Mary Ann's Blog
Putting By Panettone
November 29, 2024
Surprise! You received several panettoni for the holidays. We have all been there and as much as they are part of Christmas tradition, one can only consume so many. Each year, I make classic panettone for Christmas morning, breakfast; it’s a labor of love because creating the tall and dome like sweet bread requires a long rising and baking process and each year, friends send me so many that I need to freeze them or give them away or come up with clever ways to use them. That is when panettone needs to be reimagined. They have been turned into French toast, hollowed out and filled with gelato and made into dessert panini filled with mascarpone and chocolate. Stale slices have been toasted and slathered with butter but the absolute family favorite is panettone bread pudding like a budino that is baked in a water bath. The aroma of spices and citrus will fill your kitchen as the bread pudding bakes and is best served warm.
There are so many stories surrounding the origin of panettone and Milano taking credit for the rise of this tall and sweet holiday bread. Some say panettone is nothing more than what its name suggests, a big bread while others prefer the endearing story of a baker named Tony who made the bread to impress the family of someone he loved and thus the bread became known as Tony’s bread or pane di Tonino. Whatever the case, panettone is now made all over Italy, some infused with spirits, some make with chocolate or chestnuts or figs. Wrapped in beautiful holiday papers to pretty to theow away, panettone is the quintessential gift and it’s just not Christmas without it.
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