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 Tall and dome-shaped, panettone is a soft, sweet yeast cake with a buttery, fruity aroma of raisins and candied citrus peel traditionally served at Christmas time.
While the ingredients in panettone are simple -flour, sugar, fresh eggs, butter, raisins, and candied citrus peel - the making of panettone is not. It takes almost two full days and 40+ hours to make each panettone!
History
The colourful stories behind the origins of panettone are abundant as the candied fruit and raisins that flavour it.
Although it probably originated in Milan around the 15th century,
panettone has spawned many legends. The most popular concerns a young Milanese nobleman, a member of the Atellani family, who fell in love with the daughter of a baker named Toni. To impress the girl's father, the young man disguised himself as a baker's assistant and invented a new, fruitcake-like bread. People came to the bakery in droves to purchase the magnificent new creation dubbed Pan de Toni ("Tony's bread"). A variation of the legend has Toni inventing the bread at a Christmas feast held by the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. The baker, Toni, needed to quickly replace the dessert for the feast, which had accidentally burned while baking.
 Serving suggestions
In Italy a slice of panettone is often paired with a glass of sparkling Asti Spumante docg wine.
Panettone is eaten plain or with chocolate or fruit sauce or zabaglione (Italian custard). It is served also toasted for breakfast or snacks.
Panettone, which has a long shelf life and stays fresh through springtime, is used as a base for many recipes, both sweet and savory.
Panettone Recipes
How Panettone is Made
Panettone's distinctive flavor, texture, and aroma are due in part to the natural sourdough yeast used in its preparation. Each manufacturer creates their own batches of yeast called madre lievito, "mother yeast. " Bits of this mother yeast is then pinched off and used in each batch of panettone.
  
Panettone making follows an extraordinarily elaborate and time-consuming process. The yeast mixture goes through a three-phase fermentation process before it is blended with flour and other ingredients, then mixed, and left to rise a minimum of three times before baking.
  
The dough is put into round paper molds, which give panettone its traditional dome-shape. A characteristic crosscut is made on top before final fermentation to boost rising.
A Note on Authenticity
 Panettone has its own "Code of Practice" in Italy, defining ingredients, production process, and labelling prerequisites. This legislation is part of a "Quality Program" undertaken by the Italian Confectioners Association with the aim to preserving, safeguarding and promoting panettone's centuries-old recipe.
The Italian Government has even further classified panettone as Denominazione Riservata, which means that for a product to carry the name panettone it must be made according to a very strict set of criterion, including the quality, type and minimum quantity of ingredients used.
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THE PANETTONE PRODUCTION PROCESS (VIDEO)
