F oven for 10 minutes; then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for about 30-35 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil if the top of the panettone appears to be browning too fast.
12. When finished baking, the Panettone bread or cake should be a deep brown color. It will sound hollow when tapped and will read 190°F at the center using a digital thermometer. It’s easy to underbake panettone since the top can brown quickly. Remove the panettone from the oven and cool completely.
13. Rest. To cool the panettone- pierce each side with a bamboo skewer (or these panettone hangers), flip it over, and hang it between two tall jars. Hanging it upside down for a few hours prevents the panettone from caving in on itself. You do not have to cool it upside down. You can cool it on a cooling rack. 
14. Storage. Store at room temperature, well-wrapped, for up to a week; freeze for longer storage.