Bundt Panettone

Bundt Panettone is a less fussy version of an Italian holiday panettone made in a Bundt pan. Delicious with a hot cup of coffee on Christmas morning.

Eating panettone is something I remember since I was a little girl celebrating Christmas in Sicily and here in Florida. Christmas just wouldn’t seem the same without a slice of fluffy panettone. I know not every child loves the candied fruits in it. I was one that did and looked for slices with extra pieces of the citrus bites. This panettone Bundt recipe is so easy to make and loved by all!

Bundt Panettone

Originally published on December 2, 2018 and republished on December 14, 2020.

I love baking Christmas breads and especially breads from different countries. I have been trying some new recipes these weeks and will share some in the next couple weeks. The traditional way to make panettone requires lots of time (over 40 hours) and oodles of patience, with great rewards.

I thought it would be fun to try a quicker version and see how it came out. This panettone recipe is made in a Bundt pan. Yes, a Bundt pan! You may not have the baking paper to make a panettone or maybe you just love to bake in your Bundt pan, as I do! This panettone recipe is the one you must try! If you’re looking for an easy (or easier)panettone recipe, bake this today!

What is the history of Italian panettone?

I found on Gourmet Traveller:
There are almost as many legends attached to the history of panettone as there are versions of the bread. But a common thread is its place and time of origin – Milan, dating back, in one form or another, to the Roman Empire, when ancient Romans sweetened leavened bread with honey. Even the origins of panettone’s name are somewhat mysterious.

Some historians claim it derives from the Italian “panetto”, meaning small bread loaf. Conversely, panettone literally means large bread. Or it may have come about at the time of its first recorded association with Christmas, which occurred in the writings of an 18th-century illuminist who referred to it as pane di tono, meaning luxury bread. But it wasn’t until the early 20th century that panettone became widely adopted by Italians as their Christmas bread. This was due to large-scale production by two rival bakers, Angelo Motta and Gioacchino Alemagna. The two family companies were bought out by Nestlé in the late 1990s, and they have since been taken over by the Italian bakery company Bauli.

Bauli makes more than one thousand products, and is Italy’s leading maker of holiday cakes-panettone, pandoro, and colomba. Ah, colomba! My mother-in-law saves us colomba from Bauli that she buys during Easter time for us to have in June when we visit her. The Bauli factory uses its own lievito madre-fermented dough, in all of its breads. They attribute this mother dough to the secret to Bauli panettone’s long shelf-life and smooth texture.

This is the dough (on the left)before rising. Look how much it rises after just an hour! You can add whatever dried fruit you like to this holiday bread. I added more raisins than probably most people like. I just love holiday breads with juicy and sweet raisins. You could even add dried apricots cupt up into small pieces.

Some other yeast dough recipes to try:

• Anadama Bread
• Sicilian Orange Sweet Bread
• No-Knead Olive Bread
• Strawberry Monkey Bread

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Bundt Panettone

A less fussy version of an Italian holiday panettone made in a Bundt pan. Delicious with a hot cup of coffee on Christmas morning.

Prep Time1 hr 30 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time2 hrs 5 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Baking, Bundt Cake, Christmas, Italy

Servings: 12 servings

Author: Lora

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar plus 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups milk low fat is fine, warm (110F)
• 1/2 cup butter very soft
• 6 large eggs room temperature
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup diced dried apricots
• 1/3 cup candied orange peel optional
• 2 Tablespoons orange liqueur or orange juice

Instructions

• Grease a 10 or 12-cup bundt pan well with butter or cooking spray.
• Place the raisins and other dried fruit in a small bowl with the orange liqueur (or orange juice).
• Place the flour in a small bowl and stir the 1/2 teaspoon of salt into it; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, add the warm milk and a teaspoon of sugar. Stir it together. Sprinkle on the yeast and let it bloom (about 10 minutes until the yeast is activated. If your yeast does not bloom, discard and start over with another batch). Add 1/4 cup of flour and beat at medium speed until combined.
• Add in the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar and the very soft butter; beat mixture for two minutes at medium speed. Mixture should be smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, waiting until each has been fully incorporated to add the next. Add in an additional 1/2 cup of flour and beat for three more minutes at medium-high speed. Beat in the remaining flour creating a thick batter. The batter will be sticky (I added 3 1/4 cups of flour and the dough is very sticky). Cover the bowl and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Stir in raisins, apricots and candied orange peel and the liqueur (or juice)that it soaked in. Spoon the sticky dough in evenly around prepared Bundt pan and level it out with a spatula. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2-2 hours. My dough was ready to bake at one hour, but I had it resting in a very warm part of my kitchen. It may take a full two hours for it to be doubled in size.
• After about one hour, preheat the oven to 350F.
• Bake panettone for 30-35 minutes, until an internal read thermometer inserted into the center of the bread reads about 200F. Bread will be golden and should spring back when lightly touched.
• Let stand for 15 minutes, then remove bread from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Sift a bit of powdered sugar over the panettone before serving, if desired.

Tried this recipe?Mention @savoringitaly or tag #savoringitaly!