How To Find The Best Panettone
By Nicola Lando
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September 29th, 2024
Browse hundreds of extraordinary Christmas food gifts at Sous Chef. Or for the foodie Christmas gift that every food-lover is hoping for, see our finest Italian panettone.
This celebration bread is the king of Italian bakes, and is a wonderful centrepiece in the middle of the table. The perfect panettone is light as air, golden in colour and packed with heady citrus flavour.
Here's our guide to everything you need to know about panettone, including how to eat it, how it's made and – if you're in a rush – scroll straight down to the bottom for which panettone to buy.
We take panettone very seriously at Sous Chef and we believe we hold the best selection of brands in the UK, and perhaps even in Europe.
Best Panettone
Best Panettone
We're really proud of our collection of panettone at Sous Chef. We carefully select each product, and are looking for the best quality ingredients and authentic baking methods.
Take a look at our top selection below, or browse the full collection at our page of panettone and pandoro breads.
Which panettone brand?
At Sous Chef we only have top quality panettone, and so really the first decision is the design aesthetic you prefer. If you're looking for something classic, you'll prefer designs from Flamigni and Loison (Loison they have a number of ranges, but we only stock their 'Top Line' with the highest quality ingredients). And if you're looking for something brighter, colourful and more contemporary you'd choose Muzzi and Fiasconaro.
After that, of course it's the flavours you'll need to decide between. Traditionally panettones are studded with raisins and candied fruit, which is the classic choice. However, there are now amazing flavours to suit everybody - even dried fruit haters! Choose from marrons glacés, fruit and chocolate, pistachio and even salted caramel.
What makes a good panettone? (It's not just about Candied peel!)
There are a couple of things to look out for when looking for a good panettone:
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Origin: Make sure your panettone comes from Italy. This is the first indicator of quality. Cheap panettone can be made across Europe, and in the U.S., the majority are produced in Brazil. There have been many efforts made to obtain Protected Designation of Origin and Denominazione di Origine Controllata, like Parmesan and balsamic vinegar, but as yet, nothing has occurred.
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Weight: Good quality panettone is usually heavier than its cheaper counterparts. This is down to it containing more ingredients and moisture within the dough. Inferior panettone can often be drier and crumblier.
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Aroma: The smell from your panettone should hit you as soon as you cut into it. This will be down to using good quality ingredients like Madagascan vanilla, vanilla extract, and local citrus fruit.
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Taste: Good panettone will be rich and buttery, with a great golden colour to match. Key ingredients like caster sugar contribute significantly to this rich flavor.
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Texture: When you buy a good panettone, you’ll notice that it tears in large strips – almost like a mozzarella. This texture is achieved by using high-quality ingredients, including wheat flour. Cheap panettone will have a more bread-like structure.
What is panettone?
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Panettone has a long Italian history and there are panettone recipes dating back to 200AD. Its birthplace is widely agreed as Milan. Over the years, the panettone has resembled focaccia, contained pumpkin, and made leaven with honey. The version we know now is a 20th-century creation, its loftiness created by chef Angelo Motta.
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The name panettone was copyrighted in July 2005 and refers to a cake made with a slow-risen sourdough yeast (usually over several days), rich in butter. The usual ingredients are flour, sugar, egg yolks, butter, raisins, zest, candied peel, and natural yeast.
What is pandoro?
Pandoro is slightly different, and it comes from Verona.
Like panettone, it is sweet and eaten around Christmas, but its main ingredients are just flour, sugar, eggs, salt and butter – there is no fruit added to the dough. The texture is much more cake-like with a finer crumb. It is also dusted with vanilla sugar in tribute to the snowy Alps and their snowy peaks around Christmas time.
How do you eat panettone?
Traditionally, Italians eat a slice of panettone at breakfast. Slice yourself a pillowy piece of panettone and enjoy with a strong espresso first thing, for the true Italian experience.
However, its versatility has led to various adaptations, including using it as a base for desserts. Its transformation into luxurious bread and butter puddings or serving slices with a scoop of gelato has solidified its place on the dessert table.
Choosing the best panettone boils down to a mix of personal preference, brand reputation, and a keen eye for quality. Whether you're enjoying a slice from Italy's finest bakeries or experimenting with supermarket brands, the journey to find your perfect panettone is bound to be delicious.
So, next time you're faced with the vast selection, remember: it's more than just bread; it's a slice of Italian heritage.
READ MORE: How to eat panettone
Here are some other ways to serve panettone:
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Our favourite is a simple slice on a plate with double cream to serve.
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Toast a slice of panettone and serve it with cheese at the end of a meal. The buttery sweetness is fantastic with tangy, crumbly cheese like a premium mature Cheddar.
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Warm your panettone in the oven, then cut into individual portions and serve with a dash of double cream and a dollop of stewed fruit for a real winter warmer.
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Spread a rich and smooth nut butter over your panettone for a very special afternoon treat. Coffee cream and pistachio cream from Fiasconaro are just the thing.
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Dip hunks of warm panettone into a bowl of hot chocolate for a pre-bed snack.
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Enjoy a glass of marsala wine with your panettone at the end of dinner.
Is panettone a bread or cake?
Panettone is a leavened bread, but the way we eat it is more like a cake. The sourdough base is incredibly rich, fortified with eggs, sugar, butter and dried fruit. It can also be flavoured with chocolate drops, while some even have a whole layer of melted chocolate over the top.
How is panettone made?
Is panettone a bread or cake?
Panettone is a leavened bread, but the way we eat it is more like a cake. The sourdough base is incredibly rich, fortified with eggs, sugar, softened butter, and dried fruit. A dough hook is essential for mixing these ingredients thoroughly to achieve a smooth and elastic texture. It can also be flavoured with chocolate drops, while some even have a whole layer of melted chocolate over the top. Additionally, a topping made from egg white, almonds, and caster sugar is often brushed over the top before baking, contributing to its golden appearance.
How is panettone made with natural yeast?
It’s not easy to make a panettone; it requires skill, time, and the use of a stand mixer fitted with the appropriate attachments to get the perfect results. Essentially, the recipe all hinges on the yeast. Panettone is made with a mother yeast, like a sourdough bread. Many panettone companies have carefully tended their ‘mother’ yeast for decades.
The Italian bakers at Flagmini explain: “The essential ingredient which gives the Flamigni panettone dough its distinct flavour is the mother yeast. ‘Born’ in the 1930s, our mother yeast is the one and only leavening agent used in the manufacturing process. It gives each panettone its freshness, its unique aroma and flavour.”
And the panettone team at Muzzi agree: “Our mother yeast is considered one of our company’s treasures: its distinctive features characterize our product, giving it a unique softness and aroma.”
BROWSE OUR COLLECTION OF PANETTONE HERE
How to make panettone at home using a dough hook
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To make panettone, combine sourdough starter with yeast, milk and sugar; then add butter and eggs to create the enriched base.
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Combine this wet mix with flour to make a kneadable dough. Leave for the first prove – crucial for developing those rich and complex flavours.
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Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back and incorporate soaked dried fruit, orange zest, or chocolate chips. Shape and leave to prove for a second time – which will now dictate the shape and texture of your dough.
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Place the dough into panettone cases for proper rising and shaping. Before baking, sprinkle pearl sugar on top of the dough.
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Once your panettone has risen and looks suitably majestic, put it in the oven.
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After baking, allow the panettone to cool completely on a wire rack.
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Finally, while your panettone cools you should hang it upside down to preserve that perfect rise you’ve achieved, and prevent any sagging!
How long will panettone keep?
Panettone keeps far longer than other breads or cakes. For a classic panettone the shelf life might well be 4-6 months. However, panettone with flavoured creams are usually shorter, perhaps 2-3 months. Just check the best before date on the pack.
And if you forget to put your panettone back in its plastic bag between cutting a portions, it will start to harden. However there are lots of brilliant ways to use up stale panettone…
How to use stale panettone
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One of the best recipes for panettone that's past its best is in bread and butter pudding. Layer up big slices of the bread, cover in custard and bake for a fruity, rich gorgeous pud.
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Panettone croutons add texture and flavour to winter salads – of your bread has gone stale, simply lightly gril and scatter over your salad leaves with fresh figs, blue cheese and a glug of good dressing.
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Try layering up your panettone in a tiramisu or trifle. The bread is particularly tasty soaked in brandy, masala or other sweet wines.
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For a twist on a classic French breakfast, use your panettone to make panettone french toast.
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Try using your panettone to make breadcrumbs and incorporate into a custard to make a delicious and unexpected ice cream flavour.
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Or finally try using it to make a treacle tart, perfect as a last minute Christmas dessert.
Why is panettone expensive?
Panettone tends to be a little more expensive than most other baked goods, mainly due to the amount of time that goes into making each one. A traditional panettone is usually a lengthy procedure, however, a cheap mass-produced alternative will take shortcuts in the baking process which will be reflected in its taste. Family bakers who produce panettone will have perfected recipes for generations.
With its sourdough base, it normally takes around three days for the dough to prove, and after its spell in the fridge or the oven, it is hung upside down to stretch which also gives it its familiar dome top.
Each artisan panettone is individually hand-wrapped and packaged up in paper, and filled with an endless variety of flavours, with orange, pistachio, Amarena cherries and salted caramel being popular additions this festive season. They make fabulous gifts.
What if I don't like raisins or dried fruit but still want to try a panettone?
Then a flavoured panettone is a great option. I'd recommend Flamigni's spritz or cappucino panettone. Or treat yourself to a Pandoro instead.
Shop 2024 Panettone at Sous Chef
We sample hundreds of panettone every year - and we finally found one we're happy to put our name on! This year we hosted a panettone tasting party and of the 27+ on the table to try, the Sous Chef Milano panettone was one of the vert best-rated by our tasters. Don't miss your chance to try it!
Fiasconaro add a dash of Marsala and Zibibbo wines for an extra festive touch. Serve a slice of the traditional panettone with tea or coffee, or enjoy as a lighter alternative to Christmas pudding after dinner.
Try something a little different this Christmas, like the Loison panettone with sour Amarena cherries. Candied citrus has been swapped for plump sour cherries in this twist on an Italian classic. Made to Loison’s consistent high standards, you can expect a beautifully soft panettone made with fresh eggs, milk and cream, set off by a hint of Madagascan vanilla. Enjoy the sour cherry panettone with a glass of amaretto or cherry brandy as an indulgent evening treat.
These mini panettone are the perfect thing for special stocking filler, or for taking to friends and family as a last minute gift.
An incredible pairing of dark cherry and sweet chocolate chips - this is a decadent panettone packed with flavour.
A panettone in a tin is a special thing, and this classic form Loison is one we look forward to every year.
For a seriously good slice of Italian panettone, you can’t beat the Muzzi Traditional Panettone. The golden, buttery dough is light as air, and just melts away. This traditional panettone is fantastic with a cup of tea of coffee for breakfast, or after dinner with a glass of marsala wine.
Fiasconaro was founded in Castelbuono, Sicily in 1953 by Mario Fiasconaro. Mario started out as an ice-cream maker and pastry chef, and his first great masterpieces were mountains of profiteroles. His three sons, Fausto, Nicola and Martino, began learning the art of pastry when they were children. Today, the three brothers still lead the company. Nicola is the production manager and an award-winning pastry chef. You’ll taste his expertise in every bite of Fiasconaro’s luxurious panettones and torrone.
What a beautiful tin! Manna is a natural syrup, harvested from the ash trees of Sicily. It is used here to sweeten the golden panettone dough, along with Sicilian honey.
The panettone is topped with sugar crystals and whole roasted hazelnuts. And inside the tin, you’ll find manna cream for spreading over your panettone. The cream has a chocolate hazelnut flavour – fantastic with a morning espresso. Plus, there's a small golden panettone knife included, for spreading your manna cream.
Browse the full range of Sous Chef panettone and pandoro here, and discover our best Christmas gifts for bakers.
About the author
Nicola is co-founder and CEO at Sous Chef. She has worked in food for over ten years.
Nicola first explored cooking as a career when training at Leiths, before spending the next decade in Finance. However... after a stage as a chef at a London Michelin-starred restaurant, Nicola saw the incredible ingredients available only to chefs. And wanted access to them herself. So Sous Chef was born.
Today, Nicola is ingredients buyer and a recipe writer at Sous Chef. She frequently travels internationally to food fairs, and to meet producers. Her cookbook library is vast, and her knowledge of the storecupboard is unrivalled. She tastes thousands of ingredients every year, to select only the best to stock at Sous Chef.
Nicola shares her knowledge of ingredients and writes recipes to showcase those products. Learning from Sous Chef's suppliers and her travels, Nicola writes many of the recipes on the Sous Chef website. Nicola's recipes are big on flavour, where the ingredients truly shine (although that's from someone who cooks for hours each day - so they're rarely tray-bakes!).
