Christmas is almost here again, and Panettone is back on the supermarket shelves. Somewhere between a cake and bread, you can now find pistachio and caramel versions of the original candied citrus edition. But where did it all begin? Discover more about the 3-day process that gets Panettone on your Christmas table.

What is Panettone cake, and where did it originate? 

Typically produced in Milan, Panettone is a dome-shaped sweet bread from Italy that is traditionally eaten during Christmas and the holiday season. The first written traces of Panettone are found in a Milanese dictionary from 1606, where the so-called Panaton is described as a “big bread that is usually served for Christmas day”.¹ Its name comes from the Italian panetto, meaning block, plus the suffix -one, for big, literally meaning “big block”. 

Why do we eat Panettone for Christmas? 

Bread made with white flour was once a precious food reserved for noble families. But until the 14th century, this luxury treat was cooked in the city ovens of Milan and gifted to the common people on the day of Christmas.² This “Pan di Sciori”, or “Bread of the lords” in Milanese dialect, had soft and fluffy dough thanks to the refined flour that increased fermentation and leavening and was enriched with butter, sugar, eggs and dried fruits.³

What’s in a Panetonne?

Don’t mess with the traditional Panettone! A strict set of regulations established by the Italian state dictates the ingredients a Panettone must contain. Any producers, from a local bakery to an international company, must include:

• Flour
• Sugar
• Fresh eggs (at least 4% of the total weight must consist of yolks)
• Butter (at least 16% of the total weight)
• Raisins and candied citrus peel (at least 20% of the total weight)
• Natural yeast (derived from sourdough)
• Salt

Beyond these precise ingredients, producers are free to add others at their discretion, like pistachio or peanut butter for the American version.⁴ The industrial version of the Panettone might also include flavours, preservatives to prevent mould (such as sorbic acid and potassium sorbate), mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (used as emulsifiers, listed on labels as E471), and brewer’s yeast.⁵

How is Panettone made? 

Panettone is the result of a careful three-day process. Here’s what happens behind a bakery’s closed doors.

On day one, the lievito madre, or mother dough, which is a fermented dough made with water and flour, is “fed” by adding some new water and flour.

The yeasts naturally present in the dough start to digest the sugars contained in the flour, creating gas and small bubbles. These bubbles make the dough soft and fluffy. This step is repeated three times, every three and a half hours, to strengthen the yeasts and make the Panettone rise.

The sourdough is a mix of water, flour and natural yeast. It is fed everyday during the year (some sourdough are several years old!) and can be used for other baked goods, such as sourdough bread or pastries.  

Half of the sourdough is taken away and mixed with water, flour and sugar and left to rest for 12 hours. There is approximately one kilo of sourdough per 25 kilos of panettone dough, at the discretion of the chef.

On day two, egg yolks, which give a golden colour, and butter are added to the dough. The dough is kneaded for up to one hour to form a gluten-rich net that traps gases released by the yeast during baking. The dough is left to rest for one hour. After that, the dough is kneaded again, and candied fruits, such as orange, cedar, and raisins, are added. The dough is left to rest for one extra hour. Temperature is key: it must be kept between 22 and 26°C to enhance fermentation.

The dough is put into the kneader, and left to rise. Temperature is key: it must be kept between 22 and 26°C to enhance fermentation.  

In the evening, the dough is cut into parts of one to two kilos and then, once again, left to rest for an hour. The dough balls are then shaped with a skilled gesture  - called pirlatura - to strengthen the dough. This shaped dough is put in a mould called pirottini and, guess what? It’s left to rise again overnight! 

On day three, the Panettone reaches its maximum volume and is precisely cut with a razor blade in the shape of a cross. This is called scarpatura, allowing the cake to rise fully despite the crust forming at the top. As a final touch, a little butter is placed on top, and the Panettone is baked at 170°C for one hour. After baking, the Panettone is placed upside down for 8 hours to prevent the hot, heavy dough from collapsing and ensure the raisins and candied fruit are evenly spread throughout. And voilà, Christmas is served! 

After baking, the Panettone is placed upside down for 8 hours, ensuring the cake does not fall when cooling. And voilà!

So, what makes Panettone so good? 

The long proofing times make the crumb of Panetonne particularly soft and elastic, keeping it moist for days. Once reserved for the elite, Panettone is now a popular food, but this long artisanal process makes it more expensive than other baked treats.

When did Panettone become so popular?

During the second half of the 19th century, more and more Italian pastry chefs started to bake Panettone, but the production was still quite secretive and reserved for a privileged few.⁶ At the beginning of the 20th century, the industrial revolution reached northern Italy, and the production of panettone started to rise. In 1919, two enterprising Milanese bakers, Motta and Alemagna, began mass-producing Panettone, spreading the Christmas tradition to the whole peninsula.⁷ 

Alemagna aimed to preserve the traditional recipe of Milanese panettone: a round bread, with high-quality products. Their communication strategy included elegant references, by associating the brand name with the city’s prestige.

Motta, on the other hand, chose to modernise the recipe, by increasing the butter and egg proportion and introducing the mould. The higher rising and the mould led to its typical "champagne cork" shape, turning the panettone into an easily marketable produce.

Can you guess which country eats the most Panettone? 

Through globalisation and immigration, the Panettone became a popular sweet in South America. It is known in Spanish as panetón or pan dulce, and as panetone in Brazilian Portuguese, where it is consumed all year long. In Peru, Antonio D'Onofrio, son of immigrants hailing from Caserta, Italy, created his own recipe from Alemagna’s version.⁸ He created modern and local versions of the traditional Panettone, some including banana or sweet potatoes in the dough. 

Peru is now the world's biggest consumer of panettone. That’s right, the average person from Peru eats an impressive 1.3 kg of panettone in a year - preferably not on Christmas day alone.⁹