Name: Easy Panettone
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 2 days
Yield: Makes 1 panettone
Ingredients: 1 cup raisins; 2 Tbsp. light rum; ⅔ cup tepid water plus 2 Tbsp. hot water, divided; 3¾ cups all-purpose flour; ⅔ cup sugar; ½ tsp. salt; ½ tsp. active dry yeast (from a ¼-oz. package); ¼ tsp. grated lemon zest; ½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise; 3 large eggs at room temperature 30 minutes; 1 Tbsp. mild honey; 12½ Tbsp. unsalted butter (10½ cut into tablespoons and well softened; 1 Tbsp. melted; and 1 Tbsp. chilled); ⅔ cup candied citron, chopped if pieces are large; Equipment: a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; a (6- by 4½-inch) paper panettone mold; 2 (12-inch) metal skewers

A baking needle pushed through a baked panettone.

Photo by Romulo Yanes

If you’ve only had supermarket panettone—the kind that comes in the tall red and gold box—this panettone recipe from acclaimed baker Jim Lahey is a revelation. Mastering the traditional Italian sweet, a specialty of Milan eaten on Christmas and Easter, has become a badge of honor for bakers. The dough is notoriously difficult to work with, but with Lahey’s guidance you’ll get an impressive loaf. He starts by making a sticky dough in the bowl of a stand mixer and enriching it with lots and lots of butter. Then he lets the dough rise and ferment slowly—twice—first in a cold oven (you don’t want it in an overly warm place). The second rising time takes place in a panettone mold, which you can order from King Arthur Flour or Amazon. Once it’s baked, puncture the paper mold all the way through the loaf with two skewers so you can hang the bread upside down to cool.

Lahey keeps his flavorings simple, adding rum-soaked raisins, lemon zest, candied citron, and a split vanilla bean. Once you’re comfortable with the recipe, though, you can carefully play with it, swapping in golden raisins, dried cranberries, or other dried fruit, adding orange zest or using candied orange peel and chocolate chips.

While panettone is more of a sweet bread than a cake, you can serve it at any time of day. In Italy you might enjoy it with a glass of Moscato for dessert or with a cappuccino for breakfast. Because panettone dough is so moist, a finished loaf stays fresh for a long time, but any slightly stale leftovers make superlative bread pudding or French toast or can be simply crisped and topped with ice cream and fried bananas.

Editor’s note: This recipe was first printed in the December 2008 issue of ‘Gourmet’. Head this way for more of our best Christmas desserts →

Recipe information

Total Time
2 days
Yield
Makes 1 panettone

Ingredients

1 cup raisins

2 Tbsp. light rum

⅔ cup tepid water plus 2 Tbsp. hot water, divided

3¾ cups all-purpose flour

⅔ cup sugar

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. active dry yeast (from a ¼-oz. package)

¼ tsp. grated lemon zest

½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise

3 large eggs at room temperature 30 minutes

1 Tbsp. mild honey

12½ Tbsp. unsalted butter (10½ cut into tablespoons and well softened; 1 Tbsp. melted; and 1 Tbsp. chilled)

⅔ cup candied citron, chopped if pieces are large

Equipment: a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; a (6- by 4½-inch) paper panettone mold; 2 (12-inch) metal skewers

Preparation

Step 1
Soak raisins in rum and 2 Tbsp. hot water at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until raisins are plump and most of liquid has been absorbed, 8 hours or overnight.
Step 2
Mix flour, sugar, salt, yeast, zest, and vanilla bean in mixer at low speed until combined. Whisk together eggs, tepid water (⅔ cup), and honey in a bowl. With mixer at low speed, pour egg mixture into flour mixture. Increase speed to medium-low and mix to combine. Add 10 ½ Tbsp. softened butter, 1 Tbsp. at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding more. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Step 3
Drain raisins, discarding soaking liquid, then stir together with citron and 1 Tbsp. melted butter. Stir into dough with a wooden spoon.
Step 4
Place dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in cold oven with door closed until nearly tripled in volume, 12 to 15 hours.
Step 5
Discard vanilla bean, then sprinkle dough lightly with flour and scrape out onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle a bit more flour onto dough. Fold edges into center and place, seam side down, in panettone mold. Cover with a damp kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough is just above top of mold, 3 to 5 hours.
Step 6
Preheat oven to 370°F with rack in lower third. Place dough in mold on a baking sheet. Use a serrated knife to score an X across entire surface of dough. Place remaining 1 Tbsp. chilled butter in center of X and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into center comes out slightly moist but not wet, 1 to 1¼ hours. (Panettone will be very dark.)
Step 7
Pierce skewers all the way through panettone (including paper) 4 inches apart and 1 inch from bottom so skewers are parallel. Hang panettone upside down over a large stockpot or between two objects of equal height and cool completely before cutting. Panettone keeps, wrapped tightly in foil in a sealable bag, at room temperature 1 week.