Panettone is, arguably, the most famous cake from Italy. Every Christmas, it is widely available all over Italy. Today, it is also readily available all over the world. In some cases, it can even be picked up in normal supermarkets abroad. This very popular dish originated in Milan and has since won the world over. Why not find a holiday rental in Milan and try it in its spiritual home to get the full experience?
The accounts of the origins of panettone are varied and rarely agreed upon but invariably state that its birthplace is in Milan. The word "panettone" derives from the Italian word "panetto", a small loaf cake while the augmentative Italian suffix "-one" changes the meaning to "large cake". It appears to be a very old dish, going back to Roman times when the Romans sweetened a kind of leavened cake with honey. Funnily enough, however, it wasn't actually associated with Christmas until the 18th century.
Why not try and make it yourself this year? Here's our recipe!
The accounts of the origins of panettone are varied and rarely agreed upon but invariably state that its birthplace is in Milan. The word "panettone" derives from the Italian word "panetto", a small loaf cake while the augmentative Italian suffix "-one" changes the meaning to "large cake". It appears to be a very old dish, going back to Roman times when the Romans sweetened a kind of leavened cake with honey. Funnily enough, however, it wasn't actually associated with Christmas until the 18th century.
Why not try and make it yourself this year? Here's our recipe!
Ingredients
5 tbspns warm water (around 45 C)
2 sachets (or around 7g) of dried active baking yeast
500g of plain flour
125ml of warm milk
125g of caster sugar
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tspn of vanilla extract
12 tbspns of unsalted butter
325g mixed glacé fruits
2 1/2 tspns of grated lemon zest
2 tbspns of orange zest
2 tbspns of butter that has been melted
1 egg yolk
1 tbspn of cream
Method
1. To make the sponge, combine warm water and 1 sachet of yeast in a small bowl and leave it to stand until the yeast has dissolved. Stir in 60g of flour, cover with cling film until it doubles in size. Sprinkle remaining yeast over warm milk and leave until dissolved. Beat together sugar, eggs, egg yolks and vanilla. Stir in milk-yeast mixture. Add flour mixture and stir until well incorporated.
2. Combine butter and remaining flour until crumbly. Slowly pour in egg mixture and beat on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until dough is elastic and forms long strands. Beat in fruit and zests. Turn dough into oiled bowl, cover with cling film, and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled.
3. Brush the inside of three baking tins with melted butter. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times to deflate. Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll each into a ball which will go inside your tins. Cover loosely with cling film and let rise in a warm place until doubled again.
4. Heat oven to 200 C. Cut an X in top of each loaf with oiled scissors. Combine egg yolk with cream and use to brush tops of loaves.
5. Place in bottom 1/3 of oven. After 10 minutes, lower heat to 190 C. Bake for 30 more minutes - if tops get too brown, cover with foil. Loaves are done when a wooden skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.
Now that you've got a taste for Milan, be sure to visit Lombardy!
5 tbspns warm water (around 45 C)
2 sachets (or around 7g) of dried active baking yeast
500g of plain flour
125ml of warm milk
125g of caster sugar
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tspn of vanilla extract
12 tbspns of unsalted butter
325g mixed glacé fruits
2 1/2 tspns of grated lemon zest
2 tbspns of orange zest
2 tbspns of butter that has been melted
1 egg yolk
1 tbspn of cream
Method
1. To make the sponge, combine warm water and 1 sachet of yeast in a small bowl and leave it to stand until the yeast has dissolved. Stir in 60g of flour, cover with cling film until it doubles in size. Sprinkle remaining yeast over warm milk and leave until dissolved. Beat together sugar, eggs, egg yolks and vanilla. Stir in milk-yeast mixture. Add flour mixture and stir until well incorporated.
2. Combine butter and remaining flour until crumbly. Slowly pour in egg mixture and beat on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until dough is elastic and forms long strands. Beat in fruit and zests. Turn dough into oiled bowl, cover with cling film, and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled.
3. Brush the inside of three baking tins with melted butter. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times to deflate. Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll each into a ball which will go inside your tins. Cover loosely with cling film and let rise in a warm place until doubled again.
4. Heat oven to 200 C. Cut an X in top of each loaf with oiled scissors. Combine egg yolk with cream and use to brush tops of loaves.
5. Place in bottom 1/3 of oven. After 10 minutes, lower heat to 190 C. Bake for 30 more minutes - if tops get too brown, cover with foil. Loaves are done when a wooden skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.
Now that you've got a taste for Milan, be sure to visit Lombardy!
Photo credit: Ben Hanbury / CC BY 2.0
