Panettone Recipe Traditional | Soft, Tall, Citrus-Rich

This classic Italian sweet bread bakes up light and feathery, packed with butter, egg yolks, raisins, and candied citrus.

Panettone has a texture that sits somewhere between rich brioche and cottony holiday bread. When it’s made well, the crumb pulls into long strands, the dome stays proud, and each bite carries butter, vanilla, and orange. That mix is what makes a home-baked loaf feel special instead of flat or heavy.

This version stays close to the old style most readers want when they search for a traditional panettone recipe: a buttery enriched dough, slow rising time, raisins, and candied orange peel. It is not a rushed loaf. You’ll mix, rest, rise, shape, proof, and bake in stages. The work is simple. The timing is what asks for patience.

If you’ve never made panettone before, don’t let the tall paper mold scare you off. The dough is sticky, rich, and a little stubborn at first, though it comes together once the butter is fully worked in and the gluten starts doing its job. Handle it with a light touch, let time do part of the lifting, and you’ll get a loaf that tastes like a proper holiday bake rather than plain sweet bread.

What Makes A Traditional Panettone

A classic panettone leans on a few traits that set it apart from everyday enriched bread. The dough carries plenty of egg yolks and butter, which gives the crumb its yellow tone and plush feel. Raisins and candied citrus are the standard mix-ins, not an afterthought. The shape is tall and round, baked in a straight-sided mold so the loaf climbs upward instead of spreading out.

The rise also matters. Panettone gets much of its character from slow fermentation. A longer rise builds better flavor and a lighter interior. Many bakery versions use natural starter, though a home version with yeast can still give you a beautiful loaf if you manage the dough well and avoid overloading it with flour.

• Use bread flour for strength and better structure.
• Soak the raisins so they stay soft instead of drying out the crumb.
• Add butter in stages so the dough can absorb it.
• Give the shaped loaf enough proofing time to crest close to the rim.

Ingredients That Build Flavor And Structure

Good panettone starts with balance. Too much flour and the loaf bakes dry. Too much fruit and it sinks under its own weight. Too little salt and the sweetness tastes flat. Each ingredient has a job, so it helps to know why it’s there before you start mixing.

Base Dough Ingredients

You’ll need bread flour, instant yeast, warm milk, sugar, egg yolks, one whole egg, unsalted butter, salt, vanilla, orange zest, raisins, and candied orange peel. Some bakers add a spoonful of honey, which rounds out the sweetness and helps the loaf stay tender for longer. That little touch works well here.

The citrus notes should smell clean, not bitter. Fresh orange zest gives the dough lift, while candied peel brings the deeper marmalade note people expect in a holiday slice. GialloZafferano’s panettone recipe also treats candied citrus and raisins as core parts of the loaf, which lines up with the classic style most home bakers are chasing.

Recommended Quantities For One Tall Loaf

The amounts below fit one standard large paper mold, around 750 grams to 1 kilogram finished weight, depending on how much fruit you fold in and how much moisture cooks off in the oven.

• 500 g bread flour
• 10 g instant yeast
• 160 ml warm milk
• 120 g sugar
• 4 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg
• 140 g unsalted butter, soft
• 8 g fine salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 140 g raisins
• 100 g candied orange peel, diced

Drain the soaked raisins well and pat them dry. Wet fruit will streak the dough and slow the rise. Candied peel should be cut small enough to spread through the loaf without tearing the strands as you fold.

Mixing And Kneading The Dough

Start by soaking the raisins in warm water for 20 to 30 minutes. Then drain and dry them well. In a large bowl or mixer bowl, combine the flour, yeast, warm milk, sugar, honey, egg yolks, whole egg, vanilla, orange zest, and salt. Mix until no dry flour remains. Let it rest for 15 minutes. That short pause gives the flour time to hydrate, and the dough will feel smoother once you begin kneading.

Add the soft butter a little at a time. Don’t dump it all in at once. Let each piece disappear before adding the next. At first the dough may look slick and messy. Stay with it. After several minutes of mixing, it should turn glossy and elastic. A stand mixer makes this easier, though it can be done by hand with a dough scraper and steady patience.

Dough temperature shapes fermentation speed and handling. King Arthur’s notes on dough temperature explain why warmer dough ferments faster and cooler dough moves slower. For home baking, you want the finished dough pleasantly warm, not hot. If the butter starts melting into a greasy film, pause and let the dough cool for a few minutes.

Once the dough stretches without tearing fast, fold in the raisins and candied orange peel on low speed or by hand. Don’t knead hard after the fruit goes in. You want even distribution without smashing the dough.

Ingredient Or Step	What To Use	Why It Matters
Flour	Bread flour	Gives the dough enough strength to hold butter, eggs, and fruit.
Yeast	Instant yeast	Helps a rich dough rise without long starter upkeep.
Eggs	Mostly yolks	Add color, richness, and a softer crumb.
Butter	Soft, not melted	Builds tenderness while keeping the dough structured.
Sweetener	Sugar plus a little honey	Feeds flavor, browning, and softness.
Fruit	Raisins and candied orange peel	Delivers the classic panettone taste and aroma.
First Rise	Warm room until doubled	Builds volume and a lighter interior.
Final Proof	In paper mold near rim height	Sets up the tall dome and open crumb.

Panettone Recipe Traditional Timing And Fermentation

Place the dough in a buttered bowl, cover it, and let it rise until doubled. In many home kitchens that takes 2 to 3 hours, though a cool room can stretch it longer. Rich dough doesn’t move like lean pizza dough, so don’t rush it just because the clock says so.

Turn the dough onto a lightly buttered surface, shape it into a tight round, and place it in a paper panettone mold. Cover loosely and let it proof until the top climbs close to the rim. This final rise may take another 2 to 4 hours. The loaf should look airy and alive. If it still feels dense, give it more time.

Right before baking, score a shallow cross on top with a sharp blade and tuck a small knob of butter into the center. That old-school finish helps the crown open nicely while baking.

Baking The Loaf

Bake at 350°F, or 175°C, until the dome is deeply golden and the center reads done. Rich breads can brown before the middle is set, so tent the top with foil if it darkens too soon. In most ovens, a large loaf needs 40 to 50 minutes.

For home bakers who like to verify doneness with a thermometer, FoodSafety.gov keeps a safe minimum internal temperature chart. Bread isn’t listed there as a required item, though the chart is still a handy reminder that a thermometer is useful when texture matters. Many bakers pull enriched breads once the center is around the low 190s°F and no wet streaks remain.

After baking, cool the loaf fully before slicing. Traditional tall panettone is often hung upside down with skewers through the base so the crumb doesn’t collapse while hot. If that setup feels fussy, cool the loaf on its side for part of the time and rotate it now and then. The loaf may settle a bit more, though it will still taste great.

Common Mistakes That Flatten The Loaf

Panettone can go wrong in a few familiar ways, and most of them trace back to dough strength or patience. A dry loaf often means too much flour or too long in the oven. A squat loaf usually means weak gluten, underproofing, or fruit that was too wet and heavy. A pale loaf often points to cool oven heat or not enough sugar and egg in the mix.

Here’s where many first-time bakers stumble:

• Adding extra flour to tame stickiness too early.
• Using cold butter, which tears the dough instead of blending in.
• Skipping the long final proof.
• Packing in too much fruit.
• Slicing while the crumb is still steaming hot.

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix For Next Time
Dense crumb	Under-kneaded dough or short rise	Mix longer before adding fruit and wait for a full proof.
Dry slices	Too much flour or overbaking	Weigh ingredients and check the loaf earlier.
Sunken top	Weak structure or underbaked center	Build more gluten and bake until fully set.
Fruit at the bottom	Wet raisins or loose shaping	Dry the fruit well and shape the dough tighter.
Pale crust	Low oven heat	Check oven accuracy and bake on the middle rack.
Tough dough	Too much added flour during kneading	Use buttered hands and a scraper instead.

Serving And Storing Panettone

Panettone is at its best once fully cool, when the crumb has settled and the citrus notes are easier to taste. Slice it with a serrated knife, using gentle sawing strokes so you don’t crush the strands. It’s lovely plain, though toasted slices with a little mascarpone or softened butter are hard to beat.

Store the loaf well wrapped at room temperature for several days. Because it is rich with butter and eggs, it stays tender longer than plain bread. If it starts to dry, toast it lightly or turn it into bread pudding or French toast. Stale panettone still has plenty of life left in it.

Why This Recipe Works So Well At Home

A bakery panettone can involve multiple dough builds and a natural starter kept on a strict schedule. That style is wonderful, though it can be a lot for a home kitchen. This recipe keeps the soul of the loaf intact while trimming the method to something you can pull off without a pro setup.

You still get the classic markers people want: a buttery aroma, citrus from fresh zest and candied peel, a feathery interior, and the tall holiday shape. What makes the biggest difference is not fancy gear. It’s giving the dough enough mixing time, enough rise, and enough care during shaping.

If you bake bread now and then, this is the sort of project that sharpens your feel for rich dough. If you’re brand new to yeast baking, it’s still within reach. Read the dough, not just the clock, and your panettone will tell you when it’s ready for the next step.