This Bread Machine Panettone Bread is made in the bread maker and baked in the oven using a paper panettone mold. It's a lightly sweetened Italian cake bread traditionally served at Christmas time.
What Is Panettone?
Panettone is a traditional Italian sweet bread typically enjoyed during the holiday season, especially around Christmas and New Year's. It's made from a rich and buttery dough filled with candied fruits, raisins, and sometimes nuts. Panettone is characterized by its tall, dome-like shape with a light and airy texture, while multiple rises of the dough give it a fluffy and soft interior.
Panettone is usually served in slices, and it is often enjoyed with coffee, tea, apple cider, hot chocolate or sweet wines. It's often enjoyed with butter, jam, mascarpone cream or other spreads on the slices. Panettone is considered a festive treat and is often given as a gift during the holiday season. It has a long history in Italian culinary traditions and continues to be cherished by many as a special part of their holiday celebrations.
While looking for a new bread to develop for the holiday season, I remembered a delicious sweet bread often gifted to my family as a child, but didn't realize it was panettone until now. While researching the process to make panettone bread, I thought how wonderful it would be to create an easy version of panettone for bread makers.
My recipe for bread machine panettone bread was inspired by my many other holiday breads and cakes, such as sun-dried tomato basil, this incredible eggnog bundt cake, sweet and tangy cranberry bread and a cute Christmas tree themed focaccia loaf.
Ingredients
- Dough essentials: bread flour, unsalted butter, eggs, sugar, salt, dry milk powder and yeast (instant, active dry or bread machine).
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon extract
- Candied orange peel
- Candied lemon peel
- Currants: or raisins
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities.
Instructions
STEP 1: Add ¾ cup warm milk, ½ cup unsalted butter, 3 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, 3 ¼ cups bread flour, 4 tablespoon sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoon dry milk powder and 2 ½ teaspoon yeast to the bread maker pan in this order. *For non-Cuisinart machines, check your brand's manual for the correct order to add ingredients. If it differs, add them in the order that your manual states. Follow the directions below for your preferred method of baking.
STEP 2: Select the dough setting. Choose the 2 lb loaf size. Select the mix-in option and press start. Watch the dough knead for the first 10-15 minutes and add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough is too wet. Panettone dough should be more wet than other bread doughs but should still form a ball as it kneads.
STEP 3: When the mix-in chime signals, add 1 cup candied orange peel, 1 cup candied lemon peel and ½ cup currants.
STEP 3: Once the dough cycle has finished, remove the dough ball from the pan and punch down a few times. Shape into a ball or other desired shape and place into the panettone mold. Slice a few slits into the top of the ball. Cover with a heavy towel and let rise for 60 minutes in a warm place.
STEP 4: Preheat the oven to 350℉. Carefully brush the top with egg white or milk. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until top is golden brown and inside center reaches 200℉.
STEP 5: Remove from the oven and immediately push the 2 bamboo skewers through the bottom of the mold on each side of the bread. Using the tall pot to hold the bread, hang upside with the skewers resting on the top of the pot so the bread does not touch the bottom. Cool for 1½ to 2 hours upside down.
STEP 6: Once cooled, remove the skewers, slice and serve.
Variations
- Dried fruits: while panettone is traditionally made with candied fruit peels such as lemon and orange, you can work with the dried fruits you have on hand (or those available in stores near you). Dried cranberries, dried apricots and dried cherries are great options, as are a general mixed bag of dried berries.
- Add nuts: panettone is delicious with crunchy, savory nuts mixed into the dough. Pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios work well.
- Extracts: you can also use almond extract, or a combination of almond, vanilla and lemon. Feel free to play around with the extracts to suit your taste preferences.
- Vary the size: instead of making one large loaf, use small paper molds to make miniature panettone loaves. Mini panettones are great for gifting during the holiday season. Cook smaller loaves for less time.
Equipment
- Bread Machine: I have a Cuisinart Automatic Bread Maker but you can use any brand bread maker. Just make sure you add ingredients in the order recommended for your machine when making any bread.
- Panettone Molds: For this 2 pound loaf, you'll need one large 1 kg paper panettone mold.
How To Store
To keep panettone fresh and flavorful, store it at room temperature wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil or in an airtight container. Avoid storing panettone in the fridge, as this can dry out the bread and make it taste stale.
To freeze, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe storage bag. When ready to eat, thaw it at room temperature or reheat the slices in the oven.
Recipe FAQs
While panettone makes a great Christmas bread, it is a versatile bread that can be used in a variety of ways.
1. Panettone French Toast: Slice the panettone and use it to make indulgent French toast casserole.
2. Bread Pudding: Panettone makes a fantastic base for bread pudding. Tear or cube the bread, then mix it with a custard mixture of eggs, milk, sugar, and your choice of flavorings like vanilla or almond extract. This recipe is a great one!
3. Panettone Bread Crumbs: Dry out the panettone slices in the oven and blend them to make fine breadcrumbs. These breadcrumbs can be used as a topping for casseroles, macaroni and cheese, or as a crunchy coating for fried foods.
4. Trifle: Layer cubes of panettone with whipped cream, custard, and fresh fruits to create a delectable trifle dessert.
5. Panettone Ice Cream Sundae: Cut the panettone into cubes and use them as a topping for ice cream sundaes. Drizzle some chocolate sauce or caramel over the top for extra decadence.
6. Panettone Bread Pudding Muffins: Turn the bread pudding idea into individual servings by baking it in muffin tins. Add some dried fruits or chocolate chips for extra texture and flavor.
One of the biggest challenges in making panettone is keeping the top from collapsing as it cools. The secret here is to hang the loaf upside down for 1 ½ to 2 hours immediately after removing it from the oven. This is simple when using a paper mold. Hold the mold upside down and slide 2 long bamboo skewers into the bottom of the loaf, through the paper mold and out the other side. Then drape the bread over a rack or other device where it can freely hang without the top of the loaf touching the counter. I put my loaf upside down in a tall pot.
Enjoy!
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Recipe
Bread Machine Panettone
Equipment
- 2 long bamboo skewers 16-30 inches
- tall pot or other device for hanging and cooling the bread
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm milk approximately 115°F
- ½ cup unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 4 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon dry milk powder
- 3 ¼ cups bread flour
- 2 ½ tsp yeast instant, active dry, or bread machine
- 1 cup candied orange peel
- 1 cup candied lemon peel
- ½ cup currants
Instructions
- Add ¾ cup warm milk, ½ cup unsalted butter, 3 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, 3 ¼ cups bread flour, 4 tablespoon sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoon dry milk powder and 2 ½ teaspoon yeast to the bread maker pan in this order. For non-Cuisinart machines, check your brand's manual for the correct order to add ingredients. If it differs, add them in the order that your manual states. Follow the directions below for your preferred method of baking.
- Select the dough setting. Choose the 2 lb loaf size. Select the mix-in option and press start. Watch the dough knead for the first 10-15 minutes and add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough is too wet. Panettone dough should be more wet than other bread doughs but should still form a ball as it kneads.
- When the mix-in chime signals, add 1 cup candied orange peel, 1 cup candied lemon peel and ½ cup currants.
- Once the dough cycle has finished, remove the dough ball from the pan and punch down a few times. Shape into a ball or other desired shape and place into the panettone mold. Slice a few slits into the top of the ball. Cover with a heavy towel and let rise for 60 minutes in a warm place.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Carefully brush the top with egg white or milk. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until top is golden brown and inside center reaches 200℉.
- Remove from the oven and immediately push the 2 bamboo skewers through the bottom of the mold on each side of the bread. Using the tall pot to hold the bread, hang upside with the skewers resting on the top of the pot so the bread does not touch the bottom. Cool for 1½ to 2 hours upside down.
- Once cooled, remove the skewers, slice and serve. Or follow the storage tips in the notes for storing/gifting.
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