You can literally find no Italian family who doesn’t have Panettone for Christmas.
Soft, fluffy, full of winter flavors it’s one of those iconic Italian foods that is a MUST try.
Now, to be perfectly honest, it’s almost impossible to get the same results with huge panettone in your own kitchen, mainly due to temperature balance, long fermentation and proofing process that are essential for panettone.
Luckily, these days you can easily order the real and true Italian Panettone online.
Anything from Classic Panettone to really special ones, like Chocolate Panettone, Apricot and Chocolate Panettone, Panettone Filled with Sambuca Cream and Espresso Chocolate Chips or even Panettone with Pistacchio Cream.
But while making a classic huge panettone at home is not worth the time and the effort, I find that you can totally GO for a mini panettone made in your own kitchen.
They taste delicious, not THAT complicated to make.
PLUS make a unique Christmas gift that you can assemble in your own DIY Gift Basket.
Full Recipe
Christmas Mini Panettone
Ingredients
Starter Dough:
- ¼ cup water lukewarm
- ½ cup (3 oz) Manitoba flour
- ⅛ tsp active dry yeast
Panettone Dough (Part 1):
- ½ cup lukewarm water
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 ½ cup (9 oz) Manitoba flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 oz butter softened
- 3 egg yolks
Panettone Dough (Part 2):
- ⅓ cup (3 oz) Manitoba flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 oz butter softened
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp vanilla powder
- 4 oz dry raisins
- 3 oz candied orange peel , diced
- 1 oz candied lemon peel , diced
- ⅓ cup orange jam or mix of orange and lemon jam
Baking Molds:
Instructions
Starter dough:
- Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add flour a spoon at a time. Mix well with a fork and once the flour is well incorporated transfer the dough into a clean bowl and cover with a plastic wrap.
- Leave at room temperature for a few hours, then put it in the fridge overnight.
Panettone Dough (Part 1):
- In the morning remove the starter dough from the fridge 1-2 hours before proceeding with the next step.
- In a mixer bowl add lukewarm water and yeast, wait for a minute or two until yeast is completely dissolved.
- Add sugar and flour. Knead on medium speed until combined. Add butter and egg yolks. Knead for 5 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
- Transfer it to a clean bowl, cover with a plastic wrap and let rise in warm dark place for 10-12 hours. In my case - the whole day.
- In the evening the dough should almost triple in size.
Panettone Dough (Part 2):
- Put the raisins to soak in lukewarm water for about 30 minutes, then dry that with a paper towel.
- In a mixer bowl add sugar, flour and the dough you already have. Mix on medium speed for a few minutes.
- Add butter and egg yolks, continue kneading for another 5 minutes.
- Add honey, vanilla powder, orange and lemon jam. Mix until combined.
- Lastly add raisins and candied oranges and lemons. Mix for a few seconds just until incorporated into the dough.
- Divide the dough in 4 equal parts forming a ball shape. Place each in paper mini panettone mold. Place all the molds on a baking sheet, cover with a large bowl or lightly floured paper towel and let rise for another 6-8 hours in a turned off oven or other warm and dark place.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 375F.
- (If you kept panettone in the oven, don’t forget to remove it before preheating the oven).
- Place a small dollop on butter on top of each panettone and bake them in a preheated to 375F oven for 30-35 minutes until lightly brown.
Let your mini Panettone cool completely before tasting.
Did I mention you can use them as a sweet treat in Italian Christmas Basket? 🙂
Merry Christmas and Buon Natale! 🌟🎄🎉