Panettone for the Holiday!
Panettone was traditionally a Christmas bread sold all over Italy during the holidays. It finds its origins in Milan around the 15th century, and has been the subject of much romantic lore. The most often told story of how this bejeweled bread came to be goes something like this. A young nobleman by the name of Ughetto Atellani fell in love with the daughter of a poor baker named Toni. In order to impress her, Ughetto disguised himself as a pastry chef’s apprentice in her father’s bakery. He creates a tall fruit studded bread to present to her father, calling it “Pan de Toni.” The bread, rich with eggs and butter, sweet with honey, scented with vanilla and lemon zest, with the finishing touch of dried and candied fruits was a success in the bakery and wins the admiration of the lady and the father’s respect. The baker blesses the marriage and Ughetto marries the daughter.
The story is rich and fanciful, just like the bread. Today this sweet loaf is no longer saved just for Christmas, it is eaten at other holidays throughout the year and served sliced and toasted for brunch and as a dessert with a selection of cheeses and sweet wines. The bread, despite its rather lighthearted lore is quite sophisticated. The traditional method for making panettone is done over the course of several days. It included long sessions of kneading and allowed for up to 20 hours of rise time in order to create a flavor that is both sweet, but also has a complexity caused by the fermentation of the dough. Today, we want the same balance of flavor, without having to labor over the process or wait several days to enjoy our bread. Although you can bake the bread after only a couple of hours of refrigeration we recommend letting it sit for about 24 hours to develop its full flavor.
There are traditional Panettone molds that are very high sided which come either straight or fluted, they give the bread its characteristic cupola shape. These molds can be found in either metal Panettone-Charlotte or Paper Moulds varieties at cooking stores or on the web. We have also used a Brioche Molds
Panettone from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Makes three 1½ -pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
1½ cups lukewarm water
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast (1 1/2 packets)
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
½ cup honey
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for greasing pan
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon zest
7½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups mixed dried and/or candied fruit, chopped (golden raisins, dried pineapple, dried apricots, dried cherries and candied citrus just to name a few we’ve tried and loved in this bread).
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water)
Sugar for sprinkling on the top of the loaf
1. Mixing and storing the dough: Mix yeast, salt, honey, eggs, melted butter, extracts and zest with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or lidded (not airtight) food container.
2. Mix in flour and dried fruit without kneading, using a spoon, 14-cup capacity food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle attachment). You may need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine. The dough will be loose, but will firm up when chilled (don’t try to use it without chilling).
3. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4. Dough can be used as soon as it’s chilled after the initial rise. Refrigerate in a non-airtight lidded container and use over the next 5 days. Beyond that, the dough stores well in the freezer for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container. Freeze in one-pound portions. When using frozen dough, thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours before use, then allow usual rest and rise time.
Defrost dough overnight in the refrigerator if frozen.
5. On baking day, grease a Panettone or brioche pan with butter.
6. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1 ½ – pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Place the ball into the pan, seam side down.
7. Loosely cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
8. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 375°F with the rack in the middle.
9. Remove the plastic wrap and brush the Panettone with egg wash and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake in the center of the oven without steam for about 50 to 55 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. The amount of dough and baking times will vary depending on pan size.
10. Allow to cool before slicing or eating.
It is wonderful on its own or served with Laura’s Marmalade on page 96 of ABin5. For those looking for a whole grain holiday treat try our 100% Whole Wheat Christmas Stollen on page 279 of HBin5.
My friend Lana asked me what would be the essentials for getting her son started with our bread for Christmas? Here is what I told her:
Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day ~ For those on your list who want to bake with Whole Grains or Gluten-Free
or
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Food Storage Container ~these round cambo containers are the easiest to mix in, but you can use a bowl or other container that is at least 5 quarts.
Oven Thermometer ~an inexpensive oven thermometer is key to understanding the true temperature of your oven. I thought this one was great because the numbers are BIG enough to read through the oven window.
Pizza Peel ~ this is an extra wide peel, which I really like for pizza. You can also use a cookie sheet that has no sides.
Baking Stone
With those few items you can really create wonderful breads! Of course there are many more kitchen toys you may want once you get going with this, but these are what I think are a great start!
Holy smokes…she’s beautiful! I shun the mass-produced pannetones and this has got me wanting it again.
Hi Peter, Lisa, Elle, Pam, Sam’s mom and fishes and loaves,
Thank you so much! It is a tasty and gorgeous bread and great gift!
Enjoy, Zoë
Beautiful panettone! I want to make this for Christmas.
Oooh, gorgeous! I always hate the store-bought ones-they’re so dry and bland. But this…this looks amazing!
I’ve always been afraid on panettone! But I am sooo going to give it a try! That is a real beauty!
Oh my! I had no idea baking my own could be this easy. In my husband’s Italian family we go through LOADS of these at the holidays…and they are pricey with a lot of additives. I’m thrilled to try this and report back the results.
Dear Zoe, every year I consider trying to make this heart and home warming bread. It reminds me of my mother’s, vánočka sweet, yeasty and great dunked in your morning tea. I got your book earlier this year and I believe making panettone will finally be a reality. I’m gonna do it! Thanks for the post and the very beautifully presented reminder.
I made this last Christmas, and my son-in-law, who is from Milan, said it was the best he had ever had. That is high praise from someone from” Panettone country”. So easy and so delicious
Hi Rosemary,
I remember your adventure in Panettone from last year or was it the year before. How time flies! Enjoy!
Thanks, Zoë
Does this bread not require upside down cooling as do most Panettone recipes? It looks amazing…and much simpler than many other recipes I’ve seen. Thanks!
Hi Alison,
No, I never have had to cool it upside down. It may not be quite as cakey as the recipe you are thinking of. It holds its shape really well and the paper form helps as well.
Thanks, Zoë
Ooo, I wanted the recipe for this. Wow. Your panettone looks perfect.
Thank you Rose and Memoria!
Zoë
Makes my mouth water. Am making my shopping list now so I can make some tomorrow. Thanks!
I made these last year and they were transcendant. I had some Fiori di Sicilia and that put it right over the top into wonderfulness. Will definitely be making them again this year.
I am trying to move most food storage from plastic to glass, so I have decided to start using a 5-quart glass canister that I bought at Target for my bread dough. This will not be as convenient, and I may move back to plastic. Will let you know if I detect any differences in flavor, etc.
FYI, I clicked on your Cambro link, above, and was taken to 2-quart containers at Amazon.com.
Thanks for letting us know Dana, will check that out. Jeff
What a coincidence! I was thinking that I should look up the recipe for this one and here it is:)
This looks wonderful!
Will the 1 1/2 pound dough fit in the King Arthur paper mold that is 6 X 4 1/2?
Do you know how much Fiori di Sicilia I should use? I’m thinking it would replace the lemon and vanilla extracts, right?
My Healthy Bread book arrives tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Kari: I will let Zoe answer this one, I haven’t used it. Jeff
Hi Kari,
That is about the same size as the molds I used, as long as the dough comes up at least 3/4 of the way up the side of the mold it will work well. if you end up using more than 1 1/2 pounds of dough then just let it rise an extra 10-15 minutes and bake about that much longer.
I would start with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Fiori de Sicilia and see if that is strong enough for you. It is easy to add more, but impossible to remove it!
Enjoy, Zoë
I’m on a very low salt diet. Can I omit the salt from the basic bread dough recipe?
Elaine: You can omit the salt or decrease it; the bread will taste different. You can try a little salt subtitute if you’re not on a potassium-restricted diet. See https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=139
My crumb always seems dense. Sometimes I would like to make a lighter, more “holey” dough from the master recipe. I have checked my oven temperature and it is fine and my crust is good but I typically get a pretty dense crumb especially toward the bottom regardless of the shape of the bread…I have tried making it wetter also…I can’t seem to figure it out.
If you can help.
Mario: Are you using the 1st book (mostly white flour)? If you, be sure you are using unbleached flour (not bleached), or it doesn’t get any structure (bleached flour doesn’t have enough gluten). Where are you located (flours differ regionally and by country)? Once we get those answered, we’ll take it from there. Jeff
Hi Zoe
I am making the panettone for the first time and would like to use the large 8″ diameter paper mold. Will the cantaloupe-size amount of dough be sufficient or do I need to increase it?
Love your book and all of the recipes I have tried so far have been wonderful! Thanks for your help!
Hi Annette,
I would imagine that you will need to use closer to 2 pounds for that size mold. Make sure it is 3/4 full so that you get the dough to rise above the paper. If you end up using 2 pounds of dough be sure to increase the rest time by about 30 minutes and the baking as well, by about 15-20 minutes.
Enjoy! Zoë
I have tried both the basic artisian bread recipe and the cinnamon raisin bagel recipe that were published in Mother Earth News. I am having a bit of trouble. The artisian bread turned out to be what I would call very dense. What would I need to do to make it lighter and softer? Also, the bagels did not turn out right at all. I found a different bagel recipe that calls for only boiling the bagels in water for 30 seconds per side, verses 2 min. on one side and 1 min. on the other. My bagels turned out very misshapen and not done in the middle. Could it be that they got too water logged? Any help would be much appreciated. Ange
Hi Ange,
I find that people tend to over boil the bagels and so I’d have to agree that it may be the culprit for your soggy bagels. Try boiling them for a shorter time.
For the master recipe one of the most common reasons for overly dense loaves with whole wheat is that the dough is too dry. Does your dough look like the dough we show in our videos? It may be helpful to watch and compare to see if it is similar. If not, we can take it from there and try to help you get a nicer crumb. https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?page_id=63
Thanks, Zoë
This looks great I would like to try making it!
I have a question a bit off topic, I have both of your books and was looking to make Stollen for Christmas, however I didn’t want to make the whole wheat version, I just wanted to make it with 100% unbleached flour. Can I just replace the whole wheat in the recipe with unbleached white flower, add a bit less water, and not use the Vital Wheat Gluten, would that do the trick?
Thanks,
Keith
Keith: Something along those lines will work, but it will take a bit of experimentation. I’m not sure how to estimate how much less water this will take after you swap for AP and drop the VWG; I would guess you need to decrease by somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 cup. Let us know what you find, I’m sure others will be interested.
Hi Everyone! A note to Dana regarding the Cambro containers…check with King Author Flour website. They have a super line of bread making equipment. I have the 5 quart rising bucket and it has pleanty of space for all of the doughs in Jeff & Zoe’s books. The Pumpkin Pie Brioche rose clear to the top and I had enough room.
I’ve been making the Italian Semolina Bread these past couple of weks and it is wonderful. My crusts are crisp and crunchy and the inside is so tender it’s almost sinful. I had never used semolina flour before and it’s just super. The dough in my storage bucket even had bubbles on top of it the other day. Too cool. The Panettone looks fabulous and so easy, I’ll have to give it a try. I hope everyone is having fun with all these recipes and you and your families are enjoying the great taste of these breads.
Rosalie and others– a discussion of buckets, from free to pricey, is at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=121. Check it out. I just did a presentation to a large group and they were all using Kemp’s ice cream buckets. Not terribly durable, but food safe. Jeff
I never knew you could make it! Fabulous! Those containers are key! Thanks for the info! Beautiful photos!
Just made the Seeded Loaf and the Millet Fruit loaf- both excellent as always!
Next I am trying the 10 grain bread,
but I can only find the BRM 8 grain hot cereal-
do I need to make any adjustments to the recipe?
thanks again!
Mandy: I’m guessing that will work without adjustments, just go ahead with it (but please let us know what you though of the result). Jeff
I made the 10-grain bread featured in your second book last night. I only made one loaf (have enough dough in the fridge to make 3 more loaves). I found this loaf extremely dense, but maybe I need to let it rest longer because my kitchen was cool??? This is the recipe that uses the Bob’s Red Mill 10-grain hot cereal. I thought I would write and see if you have any tips for making this bread not so dense. It didn’t really have any holes in it like the basic recipe that I make from your first book. It looked beautiful but took lots longer to bake and then when I cut into it, it was SO dense. Also cutting it was difficult. My electric knife would make a grinding down noise when I tried to cut it, so I’m sure I’m doing something wrong here. Thanks for any tips! I still love your books and am anxious to try more of the recipes. Like the brioche and the chocolate bread! Yowza!
Hi Jeanna,
It could just be a matter of a cool kitchen and needing to let it rise a bit longer. But, it almost sounds as if the dough is too dry? Does it have any stretch to it when you take it out of the bucket, or is it rather solid feeling? If the dough is too dry it won’t rise as well. If you suspect that the dough is too dry then stir in an additional 2-4 tablespoons of water until it has a bit more stretch. After adding more water you will want to let it sit for an hour on the counter to make sure the water absorbs into the dough.
Thanks! Zoë
A quick suggestion on the “getting started” list: While not absolutely necessary, a Danish Dough Whisk makes easy work of mixing AB in 5 doughs and it’s a realitively inexpensive little gift to package with the book.
Hi janknitz,
What a great idea and those Danish Dough Whisks are so gorgeous!
Thanks, Zoë
I have actually used different brands and both wheat and white, but always unbleached. I am located in Arizona but also have made some in Utah…
Hi! Zoe, it was wonderful to meet you on your visit to the University Bookstore out here in Seattle. I’m the grad student who (gladly!) now provides fresh bread for her housemates, thanks to your book!
I’m so excited about this Panettone recipe -I have a couple (potentially silly) questions. First, when using the paper panettone mold, do you place it on the stone, a cookie sheet or directly on the rack? Second, I’d love to make a couple of these as gifts. I’d like to send one to my boyfriend’s mother in New Orleans. Any suggestions in packaging? Is it okay to put it in a nice plastic bag, then package it into a box? Or should I still try to avoid plastic in favor of paper? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks again to you both for spreading the gospel of bread! 🙂
Hi Kiera,
Thanks for coming to meet me in Seattle! So glad to hear from you.
I usually bake them on a cookie sheet. If you are going to send them you may want to wrap in plastic after it is absolutely cooled off, so that it won’t sweat in the bag and get soggy. They try to find a gift box or something to keep it from shifting around or smashing into the sides of the packing box.
Enjoy and thanks again for the note! Zoë
The panettone looks so yummy. I tried to bake panettone several times and never was successful. I will try your recipe. Just one question: what diameter has the paper mold you used?
It’s about 6 inches in diameter, give or take about 3/4 of an inch. Good luck with it! Jeff
Zoe – would you replace the vanilla and lemon extract with the fiori de sicily, or use it as an addition? I’m looking forward to trying this!
Related: I made a berry brioche to celebrate the end of the semester – a big hit with my colleagues! I baked a rectangle of brioche topped with fresh berries from our farmer’s market and coarse sugar (yes, I live in SoCal where we have an enterprising farmer who grows berries in his greenhouse) – the blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries made this quite the colorful holiday bread!
Looking forward to trying the panettone once my papers arrive! Cheers!
Hi Linda,
I would replace the lemon and keep the vanilla, but that is partly my obsession with vanilla!
Your berry brioche sounds incredible, tasty and gorgeous!
Thanks, Zoë
I am interested in giving bread as gifts… but I’m worried about the bread going stale or getting hard if I make it a day or two ahead of time. I think I remember from the book or one of the interviews I watched that said I should only make enough for one day. What recipes (from either book – I’ve got them both) would make good gifts that could withstand a few days … and … any packaging suggestions to maximize the freshness?
Hi AshleyRose,
Most of the whole grain breads will last better than anything made from white flour, the oils help to keep it longer. The same goes for some of the enriched loaves, like the panettone. I think larger loaves are better than baguettes or other thin breads.
You can parbake the loaves, freeze and then have them crisp in the oven. Or you can parbake, freeze and you crisp them up the day you will send. This way they are not sitting around for a day or two before they get shipped.
Panettone may be my first choice right now for holiday breads to be shipped. The stollen is wonderful as well, but you need to send the powdered sugar separately or it will all fall off in the mail!
Thanks, Zoë
Greetings All! I just finished baking off the last of the Roasted Garlic Potato Bread in the AB5 book. I made a loaf in my clay bread pan w/parchment liner yesterday and today I used the clay bread pan w/o parchment and I made a second loaf in a 1 quart round Pyrex casserole dish. The breads today slipped out of their containers just fine after baking. I used PAM spray only. The dough was a bit wetter than usual, I carried away yesterday when I mixed it up. This recipe is more laborious because of roasting the garlic and having or making mashed potatoes. I used instant potatoes and they worked out perfect. The crust was delightfully crispy and the crumb was so tender and light. It was spectacular. I will make this bread again and again. It went well with the smoked Alaska salmon spread I made for lunch and my husband was very complimentry. He is loving all this baking I am doing and enjoying have the fresh bread fragrance in the house almost every day. Thank you Jeff and Zoe for your cookbooks and your positive encouragement to everyone who writes to you here.
Wow Rosalie, so glad this recipe worked so well with your shortcut– very good news, thanks for sharing it. Jeff
It’s that #10 “Allow to cool before slicing or eating” that gets me on every loaf! ; )
LaJuana: You can generally get away with a warm break-open if the loaves are small or skinny. Baguettes or rolls are the best bet, otherwise many testers found the results to be “gummy.” But if you’re not sensing that in the loaves you make, go for it. The idea is to enjoy what you bake, however you like it.
(I sometimes do the same)
In the spirit of the holidays, any suggestions for adapting one of your recipes to create Lussekatter (St. Lucia or saffron buns)? I’d like to make some for Santa Lucia tomorrow morning.
A recipe:
https://www.recipezaar.com/Saint-Lucia-buns-Lussekatter-Saffron-buns-43784
Hi Brianna,
It seems that our Soft American-Style White Bread (page 204 ABin5) is the closest recipe to this. If you just replace some of the water for milk, not more than half, and add the saffron and raisins, you should get pretty close. You may want to try a half batch to see if it is right.
Enjoy, it sounds wonderful! Zoë
This looks delicious, but I do not have a panettone mold. Can I bake this in a loaf pan? How would that affect the cook time.
Hi Laura,
Yes, it can certainly be done in a loaf pan. As long as you are using the same amount of dough it will take about the same amount of time to rest and bake.
Enjoy, Zoë
Today……I baked a batch of panettone in king-size muffin pan. And ran into a problem (I’ll tell you my solution so others won’t repeat it).
Check to see how your oven funtions while BAKE. Does it have heat from the bottom only? Or Top & Bottom?
My convection-toaster oven (stalled remodel so no “real” oven) does Top & Bottom which I discovered to my dismay when the panettone that I was baking carbonized on the top (the nice sugar topping). This were to be for Yule gifts for a meeting tommorrow. (tasted divine, BTW).
Solution for the mini-panettones: scrape off the carbon w/ the mini-part of a grater (like people used to do w/ toast that’d toasted too much). Then, I’ll make a glaze to cover the rough top.
Otherwise, nothing to give to these folks at the meeting. & I wanted to. OK, not traditional….but maybe that’s how new traditions start, right?
It’ll taste fine. (vanilla & lemon in the glaze in same proportion as in the bread, I think). And it means that nothing will be wasted & folks will get the gift I intended.
For the future: I’ll bake my bread for a bit. Once the oven-spring happens & the top is browning nicely……gonna try slipping in a piece of loose tin foil resting it on top of the bread. So the bread is no longer being toasted/broiled. Hope this solves this issue.
Boy, does the Panettone TASTE DIVINE!!!
(I used golden raisins, home-candied orange & lemon peel & citron from the store. Plus, the regular lemon zest in the recipe. It wasn’t super lemony.)
Hi Judy,
Sounds like a great solution! Thanks for sharing.
Enjoy, Zoë
In addition to healthier bread, I’ve been wanting to do “greener” bread, and the amount of time for preheating has been concerning me. With the stone in the oven, it sometimes takes a good 40 or more minutes to preheat, and all that fuel seems like a waste.
I’ve read about starting cold dough in a cold oven and thought I’d give it a try. I took some olive oil dough (full of kalamata olives, YUM!) from the fridge and formed a boule. I was aiming for about 1 lb, but when I finally weighed it after baking it was only 12 oz.
I placed the boule in my clay baker, slashed it and put the whole thing in a cold oven. NOTHING was preheated–and the boule did not rest on the counter for any length of time. I turned the oven on to 450 and let it go.
I removed the cover of the cloche after about 25 minutes and continued baking until my instant read thermometer read 205 degrees. This took about 50 minutes total.
The oven spring was amazing, and the bread looks lovely. I haven’t cut into it yet to see the crumb, but I expect it to be fine considering the amount of oven spring.
At the same time I made the boule, I made four smaller, roll sized balls of dough which sat on the counter while the boule baked. When I removed my lovely olive bread, I baked the rolls in the same cloche.
I got two very nice bakes without the wasteful pre-heating and the results were wonderful. The oven was on for about the amount of time it would have been on just for the boule alone.
This should work for any dough that requires steam–thus anything that can be covered during the first half of baking. Not sure how it would work on doughs in pans or enriched breads.
This technique makes the AB/HB in Five method work even better in my limited weekday time schedule. I’m thrilled to say goodbye to preheating for many of the breads I make.
Jan: Interested to hear whether this works once the dough has aged to it’s full life-span.
In the winter, that oven heat doesn’t go to waste… 🙂
Well, as to my no preheat bread, I must admit that the crumb was a bit “fine”–the bubbles were small and even despite the incredible oven spring–a bit surprising, actually. But the flavor was good and the crumb was moist and tender. My husband described it as more “cakey” than usual.
This was only day-old dough, so I’ll have to experiment with older dough and see how it works out.
Zoe and Jeff,
I am planning on baking some Panettone and have one question regarding paper molds – do they need to be greased or not?
Thanks,
todd
Hi Todd,
I’ve never greased the paper molds. The bread does stick to them, but they are designed to be peeled off the loaf. I was going to bake some today so I’m going to try greasing it and see if it makes a difference.
Thanks, Zoë
I’ve just made the dough, it’s resting, and I realized I put in too much butter. I started out to make brioche (3 sticks) but changed to panettone as my papers arrived this afternoon. What do you expect the effect of too much butter to be? Will I need to let it rise longer? (just guessing here). I did end up using the Fiori di Sicilia and the house smells wonderful! Thanks for any suggestions you have about cooking my buttery panetone! Cheers! Linda
Linda: My best guess is that it’s going to work fine. The post-shaping rest MAY be longer, but not neccesarily. Try the regular rest and if the result isn’t too dense, you’re OK. Jeff
your Books are not available in India 🙁 🙁
Am sure your are laughing away, given that there are 8!!! eggs in this recipe, but is this possible at all without the eggs….?
Am a veggie ( In India, We dont use eggs either) and hence dont eat eggs…
Deepa: People have asked about egg substitutes, and we will eventually get around to testing with them. The product I will eventually work with can be viewed at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EDI2C6?ie=UTF8&tag=arbrinfimiada-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000EDI2C6“>Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, 16-Ounce Packages (Pack of 4)<img src=”https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=arbrinfimiada-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000EDI2C6″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”” style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;
It’s totally free of animal products, according to the label. Jeff
Reporting back — I made the 10 grain bread with BRM 8 grain hot cereal mix, and it came out great.. .
thanks!
Mandy
Thanks Mandy, so glad to hear that it has some flexibility. Jeff
Zoe and Jeff,
I was hoping there was a post about your panettone because I just made up a batch and it’s rising on my counter. I had a few questions (like about King Arthur’s paper molds, etc.) which you already have answered to other readers. I did wonder though, whether you butter a paper mold or not. If you already answered that, sorry for the repetition.
Your blog is so informative, and I love your books so very much! I teach all my friends and family how easy it is, and try to spread the goodness as far as I can. You have changed my life. I have fresh baked bread of so many kinds for my family all the time. Thank you! Thank you!
Hi Megan,
No, you don’t have to butter the molds before putting in the dough. It is meant to be peeled off and so the butter isn’t necessary.
Thank you for the lovely note, we are so pleased that you are enjoying the book! Thank you for spreading the word! Zoë
I purchased my mom this imported silicone pannettone mold from Amazon last month for her birthday.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AS45A2?ie=UTF8&tag=arbrinfimiada-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001AS45A2“>World Cuisine Non-Stick Silicone Mold, Panettone Bread
Do I need to make any adjustments if using Large coffee cans ( or tomato cans) lined with parchment to bake? It sounds like this old fashioned method would equal your sizing?? I understand dough should fill about 3/4 of each can – so would temp and timing be the same?? Thanks – we all appreciate how much assistance you give here.
Sandra Rice: I can’t make any promises with regard to food safety of tin cans as baking vessels (check with can manufacturers), but it should bake up fine, without much adjustment to time and temperature (I’m guessing you may need a little more time than in a paper mold, but maybe not. Be sure to line with parchment carefully or I’m guessing that metal surface will stick like crazy. Jeff
I made a batch of your panettone this week and it is fantastic! So easy to make, and so wonderful to eat. The house smelled so good, and we found that the bread had even more flavor the second day. We ate one, gave one away (along with a jar of local honey as a Christmas present), and froze one.
I was worried because it didn’t seem to rise very much during the rest in the paper molds, but it did beautifully when baked.
Denise, re: rising during the rest-time: What you’re seeing is so important to people being confident with our method. It’s really a departure from traditional baking, where much of the rise happens during the “proofing,” phase (after the loaf is shaped and is waiting for the oven). In our method, propoportionally more of the total rise happens in the oven (that’s “oven spring”).
Yep, the enriched breads can have some longevity, especially if you’re careful not to overbake them. Jeff
The Pannettone looks wonderful, but for Christmas morning, my picky kids prefer Monkey Bread (made with canned biscuits). It’s delicious, but I cringe at the nutritional content. Any suggestions for doing Monkey Bread with the Whole Grain Master Recipe???
Hi Lisa,
You could always compromise and use the whole wheat Brioche which will be a little bit richer, but have the whole grains! My brothers used to make that as well. Maybe I’ll make it for them this Christmas!
Thanks, Zoë
Thank you! I’ve made a panettone for Christmas breakfast (baked the night before) for the past few Christmases, but didn’t think I’d be able to swing it this year. Fortunately, this recipe will work perfectly and it fits around my schedule! Yay!
Hi Cat,
I’m so glad you will get to bake your annual panettone, it is such a lovely bread!
Thanks, Zoë
Can I use part whole wheat flour in the panettone recipe? If so, how much?
Hi Anlod,
You may be better off starting with the whole wheat brioche from HBin5 as your base. You can just add the lemon zest, extracts and fruit to it. https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1121
Thanks and let me know how it goes! Zoë
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Thank you Jeff and Zoe for the Vital Gluten from Bob’s Red Mill. They also sent a package of White Whole Wheat! What a nice surprise.
I made the Panettone dough yesterday and baked up 6 small individual pans of the bread with one recipe. WOW! It baked up so pretty and tasted fabulous. I was really nervous as I wanted the breads to come out perfect for giving to my neighbors and I wasn’t disappointed. I am ready to make a batch again. I made one change and that was with the fruit. I used cranraisins and dried apricots as I was chopping the apricots I soaked the fruit in about 3/4 c. hot water. I like my fruit plump before they go into the dough, that way the fruit doesn’t absorb batter moisture for plumping. I also used fiori di sicilia
from King Arthur Flour. It’s a combination of vanilla and citrus that adds that special zing to whatever you put it in. The Panettone I made had a heavenly fragrance while cooking and it tasted wonderful.
Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
I hope everyone has a special holiday this year!
Hi Rosalie,
Thank you for letting us know, your additions sound wonderful. Have a wonderful holiday!
Happy baking! Zoë
I am attempting to make panettone for the first time, and this recipe seems less intimidating than many traditional ones out there. Still, I managed to mess it up! I had forgotten to add warm water in the initial wet mixture (I know I know… I missed the very first ingredient!). Of course, the dough initially turned out pretty dry. I only realized my mistake after resting the dough for 1h and quickly tried to salvage by adding warm water. I’m afraid the moisture isn’t as evenly mixed now.
Just put the dough back to rest. I really hope it will rise!! Do you think adding the water at the last minute will affect the panettone’s texture/density in the end?
Also, I’m using mini paper molds – how long should I bake them for?
Thanks so much!
Hi Susi,
You are not alone in forgetting an ingredient and then adding it later. The easiest way to add an ingredient to already mixed dough is in a stand mixer. The dough may be a little uneven, but it will still work and be wonderful.
The baking time will depend on the size of your paper molds. You may want to check it after about 15-18 minutes if they are the size of muffins.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Zoe and Jeff! I just made these for Christmas and am thoroughly delighted with the results. They are gorgeous!! Thanks for such a fabulous recipe.
https://chickencounting.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-panettone.html
Thank you Laura!
So glad you are enjoying the Panettone!
Zoë