At a Glance
Panettone is an enriched, laminated-style sourdough bread requiring extended fermentation, high hydration and careful handling to achieve its telltale open crumb and honeyed flavor. This recipe emphasizes dough strength building through stretch-and-folds and cold retardation to develop flavor without commercial yeast [1][2].
Not suitable if:
- • You are new to enriched doughs → start with a simpler enriched recipe
- • You don't have an active starter → create and mature a starter first
🛒 Recommended Products
We recommend the following tools for this recipe:
Digital Kitchen Scale
Essential for accurate measurement of flour, water and enrichments
Large Mixing Bowl
Room to mix and autolyse enriched dough
Dough Scraper
Helps handle sticky enriched dough and perform folds
Bread Lame
For final scoring to control oven spring
Instant-Read Thermometer
Checks crumb temperature to avoid underbaking
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Ingredients
Weigh everything on a kitchen scale. Enriched dough tolerances are tighter than lean doughs—accuracy matters [1].
| Ingredient | Amount | % | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | 600g | 100% | High-protein for strength |
| Water | 300g | 50% | Split between autolyse and later addition |
| Active sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 180g | 30% | Fully active 3-6 hours after feeding |
| Sugar | 120g | 20% | Granulated or caster sugar |
| Milk (whole) | 60g | 10% | Room temperature |
| Butter | 180g | 30% | Soft but not melted |
| Egg yolks | 4 (approx. 80g) | 13% | Room temperature |
| Salt | 12g | 2% | |
| Vanilla paste or extract | 1 tsp | 0.5% | |
| Candied orange peel | 120g | 20% | Or raisins, soaked and dried |
| Zest of 1 orange | 5g | 0.8% |
Schedule
Classic Multi-Day
Best flavor development with cold retards
Compressed (Faster) Version
For bakers with less time—shorter cold retards, careful temperature control
💡 Tips
- If dough overproofs in bulk → chill immediately to slow activity and salvage structure [1]
- Cold retards improve flavor and make subsequent handling easier; allow additional bench time after fridge before working
Step by Step
Autolyse
Combine flour and a portion of the water in a large mixing bowl. Cover and rest 30–60 minutes to hydrate the flour and start gluten development without handling [1].
⏱ 30-60 minutes
Add starter and enrichments
Add active starter, sugar, milk, yolks and salt to the autolysed dough. Mix until ingredients are homogeneously distributed. Use a dough scraper to turn the dough; avoid over-aeration early on [2].
Stretch-and-folds
Perform 3–4 sets of stretch-and-folds at 20–30 minute intervals to build strength: lift a portion of dough and fold over itself using floured hands or a dough scraper.
⏱ 90-120 minutes
Cold retard (optional but recommended)
Place the dough in a lightly oiled container and refrigerate 8–12 hours. Cold temperatures slow fermentation and allow flavor compounds to develop [1].
⏱ 8-12 hours
Incorporate butter
Return dough to a cool room (18–22°C). Add softened butter in 6–8 small increments, working each addition until fully incorporated before the next. This creates a stable emulsion essential for lift [2].
⏱ 20-40 minutes
Add fruit and divide
Gently fold in candied peel and zest. Divide dough to desired weights, pre-shape lightly and rest 20–30 minutes.
⏱ 30 minutes
Final shaping
Shape into tight domes and place in paper panettone molds. Smooth the tops with oiled hands to create surface tension.
⏱ 10-15 minutes
Final proof
Proof at cool room temp or in fridge. For best oven spring: refrigerate 12–18 hours then allow 1–2 hours at room temp before baking. Dough should rise near the mold rim but not overtop.
⏱ 12-18 hours (cold) or 3-8 hours (warm)
Bake
Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Brush tops with egg wash if desired. Score with a bread lame and bake on a tray for 45–55 minutes. Rotate if needed. Check internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer: target 96–98°C / 205–208°F in the center. If crust browns too fast, reduce temp 10–15°C and tent with foil.
⏱ 45-55 minutes
Cool and rest
Invert loaves by suspending them upside-down (traditional) or cool upright on a rack. Cooling for several hours preserves structure; wait at least 4 hours before slicing. Use oven mitts to handle hot molds.
⏱ 4+ hours
Tips & Variations
Variations
Chocolate Panettone
Replace candied peel with 120g dark chocolate chunks
→ Richer flavor, add chocolate after butter is incorporated
Almond Glaze
Top with a mix of almond flour, sugar and egg white before baking
→ Sweet crunchy topping
Citrus-forward
Increase zest to 10g and macerate candied peel in orange liqueur
→ Brighter aroma
Pro Tips
- 💡 Use an instant-read thermometer to avoid underbaking the dense center
- 💡 If you struggle with butter incorporation, chill dough slightly and work more slowly to maintain emulsion [2]
- 💡 Slice with a serrated bread knife after full cooling
Common Issues
Panettone can fail in many ways; targeted fixes below.
Storage
Room temperature wrapped
7-10 days
Wrap whole loaf in plastic or beeswax and keep in cool place
Sliced and frozen
3 months
Defrost at room temp; toast slices if desired
Avoid refrigeration
Not recommended
Fridge accelerates staling due to starch retrogradation [2]
⚠️ Do not refrigerate panettone; keep cool and wrapped to preserve moisture and crumb structure [1][2].