Traditional Panettone

This year, I decided to try a new recipe that I found in a reputable baking textbook. No other recipe from this book had failed to disappoint me, and I had tried several, so I decided to go with this one. This new panettone, although a bit heavier than the old recipe, was certainly richer and moister. It is made by the enriched straight dough method for yeast breads. It was also chock-full of plump, delicious fruit and flavor. The new recipe uses only egg yolks and a large quantity of butter for richness. It is flavored by vanilla extract and lemon and orange zest. It uses bread flour for a higher gluten content and more structure. Instead of making three or four smaller panettones, I made two larger ones and baked them in a bundt pan and a tube pan. 

There are a few major differences between this panettone recipe and the one I used to use. The old recipe was less traditional, and used cherries as fruit and also contained the addition of a little rum for extra flavor and keeping qualities. This new recipe uses more traditional fruits - simply raisins, golden raisins, and candied orange peel. The new recipe contains both lemon and orange zest, where the old recipe used the flavorings of lemon zest and anise extract. Both are yeast breads that are formed into small round loaves and baked either free-form or in panettone molds or similar pans. 

I definitely like this new recipe better though, and if I make panettone next year, I will be using this recipe again (unless I find an even better one).