In Italy, it’s not really Christmas unless there’s a panettone. But in many Australian households, this sweet, dome-shaped bread receives much less fanfare: it stays on shelves well past the season, or is given and regifted until it passes its use-by date.
Tuscan-based food writer Emiko Davies says it’s a “must-have Christmas tradition” all around Italy – stacked high in bakeries from late November, ready to be given to friends, neighbours and party hosts. So loved is this traditional Milanese bread that Davies says it has gone beyond its staple filling of candied fruits and sultanas to variations stuffed with gelato, studded with chocolate chips or filled with hazelnut, chocolate or pistachio creams.
But in Australia, if the panettone-sceptics learn to choose a good one, can the festive fruit bread’s reputation be redeemed?
Panettone is “the Mount Everest of leavened breads … difficult to make and extremely difficult to make well,” says Lombardy-born chef Stefano Manfredi.
“Bread, or pane, sweetened with honey or sugar and flavoured with ingredients like candied peel, spices and the like, [has] been part of Christmas traditions since medieval times,” he says.
“But it wasn’t until 1919, in Milan, that Angelo Motta, [among the first to use the distinctive paper mould in which the panettone is baked] added lievito madre, a solid natural starter, to the dough that was used to make the low, firm panettone of the period, that we got the light and airy version we know today.”
‘It should taste sweet but not overly so’
A good one, says Manfredi, “should look impressive and full in its paper sleeve, without gaps”.
“When cut it should smell sweetly perfumed with no odours of vinegar, [and] it should be moist and tear in strips, not at all crumbly and cake-like. It should taste sweet but not overly so: rich, buttery and complex, and the quality of the candied fruits should be evident.”
According to Alessandro Bartesaghi, executive pastry chef at Melbourne Exhibition Centre, if the panettone tears easily, it’s a sign of proper fermentation. Bartesaghi, who trained in Milan and now runs panettone classes, says it needs to “fill” your mouth: “When you bite into it, it [should] taste light and creamy. If it feels dry, [it’s] not a good sign.”
Aroma and texture, he says, are distinguishing factors of a good panettone.
“You should smell the subtle and natural aromas of the honey and the orange,” Bartesaghi says. “If it smells like deodoriser for the car as soon as you open it, there’s probably artificial flavourings to keep costs down, and these are very potent.”
The makings of a good panettone
Shady Wasef, who trained as a pastry chef in Italy with revered baker Mauro Scaglia, has been making artisanal panettone at his Sydney bakery Pioik for years.
“My wife, Rose, always thinks I cheat on her with the panettone because I spend so much time on it,” he says. His panettone is a three-day process. It begins with a water bath for the sourdough mother, which is fed every few hours over two days; when the dough has sufficiently fermented, it is mixed with sugar, eggs, butter and fruit. Wasef makes his own candied orange, and says even artisanal Italian bakers use premium Australian sultanas in their panettone).
After baking, the panettone is hung upside down, which helps “maintain its fluffy texture and prevents it from collapsing”, Wasef says.
“This tradition allows the panettone to cool gradually, preserving its airy structure and preventing it from getting compressed by its own weight,” he explains. “We start producing once a week until the week before Christmas, when we start producing every second day.” Pioik’s panettone attracts large queues; you can’t order in advance. “Some people get very disappointed if they miss out.”
Eat it fresh, with sweet wine or coffee
A good panettone is delicious as is. “When fresh, it’s best eaten like the Italians do, as is, with a glass of sweet wine of your choice,” Manfredi says. “In Australia you can soak fresh cherries in a spirit or sweet wine and serve them with a slice [of panettone] and a dollop of mascarpone cream.”
Davies says it’s commonly eaten for breakfast for days after Christmas, dunked into coffee.
“If you get tired of eating it the same way, it makes an absolutely delicious bread and butter pudding, or you can toast it and eat it warm,” she says. She also recommends a side of pouring custard or zabaglione.
‘Look for a product that costs more than $50’
Despite their abundance, chefs and cooks say many supermarket panettone are likely to be sub-par compared with ones by specialty bakers or suppliers, because they contain preservatives.
“Any Australian importer won’t bother with panettone that doesn’t have at least four months’ [shelf life] and many industrial supermarket ones have a shelf life of around nine months,” says Manfredi.
Bartesaghi says price is often an indication of quality.
“Look for a product that costs more than $50,” he says. “It may cost $10 in ingredients, but with panettone you are often paying for packaging, as well as the process, thanks to the leavening and the attention to detail.”
Says Manfredi: “You can go to one of the many supermarkets in Australia and buy a panettone for a fraction of the cost, but it won’t be at all satisfying.”
Four panettone, taste-tested
1. Breramilano 1930 Il Panettone Classico, $54.95 for 1kg, available from David Jones ($5.49 per 100g)
The top panettone pick: light and creamy, with a sweet and buttery balance. Although it did not tear into strips as easily as the Sonoma product, the texture was delightfully soft, and the generous amount of fruit (12% sultanas; 11% orange peel) was well distributed. It’s also hand-wrapped and comes with an illustrated guide to the ingredients and their regions, so it makes a lovely gift.
2. Sonoma Chocolate Almond Cherry Panettone, $50 for 595g, from Sonoma ($8.40 per 100g)
This panettone most reflects the qualities that Manfredi and Bartesaghi say to look out for. It easily tore into little strips, tasted like a sweeter, softer sourdough, and was very light and fluffy. The milk chocolate and almonds were well distributed throughout, and although the cherries made up only 1% of the ingredients, they were large, soft and juicy.
3. Loison Panettone Classico, $47.99 for 1kg, available from Myer ($4.79 per 100g)
There is a hefty amount of fruit in this Italian-made panettone: 19% raisins, 6% candied orange. But that’s about where the positives end. It was easier to slice than tear, and it didn’t melt in my mouth but needed to be well chewed. The candied orange tasted slightly artificial too, like a lolly.
4. Motta Panettone Ricetta Originale, $34.95 for 700g, available from The Red Spoon Co ($4.99 per 100g)
Made by the original Motta company, this was my least-preferred panettone of the lot. Although there was an impressive fruit ratio (15.9% raisins and 12.4% candied orange) it was overall cake-like and crumbly, lacked butteriness, and tasted a little dry. Perhaps one to reserve for dunking into your tea or coffee, to moisten it up a little.
