Easy Panettone Recipe (Italian Christmas Bread)

4.80 from 35 votes

Easy Panettone Recipe (Italian Christmas Bread)

Panettone is a sweet, soft, and buttery bread similar to brioche but it is loaded with candied orange, raisins, currents, and baked in a paper mold. It's also referred to as Italian Christmas bread because it is traditionally baked for the Holidays and shared with friends and family.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Proofing14

Total Time14 30

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 286kcal

Author: Liz Marek

Equipment

Stand mixer with paddle and dough hook attachments
2.75" Panettone Wrappers
Digital Kitchen Scale
pastry brush

Ingredients

Sponge

8 ounces water 70ºF
15 grams instant yeast
10 ounces bread flour

Dough

8 ounces butter (room temperature) softened
4 ounces honey
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (room temperature)
2 egg yolks (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces bread flour
3 ounces raisins
2 ounce candied orange peel
3 ounces dried cranberries
2 ounces dried currants
1 Tablespoon lemon zest

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Before you Begin

Make the sponge the evening before you plan to bake. Ensure your butter and eggs are at room temperature before starting Day 2 (this takes several hours, so plan ahead or warm the eggs in a bowl of warm water and microwave the butter in 5-second bursts). Remove the sponge from the fridge 30 minutes before you start the dough.

For the Sponge

Stir the instant yeast into the bread flour until combined. Add the 70º F water and mix until all the flour is moistened. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, 12 to 15 hours.

For the Dough

Remove sponge from fridge 30 minutes before starting.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream softened butter and honey until smooth.
With mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, then egg yolks and vanilla. The mixture may look curdled; this is normal.
Add the sponge and mix on low until roughly combined, about 2 minutes.
Combine bread flour and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the mixer and mix on low until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Switch to the dough hook.
Knead on medium-low for 8 minutes until smooth. Perform the windowpane test: pull a small piece of dough and gently stretch it thin. If it stretches without tearing, the gluten is developed. If it tears, knead 2 more minutes and test again.
Add raisins, candied orange peel, cranberries, currants, and lemon zest. Mix on low until evenly distributed.
Cover and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Portion dough into approximately 3-ounce balls. Shape each into a smooth ball by tucking edges underneath. Place in panettone paper molds on a sheet pan.
Cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let proof for 30 to 90 minutes until visibly puffed and approaching the top of the molds. If dough is cold, this will take longer.
Brush tops with egg wash.
Bake at 375º F for approximately 25 minutes until deeply golden and internal temperature reaches 200º F.
Cool on a wire rack. For large loaves, cool upside down on skewers for at least 2 hours.

Video

Notes

Yeast: Instant yeast goes directly into flour without blooming. If using active dry yeast, bloom it in the 70º F water for 10 minutes first and increase the amount by 25 percent.

Flour: Bread flour is strongly recommended for the strongest gluten structure. If using all-purpose flour, reduce the sponge water by 10 percent.

Upside-down cooling: Required only for large loaves. Push two long skewers horizontally through the base of the loaf 1 inch from the bottom and rest them on two heavy pots or cans. Cool upside down for at least 2 hours.

Storage: Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature, up to 7 days. Frozen, double-wrapped in plastic and foil, up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm in foil at 350º F for 4 to 6 minutes.

Leftover panettone: Slice and make French toast, cube for bread pudding, or toast and serve with butter and jam.

Nutrition