This bread is delicious served toasted, spread with your favorite jams, or eaten plain.
If you haven't tried making panettone, it's very easy with our simple instructions.
During the fall season starting around October, we like to start our holiday baking as we give many of these loaves to friends and family.
Any cooking vessels will do, round, loaf-shaped and even braided and this year I even tried some taco metal tins for pretty shaping.
I like to keep the shapes to be molded into easy cuts for making toast and even sandwiches.
This dough is light in weight and yeast-risen with an addition of both golden raisins and dark that are also soaked in Amaretto.
This is a yearly traditional bread we make in our home along with the original Panettone and Pandoro which is an Italian Golden Cake made in Italy for the Christmas celebration.
Usually, if we get any store-bought Panettone loaves, we use that for baked french toast and baked egg breakfast casseroles.
Scroll down to my printable recipe card to print this off for this easy recipe everyone will enjoy this homemade bread as a treat on Christmas morning.
Eating this Panettone
When this comes out of the oven hot, we slather it with butter and lucky to have any left it so delicious.
The panettone taste amazing warm, toasted or just plain.
Great in the morning with coffee or tea.
The Story Of Panettone
In Italy, panettone comes with an often varied history, but one that invariably states that its birthplace was Milan.
The word "panettone" derives from the Italian word "panetto", a small loaf cake.
A legend tells of a story that takes place in the 15th century when Ludovico il Moro was the Duke of Milan.
Shapes and Sizes
It has a cupola shape, which extends from a cylindrical base.
Other bases may be used, such as an octagon, or star-shaped but are more common to pandoro.
It is made with a proofing process originally which takes several days, giving the cake its distinctive fluffy characteristics.
It contains candied orange, citron, and lemon zest, as well as raisins, which are added dry and not soaked.
Many other variations are available such as plain or with chocolate.
It is served in wedge shapes, vertically cut, accompanied with sweet hot beverages or sweet wine, such as Asti or Moscato d'Asti and even Amaretto.
Ingredients You will need for making Amaretto Panettone
- butter softened
- milk
- zest of oranges
- sugar
- raisins golden and dark
- Amaretto
- flour
- eggs
- salt
- vanilla or almond extract
- yeast
- water
- Optional: allspice
Keeping These Fresh
I like baking smaller size loaves and make early in December and freeze them for gift giving.
It's really a time saver when we make so many Christmas cookies, I like to get these done early.
Being they freeze well, I can just pack them up frozen and add a pretty ribbon on gift-giving day.
My Son's Favorite Bread
My son Chad loves this bread.
He ordered the original pan below online for me that is a large one loaf panettone.
Through the years I have also used many other vessel shapes to bake the dough in.
I will share those pan ideas with you below, but you can really use any shapes you prefer including braiding this bread..
I prefer to use shapes that are easy to cut when using this as a breakfast toast or sandwich as I mentioned previously.
Egg Wash Makes It Shine
As you can see from the photo above there is no egg wash on there.
I posted that photo to show you the difference.
The top of these gets their beautiful sheen look by using the egg wash.
Don't miss that step.
I also add a little Amaretto into that egg mixture.
Baking Pans
If you can't get a Panettone pan you can use 4 Tortilla individual pans which I found in any baking department at a retail store.
Make sure you line them with parchment paper and oil spray with cooking oil.
You can also use clean metal coffee cans. I use one extra-large original panettone pan or the extra-large coffee cans and if you use the small cans the dough will make 3 small ones.
Original Flavors
The original panettone recipe has a grated orange peel and grated lemon peel.
You can adapt the recipe any way you like, this recipe is just a guideline to how we like ours through the years of adapting to our families taste.
You can find the original recipe here which is a little different than this one.
Try Our Other Favorite Recipes
Pandoro (Golden Cake)
My Best Italian Christmas Roundup
Tips for Freezing This Panettone
I usually make over 12 loaves during the holiday season and give many away.
The bread freezes well and one tip is to cool the bread completely, freeze it uncovered, then wrap it in wax paper and place it in a freezer bag.
You don't want flat deflated bread, so be sure if you are freezing this delicate yeast-risen bread you freeze it on a cookie sheet uncovered until hard before wrapping it.
You can actually purchase fancy bottom wraps for the round coffee can style bread,
They can be found online that go around the panettone and pretty like the panettone you buy in the store.
I usually don't elaborate on the fancy collars for my panettone, it doesn't last long enough to dress but perfect for the finishing touch for gift-giving.
Amaretto Panettone Recipe Pin for later
Don't Miss My Holiday Roundup of Recipe Ideas
Best Holiday Side DishesRed White and Blue Recipes
Thanksgiving Recipes
Christmas Recipes
Italian Christmas Eve Recipes
Easter Recipes
Game Day Recipes
Amaretto Panettone
Yield: 6
prep time: 20 Mcook time: 45 Mtotal time: 65 M
Panettone with Amaretto Bread is a sweet yeast-risen dough made at Christmas and served toasted or plain. Panettone is known worldwide as a delicious homemade sweet bread Holiday tradition and sold everywhere.
ingredients:
- 1 stick butter softened
- 1/2 cup milk warmed
- zest of 2 oranges
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup mixed raisins golden and dark
- 1/2 cup or more Amaretto to soak the raisins in for at least 1 hour ( soak either in Amaretto or any other brandy, liqueurs of choice) 1/4 cup needs to be reserved to use in this recipe plus 1 tablespoon for the egg wash, you can discard the rest.
- 4 cups flour or more
- 3 egg yolks + 1 whole egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- 2 packages yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons water to brush the top
- 1/4 cup Amaretto or use 1 tablespoon almond extract
- Optional: 1/2 teaspoon allspice ( I like this in the dough) and 1 tablespoon orange zest
- Note: I have readers that put chocolate chunks in the dough which is optional addition at the end
- Panettone pan or use a metal coffee should be lined with parchment paper or any style pan you prefer or have to use. I even used Tortilla Taco pans any kind of shapes or sizes can be used however the original Panettone pan is large and tall.
instructions:
How to cook Amaretto Panettone
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare Panettone pan, greased or using parchment paper-lined pan.
- Soak the raisins in the Amaretto or other flavored liqueur you prefer for 1 hour. Drain reserving 1/4 cup for the recipe and 1 tablespoon for egg wash.
- Add the yeast to a larger mixer bowl with 1/4 cup warm water to dissolve.
- In another large bowl using an electric beater cream the butter and sugar together then add the milk.
- Add the buttered mixture, the egg yolks, zest, whole egg, salt vanilla, and liqueur you're using into the yeast and water blending well.
- Add the flour a little at a time until a soft dough forms around 4 minutes with the flat beater. Kneading around 10 minutes by hand adding the raisins.
- Place in a draft-free area and let rise 1 hour.
- Punch down and put it into the panettone pan.
- Let rise again.
- Brush with egg yolk adding the reserved Amaretto to the egg wash. Bake on 350 until golden brown.
- Makes 1 large or 6 small in using taco tins. Using small coffee tins will make 3.
Calories
225
225
Fat (grams)
11
11
Sat. Fat (grams)
4
4
Carbs (grams)
20
20
Net carbs
16
16
Amaretto Panettone Recipe Pin for later
Don't Forget to Try My Favorite Italian Christmas Cake Below
Pandoro (Golden Cake)
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2015. It was edited and re-published in 2019.