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Looking for a recipe to spruce up your Christmas dining table? This Italian panettone will definitely up your Christmas dining table game! Big warm slices of soft Italian panettone smothered in salty butter are the kind of tasty treats that scream Christmas. For an extra helping hand in the kitchen, tune in to our helpful video tutorial along with the below recipe. Enjoy!
Best Christmas Italian Panettone RecipeÂ
Italian Panettone Stage 1: Biga (1h preparation + 12h rise/rest)
What You’ll Need:
- 80g/2.8 oz of Manitoba flour
- 15g/0.5 oz of brewer’s yeast
- 40g/1.4 oz of water
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, melt the brewer’s yeast with water.
2. Slowly add the flour to the mixture.
3. When the water is fully absorbed by the flour, toss the mixture on the working board and knead with your hands.
NOTE:
The more you knead, the more it will rise and serve its purpose.
4. Place the dough back in the bowl, seal it with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 12h.
Italian Panettone Stage 2: First Dough (30 mins of kneading, 1h preparation + 4.5h rise/rest)
What You’ll Need:
- Yeast base/Biga
- 260 g of Manitoba flour
- 170 g of water
- 70 g of Butter (room temperature)
- 70 g of sugar
- 2 yolks (large size)
Instructions:
- Place the Biga in the mixer with water and half of the flour.
2. Add the other half of the flour a bit at a time while mixing the dough.
3. Add the egg yolk one at a time and let everything absorb.
4. Add the sugar and mix.
5. Add the butter.
6. After the butter is absorbed, knead the dough more.
7. After kneading, let the dough sit in the bowl with plastic wrap and rest in the oven for 4.5h. Let rise up to three times the volume.
NOTE:
- The dough must be dry enough to not stick to the surface.
- To test whether the dough is ready, cover your finger with flour and take a piece of dough, slowly stretch it in your hand. If it doesn’t break and become almost transparent, then it means the gluten is working and it’s time to let the dough rise.
Italian Panettone Stage 3: Second Dough (30 mins of kneading, 1h preparation + 4.5h rise/rest)
What You’ll Need:
- First dough
- 130-150 gr of chocolate chips (we like these from Target)
- 60 g of Manitoba flour
- 2 yolks (large size)
- 20 g of butter (soft)
- 20 g of sugar
- 10 of honey
- 3 g of salt
- Zest of 2 oranges
- Panettone paper molds
- OPTIONAL: 5 g of Vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Take the dough and place it back in the mixer.
2. Add honey and flour, then mix.
3. When the dough has fully absorbed the ingredients, add salt.
4. After the dough has absorbed the salt, add sugar.
5. Then add egg yolk, one at a time and let the dough absorb everything (with the egg yolk, it might get softer than it was at the beginning, but don’t worry).
6. Add the orange zest and vanilla extract (if you have it and want extra flavor).
7. Add the butter.
8. Make sure the dough has fully absorbed all the ingredients and it’s not warm before folding in the chocolate chips (otherwise they will melt and it will mess up the dough).
Letting It Rise
9. Butter the working board and place the dough onto it.
10. Butter your hands and knead the dough by rolling over it a couple of times.
11. Let the dough rest for 30-35 minutes under a cloth.
12. Knead the dough again with the same motion previously done.
NOTE:
The dough is going to be 1kg, so unless you have the mold for 1kg volume, divide the dough into 2 parts of 500gr each. If you plan on using only one giant panettone paper mold, then you don’t need to split your dough.
13. Put the dough in the mold, place it in the oven to rise, and add a bowl of hot water underneath the tray to keep the dough soft and humid.
14. Let it rise in the oven with a bowl of boiling water until it reaches 1 cm from the edge.
NOTE:
Keep an eye on it, it might take between 2-4h.
15. After it has reached the desired rise level, leave it in the open air for 15-30 minutes to let the top harden.
16. Create a cross-cut on top with a kitchen scissor and add a few cubes of butter.
17. Bake it in a ventilated oven at 170 °C for the first 10 minutes and 160 °C for another 30 minutes.
18. Place a tray with water beneath the baking tray to prevent the panettone from burning the top.
NOTE:
To be sure that the panettone is ready, after 40 mins out of the oven measure the temperature inside the bread and make sure it’s between 90 °C to 95 °C.
Italian Panettone at the Final Stage:
- Take the panettone out of the oven.
2. Stick a few skewer sticks toward the bottom of the bread and let the panettone rest upside down inside a pot or between two pots (depending on the size of the panettone).
3. Let it rest overnight.
4. Cover the panettone with a bag or wrap it for 24h before serving.
TIP: You can also replace chocolate chips with candied fruits and raisins as the traditional recipe suggests!
More Baking Ideas
We hope you enjoyed our article on how to make this delicious Christmas Italian panettone. If you’re looking for other tasty Christmas recipes for your Christmas feast this year, check out our other articles on Zucchini Christmas Tree Cakes, Pumpkin Almond Cake and Pumpkin Bread, and even Cheesecake!
