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Top down view of two panettone loaves on a cooling rack.

Easy Panettone Recipe

Course: Bread
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: panettone, sweet bread
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Resting time: 2 hours
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 234kcal
Author: Victor
Panettone recipe that makes light, less eggy panettone bread with the ingredients you have on hand.
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Ingredients

  • 4 cups bread flour 610 g; if using cups, used the 'scoop and sweep' method
  • 2 Tbsp instant yeast 18 g;  also known as Quick Rise or Rapid Rise yeast
  • 1 cup warm water 240 g; 105F to 115F
  • 10 Tbsp powdered sugar 85 g; or 7 Tbsp granulated white sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt level
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 Tbsp orange flower water 15 g; substitute for plain water if you do't have it
  • 8 Tbsp unsalted butter 112.5 g; at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins 85g; or black raisins; see notes
  • 2/3 cup candied orange peel 60 g; diced; optional; if not using, substitute for an equal amount of rasins

Egg wash

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp heavy cream or milk

Instructions

  • Add the egg yolks and the powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat by hand for a few seconds using a whisk.
  • Add the salt, yeast, lemon zest, warm water, orange flower water, and all but a handful of the flour. Add the softened butter and, using the dough hook, knead for 5 minutes on low speed (2-3 on Kitchen Aid mixer). Adjust by adding the remaining flour, if necessary, to make a smooth, elastic dough. The dough should be very soft and tacky, but you should be able to lift the dogh and shape it into a ball without it sticking to your hands.
    Smooth, elastic dough
  • Cover the bowl, place into a cold oven with the light on, and let rise until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour to 1.5 hours.
  • Knead the raisins and candied orange peel into the dough by hand. Another way to incorporate dried fruit is to divide the dough, stretch it, evenly top with dried fruit then roll up and shape into a ball.
  • Line the inside of panettone molds/cans/cheesecake pans with parchment paper.
  • Split the dough into 2 equal pieces and shape each one into a round ball. Place the loaves in the pans, seam side down. Let rise in a warm place until the dough just rises above the rim of the pans, about 30 minutes.
  • Whisk the egg yolk with one teaspoon of cream in a small bowl. Brush egg wash over the tops of the loaves.
  • Bake at 375F for about 35 minutes or until baked through. The loaves are done when they have a light brown crust all over. You can gently lift one loaf out of the pan to check for doneness.
  • Take the breads out of the oven, remove from the pans and let cool on a rack. If they are left in the baking forms, the loaves will become soggy from condensation.

Notes

I like to soak raisins in sweet cold water for a few hours or overnight, which makes them incredibly juicy. If you soak them, make sure to blot them with paper towels before adding to the dough. Soaked raising will be a little harder to knead into the dough, but well worth the effort. The best way to add them is to stretch the dough as much as you can, spread the raisins on top and roll up before shaping into a ball. Easy as that.

Nutrition

Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 229mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 247IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg