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This panettone recipe – Italian Christmas bread has a buttery, orange-scented dough filled with golden raisins and dried cranberries. Panettone has always been part of Christmas in my Italian family, and I really can’t imagine the holidays without it. This homemade version starts the night before with a yeasted pre-dough, then the finished loaf is cooled upside down to help it hold its tall shape. It takes some time, but much of that is hands-off rising.
Why You’ll Love It
Homemade panettone has a soft, buttery crumb with orange-soaked dried fruit and a crunchy pearl sugar topping.
Worth the overnight start: Most of the time is hands-off while the pre-dough rests overnight and the finished dough rises.
Lots of orange flavor: The fruit soaks in fresh orange juice and orange liqueur, while orange zest is rubbed directly into the sugar.
Soft, enriched dough: Egg yolks and butter give the panettone a rich, tender crumb, while bread flour provides structure for the tall loaf.
That panettone shape: I think cooling the loaf upside down is one of the most interesting parts of making this. It’s definitely different from pulling an ordinary loaf out of the oven and setting it on a cooling rack.
You might also like panforte, Italian beef braciole, Christmas focaccia bread, gumdrop nougat, or these Italian canestrelli cookies.
Italian Panettone Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Bread flour: Provides the gluten structure needed to support the rich dough and tall loaf.
Yeast: Used in the overnight pre-dough to help the panettone rise.
Orange: You’ll use both the zest and juice. The zest goes into the dough while the juice is used to soak the dried fruit.
Dried cranberries and golden raisins: Soak these in orange juice and orange liqueur before adding them to the dough.
Orange liqueur: Grand Marnier or Jameson Orange adds more citrus flavor to the soaked fruit.
Salted butter: Added gradually after the flour has been incorporated.
Egg yolks: Enrich the dough and contribute color and tenderness.
Granulated sugar: Rubbed with the orange zest before being mixed into the dough.
Vanilla: Adds another layer of flavor to the citrusy dough.
Salt: Balances the sweetness.
Egg and water: Whisked together for the egg wash.
Belgian pearl sugar: Sprinkled over the top before baking for a crunchy finish.
How to Make Panettone
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Make the pre-dough: The night before baking, combine the bread flour, yeast and warm water. Cover loosely and refrigerate overnight.
Soak the fruit: Zest the orange and set the zest aside. Combine the juice from half the orange with the liqueur, cranberries and golden raisins, heat briefly, then set aside.
Make the orange sugar: Rub the orange zest into the granulated sugar with your fingers until fragrant.
Mix the dough: Add the pre-dough, egg yolks, orange sugar and vanilla to a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix, then add the flour and salt.
Add the butter: With the mixer running, add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and passes the windowpane test.
Add the fruit: Mix in the soaked fruit and remaining liquid, then let the dough rest and rise for 30 to 45 minutes.
Shape and proof: Gently fold the dough, shape it into a ball and transfer it seam-side down to a panettone mold. Cover and let it rise until the dough reaches the top of the mold.
Bake: Brush with egg wash, cut an X in the top and sprinkle with pearl sugar. Bake at 375°F until the center reaches 200°F, tenting with foil if the top browns too quickly.
Cool upside down: Push skewers through the bottom of the loaf and carefully invert it. Leave it suspended until completely cool.
Substitutions and Variations
Change the fruit: Replace the cranberries with chopped dried cherries or apricots, keeping the overall quantity about the same.
Skip the alcohol: Replace the orange liqueur with additional orange juice.
Use unsalted butter: Swap it for the salted butter and add a little more salt to the dough.
Add chocolate: Replace some of the dried fruit with small pieces of dark chocolate for a chocolate panettone variation.
Serving Suggestions
Toasted or sprinkld: Enjoy this panettone recipe as it is, sprinkled with powdered sugar or toast it and serve with butter.
With other festive fare: If you’re making this as a Christmas treat, you could also make chocolate covered cherries, Christmas tree puff pastry appetizers, an antipasto Christmas tree and cute reindeer donuts.
With a drink: Enjoy a Grinch green hot chocolate or a chocolate cake cocktail.
How to Store
Store: Keep panettone tightly wrapped or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. It’s at its softest the day it’s baked and the following day.
Freeze: Wrap the whole loaf or individual slices well and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw: Thaw at room temperature while still wrapped to help keep the bread from drying out.
Top Tips
Look for the windowpane: I use this rather than relying only on the 8 to 10-minute mixing time. Stretch a small piece of dough thinly. If it forms a translucent membrane without immediately tearing, the gluten is well developed.
Add the butter gradually: Don’t add the whole cup at once. Give each addition time to work into the dough before adding more.
Let the dough decide the proofing time: The final rise might take 1 hour or 3 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Wait until the dough reaches the top of the mold rather than relying on the clock.
Watch the top: Panettone can brown before the center is finished. Loosely tent it with foil if needed.
Don’t skip the upside-down cooling: This is one of the unusual parts of making panettone, but it helps the tall, soft loaf hold its shape as it cools.
Italian Christmas Bread FAQs
The recipe begins with a yeasted pre-dough made from bread flour, water and yeast. It rests in the refrigerator overnight before being incorporated into the enriched dough the next day. It isn’t a sourdough starter since this recipe uses commercial yeast.
If your panettone recipe is starting to dry out, you can toast it or used it to make classic French toast or a baked French toast skillet.
Panettone has a tall, soft crumb that can compress as it cools. Suspending the loaf upside down helps it hold its height and shape until the crumb has completely cooled and set.
Italian Panettone Recipe
Panettone Recipe – Italian Christmas Bread
Equipment
- Microplane or Citrus Zester
- Stand Mixer with Dough Hook
- Panettone Mold
- Skewers Wooden or Metal
Ingredients
For the Pre-dough or “Starter”
- 8 Ounces water, warm
- 20 Grams yeast
- 8 Ounces bread flour
For the Panettone
- 1 orange
- 4 Ounces dried cranberries
- 1 Cup salted butter
- 3 Ounces golden raisins
- 2 Ounces orange liqueur, such as Jameson Orange or Grand Marnier
- starter, recipe above
- 5 egg yolks
- ¾ Cup granulated sugar
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla flavoring
- 12 Ounces bread flour
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon water
- ½ Cup Belgian pearl sugar
Instructions
Make the Starter
- Start this recipe the night before you want to bake the Panettone. Make the starter by mixing together the warm water, yeast and bread flour. Place this sticky dough into a bowl that is about twice the size of the dough (the dough will be rising), and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Set the dough in the fridge overnight.
Prepare the Dough
- In the morning, zest the orange and set the zest aside. Slice the orange in half and squeeze the juice of only one of the halves into a bowl. Add the orange liqueur, cranberries and raisins to the bowl of orange juice and mix together.
- Place the bowl in the microwave and heat for about 1 minute or until the mixture is hot to the touch. Set aside.
- In a new bowl, mix together the orange zest and the granulated sugar. Using clean hands, rub the zest and sugar together.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the starter, egg yolks, sugar zest mixture, and vanilla. Use a dough hook and mix on medium high speed until mostly combined.
- Add the flour and salt, then mix again. Once the flour has incorporated, add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time while the mixer is running.
- After all the butter has been incorporated, knead the dough on medium to medium-high speed for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is very smooth and passes the windowpane test.
- Add the soaked fruit along with the juices and mix until combined.
- Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the dough rest and rise in a warm location for 30 to 45 minutes.
- After the rest, gently turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface, you may also grease your hands lightly. Very gently, to save as much of the air/rise in the dough as possible, stretch the dough just a bit, taking the top of the dough and folding it on top of itself to meet the bottom. Then do the same fold going from right to left, left to right, and bottom up to the top. Gently place the dough ball into the panettone mold, seam side facing down.
- Cover the panettone and set in a warm place to rise. Once the dough has reached the top of the panettone mold you may move on to the next steps. The amount of time that this will take greatly depends on the warmth in the room, it could take 1 hour, it could take 3 hours, keep your eye on it, the warmer it is the faster it will rise.
Bake the Panettone
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- After the dough has risen, make an egg wash by mixing together 1 whole egg with about 1 tablespoon of water. Gently brush the top of the dough with the egg wash, then slice an “X” into the top with a sharp knife. Sprinkle the top with the Belgian pearl sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 375°F on a low shelf. Check on the panettone frequently to ensure the top is not burning or browning too much. If you find the top is browning too much, lay tinfoil over the top to protect it. The panettone is done when the interior has reached 200°F, this will likely take 30 to 45 minutes.
Let it Cool
- When the panettone is done baking, remove from the oven. Carefully stick two wooden or metal skewers through the panettone near the bottom, then cautiously flip the panettone upside down laying the ends of the skewers on supports taller than the panettone (cans of soup, stacks of books, and candle holders all work well).
- Watch the panettone carefully for the first bit to make sure the top is not breaking away from the body of the panettone, add small supports under the top of the panettone if necessary. Let cool completely.
Serve and Enjoy
- Serve the panettone the same day or next day for the best texture, cut right before serving. Save leftovers in an airtight container.
Notes
Add the butter gradually: Don’t add the whole cup at once. Give each addition time to work into the dough before adding more.
Let the dough decide the proofing time: The final rise might take 1 hour or 3 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Wait until the dough reaches the top of the mold rather than relying on the clock.
Watch the top: Panettone can brown before the center is finished. Loosely tent it with foil if needed.
Don’t skip the upside-down cooling: This is one of the unusual parts of making panettone, but it helps the tall, soft loaf hold its shape as it cools.
Nutrition
Making panettone from scratch takes some patience, but most of that time is waiting for the pre-dough and the finished loaf to rise. I love the orange throughout this version, from the zest rubbed into the sugar to the fruit soaked in orange juice and liqueur. And hanging a freshly baked loaf upside down between two supports is definitely more memorable than cooling an ordinary loaf on a rack.
Other Recipes to Try
- If you’re a fan of cute cookie recipes, you’ll love Italian Rainbow Cookies.
- These sweet Swiss Roll Train Treats are so cute!
- This Pandoro Christmas Tree Cake is fun and super easy to make!
- Add a touch of Italian flair to your spread with an Italian Zuccotto Cake.
- Treat yourself to these decadent Chocolate Covered Cherries.
- Gingerbread Pizzelle are a great way to spice up your holiday baking!
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
I made it last holidays and my family keeps asking about it. They enjoyed it so much!
I love this recipe, it’s so easy and it was so fantastic! My kids loved it too!