Panettone – Italian Christmas Bread with Abundant Fruit Ingredients

Panettone, an Italian sweet bread originating from Milan, is typically enjoyed during festive occasions such as Christmas and New Year. Round, tall, and filled with generous amounts of butter and candied fruits, it can weigh up to 1 kilogram. Traditionally, making Panettone involves a lengthy process, and the dough is similar to sourdough, requiring several days of fermentation to achieve a distinctive fluffy texture. When served, it is sliced vertically into wedges and paired with sweet wine.

Four years ago, during the Christmas season in Rome, I had the opportunity to taste local Panettone and was amazed. This year, I tried making a simple homemade version. I soaked various candied fruits in rum in advance and used a pre-fermented dough to create a slightly sour flavor. The pre-ferment dough was prepared the night before, allowing the bread to be baked the next evening. The resulting product is slightly smaller, making it suitable for home baking. Fermented butter was specifically used in the dough for a richer flavor, and lemon zest was added along with the candied fruits. The surface is decorated with almond frosting or cocoa-almond frosting, providing a crispy texture. The interior is fluffy, soft, sweet but not overwhelming, making it perfect for festive occasions or as a delightful gift.

The recipe uses two types of molds: a larger one with a bottom diameter of 15 cm, a top diameter of 16.5 cm, and a height of 8.5 cm; and a smaller one with a bottom diameter of 10 cm, a top diameter of 11.2 cm, and a height of 8.5 cm. I made two large and five small Panettone using this recipe. You can choose molds based on your preferences, and if the recipe yields too much, you can halve the quantities. However, making it once a year for special occasions justifies making a little extra.

Ingredients:

Overnight Pre-ferment Dough:

• Bread flour: 500g
• Milk: 380g
• Instant dry yeast: 6g

Main Dough:

• Bread flour: 400g
• All-purpose flour: 100g
• Unsalted fermented butter: 300g
• Milk: 130g
• Granulated sugar: 120g
• Eggs: 2 (about 100g of egg liquid)
• Egg yolks: 10 (about 140g)
• Salt: 16g
• Instant dry yeast: 10g
• Lemons: 2

Wine-Soaked Candied Fruits:

• Candied orange peel: 200g
• Dried cranberries: 160g
• Blackcurrants: 120g
• Raisins: 120g
• Rum: As needed

Almond Frosting:

• Almond flour: 100g
• Egg whites: 90g
• Powdered sugar: 40g

Cocoa-Almond Frosting:

• Egg whites: 45g
• Almond flour: 40g
• Powdered sugar: 30g
• Cocoa powder: 6g

Surface Decoration:

• Almond slices: As needed
• Chopped hazelnuts: As needed
• Powdered sugar: As needed

Instructions:

1. Prepare Wine-Soaked Candied Fruits (1-2 Days in Advance): Place all candied fruit ingredients in a large bowl, pour enough rum to cover the fruits, and refrigerate. When needed, drain the fruits.
2. Prepare Overnight Pre-ferment Dough: Mix all the ingredients for the overnight pre-ferment dough until smooth. Cover the surface with a damp cloth and let it ferment at room temperature for about 1 hour until it doubles in size. Transfer to the refrigerator and let it ferment overnight, approximately 12 hours, until it expands to 3-4 times its original size, with a net-like structure inside.
3. Prepare Lemon Zest: Grate the zest of two lemons. Mix about 20g of granulated sugar with the lemon zest, allowing the zest to release its fragrance. Mix the egg liquid and egg yolks, setting aside the remaining egg whites.
4. Combine Pre-ferment Dough and Main Dough Ingredients: Cut the fermented pre-ferment dough into small pieces. Add it to the main dough, including the lemon zest mixed with sugar. Mix at low speed for about 1 minute, then switch to medium-high speed until the dough is smooth and leaves the sides of the bowl. Add the butter in three portions, ensuring each addition is well incorporated before adding the next. Knead the dough until it can be stretched into a thin, translucent membrane. Finally, add the drained wine-soaked candied fruits and knead until well distributed.
5. First Fermentation of Main Dough: Shape the dough and place it in a large container for the first fermentation, about 1 hour. Fold the dough once during fermentation. Continue fermenting until the dough is 2 times its original size.
6. Divide and Shape the Dough: When the dough has finished fermenting, divide and shape it into rounds. Let it rest for about 5 minutes, then shape it again. Place the dough with the sealed side down into round paper molds. The dough should fill about 1/3 to 1/2 of the mold height. Allow for final fermentation in a warm, humid environment for about 90-120 minutes.
7. Prepare Almond and Cocoa-Almond Frosting: Mix the ingredients for almond frosting and cocoa-almond frosting separately. Transfer each frosting to a piping bag for later use.
8. Decorate and Bake: When the dough has filled the molds to 8-9 parts, it’s ready for baking. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Decorate the surface of the dough with almond or cocoa-almond frosting as desired, sprinkle with almond slices or chopped hazelnuts, and sift powdered sugar on top. Place it in the preheated oven, reduce the temperature to 170 degrees Celsius, and bake on the middle-lower rack. The large Panettone takes about 45-50 minutes, while the small ones take around 35-40 minutes.
9. Cooling and Serving: During baking, the dough will continue to rise, filling the kitchen with a delightful aroma. Once baked, immediately invert the Panettone and let it cool by hanging it upside down using a skewer through the bottom. After cooling, it can be removed. Some suggest waiting 2-3 days for the flavors to meld, but I personally prefer the texture right out of the oven. The almond frosting on the surface is crispy, the interior is fluffy and soft, with a delightful fruity aroma.

Tips:

1. Candied fruits can be varied as long as the total quantity remains the same, but it’s recommended to include some candied orange peel for a special fragrance.
2. Ensure thorough kneading to give the dough sufficient elasticity.
3. Exercise patience during the final fermentation to allow the dough to expand to 2-3 times its original size.
4. After the final fermentation, the surface of the bread can be decorated with almond frosting or cocoa-almond frosting. The total quantity of these two can perfectly decorate all the bread in this recipe.