Italian Christmas Bread

Food

Audio By Carbonatix

Italian Christmas Bread, or Panettone (translates as "big bread"), is as traditional a Christmas recipe to Italians and Italian-Americans as Thanksgiving turkey is to Americans. It's also very popular in much of Latin America. At first, it looks like a fruitcake, but it is far from that. Panettone is actually a kind of brioche as is evidenced by its high butter content, and is a cross between a cake due to its sweet ingredients, and a bread because the dense dough is risen with yeast.

Italians often bake a number of panettoni to give as gifts, and if there's any left over, it is often served with coffee or toasted with butter for a rich breakfast treat. That said, it is not uncommon to see a panettone in the kitchen of an Italian household weeks after the Christmas season. If you are a newcomer, your first bite may seem uneventful, as the holiday treat is only mildly sweet. But you will find yourself going back for bite after bite.

Traditionally, the recipe is made with a large panettone pan which assists in a high rise for the dense dough. There are even special panettone wrappers (similar to a waxy version of a cupcake liner) to keep the dough from sticking. I have pictured the traditional loaf here, but I find that baking mini versions in cupcake pans is an affordable way to approximate the real deal without spending unnecessary money online for something you'll only use once a year. If you want to be totally authentic, feel free to make the investment! Otherwise, this version will taste just as delicious.

Italian Christmas Bread (Panettone)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 packets dry yeast 
2 oz milk, room temperature
2 pound butter, room temperature
5 beaten eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp orange extract
1 Tbsp lemon extract
1 orange (grated zest only)
1 lemon (grated zest only)
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour (divided 3 1/2 cups and a separate 1 cup)
1/2 tspn salt
butter flavored cooking spray
Cupcake liners

For the raisins..
1/2 cup raisins
1 additional Tbsp orange extract
1 cup water

Separately..
1 egg
1 Tbsp water
Powdered sugar

Mix together milk and yeast and set aside. If using traditional panettone pan, spray pan with butter cooking spray, then line with panettone liner and spray the liner with more spray. If using cupcake pans, spray two, 12-capacity cupcake pans with butter spray, then line with cupcake liners, and spray the liners with butter spray (so you are spraying butter spray into the bare pan holes, then lining them, then spraying the cupcake liners again). In a saucepan, mix 1 cup water, 1 additional Tbsp orange extract and 1/2 cup raisins and gently simmer for 5 minutes until the raisins reconstitute. Drain off the liquid and set aside plumped raisins. In a mixing bowl, cream together room temperature butter and granulated sugar using hand mixer or paddle attachment of a stand mixer. Be patient - this can take 5 to 10 minutes; you want the butter to lighten in color. Add plumped raisins, vanilla, orange and lemon extracts, and orange and lemon zest and mix another minute. Pour in yeast/milk mixture and slowly mix for another minute. Now add beaten eggs, and slowly mix another minute. Add 1 cup of the flour and the salt, and mix until incorporated. Then add a second cup of flour and mix, then a third cup of flour and mix. At this point, dough will still be sticky, but should be stiff enough to pour out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about ten minutes, gradually adding an additional cup of flour as you go along. You do not need to use every last bit of flour. Depending on the humidity where you are, 3 1/2 to 4 cups should do it. The extra half cup is for dusting the kneading surface and for sprinkling onto any sticky dough. Spray a large bowl with butter flavored cooking spray, form kneaded dough into a ball and add dough to the bowl. Spray top of the dough with butter flavored cooking spray, cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until doubled - about two hours. Once risen, form dough into a large ball and add dough to lined panettone pan, spray with butter spray, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to rise an additional hour. If using cupcake pans, break off dough into meatball-sized portions, fold into a tight balls and add into lined, sprayed cupcake tins. Spray the dough tops with more butter spray and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside to rise an additional hour in a warm place. Preheat over to 350 degrees. After second dough rise, make egg wash by mixing together additional 1 egg and 1 Tbsp water. Brush top of risen dough with wash (either the large single dough or the individual cupcake-sized doughs). Bake panettone in lower third of over -- 20-25 minutes if in cupcake form or 50-55 minutes if large dough. Insert skewer into middle of panettone at end of baking time. It should come out clean, otherwise leave in oven an additional 3 to 5 minutes for cupcakes or 5 to 10 minutes for large dough. Once baked, place pan onto cooling rack for ten minutes, then remove baked panettone and place onto a plate to cool completely. Once cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve!