REGIONAL FOCUS MALAYSIAN
BAKER REDEFINES PANETTONE CRAFT IN
Asia
Kuala Lumpur’s Ang Bo Ling elevates Asia’s artisanal baking scene with his Panettone World Cup triumph, marking a new chapter for regional craftsmanship and innovation.
A
t the inaugural Asia Selection of the Panettone World Cup held at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, Malaysia made a decisive mark
on the international bakery scene. Ang Bo Ling, founder and baker-owner of Twenty- Two Bakery in Kuala Lumpur, took top honors in the Traditional Category, solidifying Southeast Asia’s place in the expanding global conversation around artisanal panettone. The event, part of the biennial Panettone
World Cup organized by Swiss master baker Giuseppe Piffaretti, brought together competitors from seven Asian nations, including Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Japan. For the first time, Asia hosted a regional stage, a move that signals the continent’s growing appetite for high-level, long-fermented bakery craft. Ang’s winning entry—a Classico panettone characterized by its
soft,
moist crumb and balanced aromatics of butter, orange, vanilla, and candied fruit—
won over the judges for its restraint and harmony. What set his loaf apart, Ang explained, was not only precision but adaptation: “Unlike most competitors who rely on technical panettone flour, I worked with normal bread flour available locally. It challenged me to understand every ingredient’s role and interaction.” This pragmatic yet inventive approach
encapsulates what many see as a defining trait of Southeast Asian bakers. Without the
easy access to European flour
blends, Ang and peers across the region have learned to fine-tune fermentation, hydration, and temperature control to suit
tropical conditions—transforming
limitations into innovation. For Ang, the Singapore win is the
culmination of a six-year pursuit. A former barista turned sourdough specialist, he and his wife Yee Teng opened Twenty-Two Bakery in 2018 with a focus on flavour- driven sourdoughs that could appeal to
every generation. Within two years, the bakery transitioned entirely to sourdough- based production—a rarity in Malaysia’s commercially dominated bread market. Their dedication to fermentation extended naturally to the intricate world of panettone. “Coming from specialty coffee helped me
break down bread into taste, texture, and sensory balance,” Ang reflected in the Malay Mail feature. “We spent years developing breads with different grains—spelt, rye, einkorn—and that discipline carried over when I started testing panettone.” The result of that discipline was a loaf
representing both Italian technique and Malaysian resourcefulness. Ang’s Classico panettone uses locally sourced flour and premium butter but maintains the expected featherlight crumb achieved through natural leavening. He also collaborated with Chocolate Concierge, a Malaysian bean-to- bar producer, for his Chocolate Panettone entry—an example of how regional identity
24 • KENNEDY’S BAKERY PRODUCTION • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2025
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