Panettone is the tall, domed Christmas bread of Milan, its name from the Milanese panattón, 'big bread'. Studded with candied fruit and raised over days of slow fermentation, it is the festive loaf that conquered Italian Christmas.
Impossibly light and feathery, it pulls apart in soft buttery shreds scented with orange and vanilla. Sweet but never heavy, with little bursts of chewy candied fruit throughout.
Long, slow fermentation develops an extensible gluten network that traps gas for the airy crumb, while hanging it upside down keeps the tall structure from collapsing as it cools.
Variations
With chocolate chips instead of fruit, plain (senza canditi), filled with cream or mascarpone, pandoro as a Veronese cousin
On the Palate
Where Panettone sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 10
How it's made
8 steps · 40 min
- 1120 min
Build a strong active leaven and let it ripen.
- 215 min
Mix flour, sugar, egg yolks, butter and the leaven into a dough.
- 320 min
Knead intensively until smooth, elastic and glossy.
Watch outKnead until the dough turns smooth, stretchy and glossy and pulls into a thin windowpane without tearing — that gluten is what traps the gas for the airy crumb.
- 4480 min
Let the dough rise slowly for many hours until tripled.
Watch outGive it a long, slow rise until it's tripled and jiggly-light — rush this and the crumb comes out tight and heavy instead of cloud-soft.
- 55 min
Fold in raisins and candied citrus peel.
- 65 min
Shape into a ball and place in a tall paper mold.
- 7420 min
Proof again until risen above the rim, then bake until deep gold.
- 815 min
Skewer the base and hang the loaf upside down to cool.
Watch outSkewer the base and hang it fully upside down the moment it's out of the oven — the tall, soft crumb collapses under its own weight if it cools sitting up.
