Panettone Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the best flour to make panettone? ›

Bread flour, high in gluten, is ideal for panettone. Its high protein content gives the bread its signature fluffy and airy texture.

A good panettone must come out of the cup and form a completely rounded dome – if it is flat it means that there was a cooking or leavening problem. 5- Alveolation: that is the cavities produced by the natural leavening of the panettone, which can be observed once cut.

Panettone needs a lot of warmth, humidity, and time to rise, and there's a real risk that the surface will dry out during proofing if proper measures aren't taken.

Your dough can become sticky when you add too much water or the flour isn't suitable for the type of dough you are making. Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough.

Yeast. I use instant yeast for my recipes as it is super easy and doesn't require activating, and the liquids don't necessarily have to be warm (it will just take longer to rise). Milk powder. Instant milk powder makes bread dough super soft and fluffy and also helps to give it a good rise.

Artisanal panettone will have higher amounts of yolks and butter without emulsifiers or preservatives. They will contain real vanilla beans and not the cheaper vanillin. The fruit will be high quality candied citrus (not only orange, but often also pricier citron) and not industrial candied citrus with sulfur dioxide.

While no sourdough baking processes can be considered “simple”, panettone is definitely takes complications to the extreme, with an unusual levain maintenance method (“pasta madre”, or mother dough), two dough builds (the “primo” and “secondo impastos”), and the necessity for exacting temperature and pH control ...

Many high-quality panettone varieties are produced by artisanal bakeries using traditional techniques. Artisanal production often results in smaller batches and more hands-on attention to detail, which can increase the overall cost of production.

The dimensions should be around 13,5 cm / 5.3 inch diameter and a height of 9.5 cm / 3.7 inch. Panetonne needs to cool upside down after baking, because the delicate and fluffy bread would collapse if you leave it standing up after baking.

BITE/N. The Bite/N mixers are perfect for particularly hydrated types of dough that are used to make baguettes, sliced bread, and breadsticks, for example, but also pastries such as croissants, panettone, and brioches.

How to tell when panettone is done? ›

Bake the panettone in a preheated 375F oven until an internal temperature reaches between 190F and 195F when an instant thermometer is inserted deeply into the top center, 60 to 90 minutes.

It's common (but not mandatory) to add a splash of liquor like Marsala or an orange liquor like Grand Marnier: every liquor that matches good with the orange and zesty Panettone flavor. In my tips below I also share with you all the tips to serve Panettone perfectly like we do in Italy, so check them out!

Why does Panettone last so long? Italy's favourite festive sweet bread lasts around 45 days if unopened due to the delicious butter content which ensures the dough stays softer for longer.

After slicing, store the remaining inside of the cellophane bag that it was originally wrapped in. This bag is specific for keeping the shelf-life of the panettone long, even after it is cut. If left whole and stored properly, the panettone will stay fresh and moist for about 4 weeks.

It's porous and slightly sour, a flavor it derives from the intense fermenting process it undergoes before it hits the oven.

Usually, Italian wheat flour is split into two large groups: Grano Tenero (soft wheat flour) and Grano Duro (hard wheat or semolina flour). All Italian wheat flour fits into these categories one way or another, but this classification doesn't apply to other grains.

Italian mills will usually sell flour based on what its purpose is for. For long fermented doughs such as panettone the flour will be '00' but with a stronger gluten content than the '00' flour they'll sell for pizza or pasta making. An all-purpose flour can also be '00'.

While bread flour is more than adequate for everyday breads, some professional bakers use high-gluten flour with a 14% protein content to provide extra strength to dense, chewy doughs like bagels and pizza dough. High-gluten bread flour gives milk bread it's taut structure and compact (but tender) crumb.

Cake flour is also very finely ground, “with a silky-smooth texture that produces a fine-textured cake,” explains Corriher (you might see it labeled as extra fine or superfine flour). Because it's so fine, it has more surface area, meaning it can absorb more liquid.