How long does Panettone take to make?

It takes about 4 hours in total.

Which allergens does Panettone contain?

It contains cereals containing gluten, milk, eggs and sulphites. Always check the labels of the products you use.

How long does Panettone keep in the fridge?

Up to 4 days in the fridge, in a closed container. It can also be frozen.

Panettone

Name: Panettone
Cook time: 263 min
Total time: 263 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 450 g Wheat flour; 160 g Butter; 1 teaspoon Salt; 120 g Sugar; 5 u Egg Yolks; 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest; 1 tablespoon Honey; 6 g Yeast; 150 g Raisins; 1 u vanilla pod; 100 g Candied Peel; 1 tablespoon Orange Zest; 140 ml Water

Hard

Contains allergens

Cereales con glutenLecheHuevosSulfitos

Author: Equipo Cocinoa
Preparation time: 4 hr
Servings: 10

Summary

A challenging recipe for 10 servings. It takes about 4 hours to make. It is vegetarian and nut-free.

Milan's great Christmas bread made at home: a dough rich in egg yolks and butter, scented with vanilla, honey and citrus, studded with raisins and candied orange. It takes two days of kneading and rising and cools hanging upside down.

Ingredients

10 servings

450 g Wheat flour (strong bread flour (Manitoba type), 50 g for the starter, 220 g for the first dough and 180 g for the second)
160 g Butter (very soft, 60 g for the first dough, 90 g for the second and 10 g for the cross on top)
1 teaspoon Salt (level (about 4 g))
120 g Sugar (50 g for the first dough and 70 g for the second)
5 u Egg Yolks (from large eggs, 2 for the first dough and 3 for the second)
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
1 tablespoon Honey
6 g Yeast (fresh (or 2 g dried yeast))
150 g Raisins (sultanas)
1 u vanilla pod (or 1 teaspoon extract)
100 g Candied Peel (orange, diced)
1 tablespoon Orange Zest (from an unwaxed orange)
140 ml Water (at room temperature, 50 ml for the starter and 90 ml for the first dough)

Instructions

Day 1, afternoon. Make the starter: dissolve the yeast in the 50 ml of water, add 50 g of the flour and mix to a smooth paste. Cover and leave at room temperature until doubled in size and full of bubbles.
60 min
First dough: put the starter, 220 g of flour, the 90 ml of water and 50 g of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and knead with the dough hook at medium speed until the dough comes together and starts to pull away from the sides. Add 2 egg yolks one at a time, waiting until each is absorbed before adding the next.
15 min
Add 60 g of the soft butter in three batches and keep kneading until the dough is smooth, glossy and elastic: when you stretch a piece between your fingers it should form a thin membrane that lets light through without tearing.
10 min
Transfer it to a tall container, mark the level, cover and leave to ferment overnight at about 24-26 °C for 10 to 12 hours, until tripled in volume. If your kitchen is cold, leave it in the switched-off oven with the light on.
Day 2, morning. Soak the raisins in warm water for 20 minutes, then drain and dry them very well with a tea towel. Split the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and mix them with the honey and the orange and lemon zest.
25 min
Second dough: return the first dough to the mixer with 180 g of flour and 70 g of sugar and knead until smooth and elastic again. Add the remaining 3 yolks one at a time, then the honey mixture and the salt.
15 min
Add the 90 g of butter in three or four batches, waiting until each is absorbed before adding the next, and knead until the dough forms a thin membrane again and comes away from the bowl. It will be very soft and slightly sticky; if it feels warm to the touch, chill it for 10 minutes and carry on.
15 min
On the lowest speed, or by hand, mix in the raisins and candied orange just until evenly spread.
3 min
Turn the dough out onto a lightly buttered worktop, cover and leave to rest for 40 minutes. With buttered hands, round the dough by turning it on itself to tighten the surface and place it in the paper mould.
45 min
Leave the panettone to rise, covered, somewhere warm at about 26-28 °C, until the dome almost reaches the rim of the mould. This usually takes four to six hours.
Uncover it and let the surface dry slightly in the air while you heat the oven to 170 °C conventional (160 °C fan), with the shelf in the lower part. Cut a cross in the top with a razor blade or very sharp knife, lift the four flaps, put the 10 g of butter in the centre and fold them back.
25 min
Bake for about 50 minutes, without opening the oven for the first 30. If it browns too much, cover it with foil. It is done when the centre reads 92-94 °C or a long skewer comes out clean and dry.
50 min
As soon as it comes out, push two long skewers through the base, parallel, 2 cm from the bottom and right across, turn it over and hang it upside down between two chairs or two tall pans. Leave it to cool like this for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
Once it is completely cold, remove the skewers and keep it in a tightly sealed plastic bag. Wait until the next day to cut it: the aroma and texture improve.

Notes

Panettone is the Christmas bake of Milan and now of all Italy: it is eaten from early December until Epiphany, at breakfast or after Christmas lunch with sparkling wine or mascarpone cream, and it is a very common gift. It is also a tradition in Peru, Argentina (where it is called pan dulce) and other countries with Italian emigration. To be honest, this is a long, demanding project. Artisan panettone is made with a wheat sourdough (lievito madre) that is refreshed over several days; this home version uses a yeast starter and a first dough that ferments overnight, which is easier to manage at home, although the crumb will be a little less airy and it will not keep as long. Schedule: on day one, in the afternoon, the starter and first dough; on day two, the second dough in the morning, four to six hours' rising in the mould, baking and cooling upside down until the evening. You need a 1 kg paper panettone mould (about 18 cm across), two long metal skewers or knitting needles and, ideally, a stand mixer: by hand it is possible but exhausting. Keys to success: strong, high-protein flour, butter that is soft but not melted, adding the yolks and butter little by little and keeping the dough below 26 °C; if it warms up, chill it for 10 minutes. A cold kitchen stretches the rising times a lot: go by volume, not by the clock. Hanging it upside down as soon as it leaves the oven is essential, or it will collapse. Sealed in a plastic bag it keeps for a week; sliced, it freezes for two months. Leftovers are excellent toasted or made into French toast.

More information

Guide indicatorsDifficulty, quality and data reliability

Guide indicators

Estimated difficulty94/100
Recipe completeness65/100
Nutrition reliability: Medium

Calculated automatically from the ingredients, steps, time and community feedback. They are not a guarantee.

StorageKeeps 4 days in the fridge

Cuisine: ItalianKeeps 4 days in the fridgeFreezer friendly

Frequently asked questions

How long does Panettone take to make?: It takes about 4 hours in total.
Which allergens does Panettone contain?: It contains cereals containing gluten, milk, eggs and sulphites. Always check the labels of the products you use.
How long does Panettone keep in the fridge?: Up to 4 days in the fridge, in a closed container. It can also be frozen.
Which diets is this recipe suitable for?: It is vegetarian and nut-free.