Christmas Panettone
You see them all over the mall this time of year - that big bread in a box that looks like fancy fruit cake, but don’t be fooled by this Williams Sonoma scourge! Homemade panettone is super tasty and fluffy, fairly easy to make, and an Argentine Christmas must. Panettone hails from Milan, a fashion and opera mecca, thus its innate fanciness. It’s a sweet bread studded with jewel-like pieces of fruit and nuts. After I baked these 2 loaves, I ate one. Thank goodness, I gave the other away to a friend!
Ingredients
Pre-Dough:
- 2 packets (.75oz each) dry yeast (Live yeast is best, use 3 times as much as dry, but not necessary.)
- ¼ cup warm milk
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
Dough:
- 1 whole egg and 2 yolks (save egg whites for later)
- 6 tbs sugar
- 2 tsp malt extract
- 2 tbs vanilla extract
- 2 tbs lemon zest
- 1 tsp orange blossom
- ½ cup warm milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 cups flour
- 6 tablespoons soft butter
Select to taste:
- ½ cup of any of the following ingredients:
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Sweetened Cherries
- Raisins
Instructions
Fermentation
- Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup warm milk on stove top.
- Add the sugar and flours. Mix until it forms bubbles.
- Take off heat and cover the bowl. Place in warm environment and let the fermentation mix rise until it doubles in size.
Making the Dough
- Once the fermentation mix has risen, in a separate big bowl, combine the egg, yolks, sugar, malt extract, vanilla extract, lemon zest, honey, the fermentation mix, and ¼ cup warm milk.
- While mixing, slowly add sifted 2 cups of flour. Alternate this with adding the soft butter and ¼ of the milk.
- Knead until it is a soft ball, cover, and let sit until it doubles in volume.
- In a separate bowl, mix the fruit and nuts with 2 tbs of flour.
- After the dough has risen, mix the fruit and nuts into it.
- Separate dough into two equal parts.
- Place in paper molds, cover, and let rise again.
- After its second rising, brush with egg whites and make cuts in a cross on the top of each.
Just Bake It
- Cook in oven at 320° to 350° for 40 minutes in small molds or 50 minutes in large ones.
- Once cool, decorate the top with melted chocolate and/or fruit if desired.
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