Panettone: A Tradition in Your Family?

Another worldwide tradition of the holidays is panettone, supposedly originating in Milan and consisting of a rich egg batter dough studded with various and sundry dried fruits. Sometimes simple, sometimes complex assortments of fruit and varying shapes and sizes abound. It's called panettone, paneton, pan dulce and "king cake", and by extension the famous kugelhopf of the Alsace, it can be found around the world.

Has it become a tradition in your family?

Note: it's likely the known brand names get the majority of sales, since we see them stacked at Trader Joe's and in grocery stores during the season. But if you ever get a chance, get a panettone from the American pasticerria Emporio Rulli, located in the San Francisco Bay area. They can be particularly good.

I'm sure there are favorite Italian pasticceria versions as well. Just don't know them.

Not a tradition, but I like it.

Same as Jeff here. However, over the holidays for the past few years I've made a panettone bread pudding from a recipe I saw on a Rachel Ray show. Very enjoyable dessert. Although I have a recipe for making panettone from scratch, I buy it at the Italian import store around the corner from me.

Far as I know, I've never had it.

Not a tradition in my family either (Scottish, Irish and German) but stollen was somewhat of a tradition that my ex also made. I like both it and panettone, but dare not eat too much as I like to heat and butter it (although I've been told that calories don't count between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day).

Not a tradition in my family either (Scottish, Irish and German) but stollen was somewhat of a tradition that my ex also made. I like both it and panettone, but dare not eat too much as I like to heat and butter it (although I've been told that calories don't count between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day).

We are very similar then. I like stollen too, from my years in Germany.

Also love the holiday spice bread and cookies too---the pfeffernusse.

But the one I have the real sickness for, and probably the one that's the worst for me, is Italian panforte---more candy than pastry though.

No, but Stollen is a Christmas tradition. We make bread pudding out of Panettone.

Panforte is good. Also, it's next-of-kin, panpepato.

[Jenise]

Not a tradition--probably only had it three or four times in my whole life, and though I don't remember disliking it, whatever impression it made wasn't enough to signal the urge to seek out repeat experiences.

Am considering it as a substitute for ladyfingers in tiramisu, though.

Don't think I've had it. If I have, it made no impression.

Mince pies, on the other hand... yum!

Like many of you, my experience with Panettone is limited to bread pudding. Giada's recipe. It's very good, but still prefer other bread puddings, like Todd English's white chocolate challah bread pudding. Guess it's the dried fruit flavors I'm not overly fond of. I must say, it does taste "Christmas-y" though.

My mother was non-denominational, making both Panettone and Stollen at Christmastime, though the Stollen has had greater traction in the household. Also appearing then would be Springerle, courtesy of the special purpose rolling pin she kept on hand for just those occasions.

Mark Lipton

Only in bread pudding? That does miss out on the yeasty, fruity smell of it, the springy, chewy texture of it, and, of course, powdered sugar everywhere, melting sweetly as it touches your tongue.

I was told by an Italian acquaintance that the panettone, properly prepared, is drowned in powdered sugar, grabbed in both hands, and shaken vigorously about. (I sent him outside for this feat.)

Only in bread pudding? That does miss out on the yeasty, fruity smell of it, the springy, chewy texture of it, and, of course, powdered sugar everywhere, melting sweetly as it touches your tongue.

I was told by an Italian acquaintance that the panettone, properly prepared, is drowned in powdered sugar, grabbed in both hands, and shaken vigorously about. (I sent him outside for this feat.)

Jeff Grossman, The Poet of the Panettone!

A "holiday bread" of some sort is always a tradition . Panettone, PanDoro , Pan Lucchese, Panforte, Kuglehopf, Stollen, Mohn Stollen . I've made all of these over the years and love them all .
Dried out Pannetone makes a wonderful Tiramisu - Have used it with lightly sweetened mascarpone soaking the bread in the Italian Cherry Liquor from the Marasce cherries

In my family, the only real constant holiday food tradition is the 'orange rolls' that my mother is now forced to make (by popular demand) every year. Similar to Easter's hot cross buns but lighter, without the raisins, and with an orange icing.

My wife is German, so stollen and lebkuchen are the backbone of the season for her. And luckily she was in Germany a few weeks ago to bring some back!

Rahsaan, your Mom's orange rolls sound great; I think I'd like them.

And speaking of the hot cross rolls...don't know why I don't see those more often. Why just for Easter, when they're so good?

When I lived in Germany I loved all the holiday foods. One of my faves was a plum pie a friend's Mom used to make...Open-faced with just the tiniest bit of lattice crust on top, and little else than halved and pitted plums cooked face up and sprinkled with sugar and spices. It was delicious. Especially as there was a black plum orchard a short walk away from where we lived.

Germany was my great bread awakening, primarily. Up until then the only bread stuff we had regularly was my mother's fresh biscuits---which were great---and your basic white loaf bread. But in Germany I discovered the brotchen rolls, and life was never the same: soft inside, chewy and sometimes crunchy outside, and glazed with egg white. Then Rye Bread, savory and spicy. Then Pumpernickel, thick, dense and earthy. Finally, Nirvana was reached when I was in the Rheingau, trolling through wineries, and I received the epiphany of Schmalzbrot!

Germany was my great bread awakening, primarily.

Definitely good bread to be had. Although I joke with my wife that sometimes the German bread goes too far and moves away from what I would call 'bread' (something dominated by flour) and becomes seed cake.

Now we add a couple more faves to my list.

Guess it's a local thing up here, but our Local New Seasons store had fresh-baked "braid" loaves of Cranberry-Orange Bread and Cardamom Bread.

Think rich egg batter panettone-style bread thickly studded with cranberry and orange zest in one and cardamom in the other, with a bit of egg glaze on the top. Rich, moist, and chewy.

Devoured both.

You remind me: My friend Jay makes Santa Lucia buns with triple the cardamom, just for me. (We've been friends a long time....)

You remind me: My friend Jay makes Santa Lucia buns with triple the cardamom, just for me. (We've been friends a long time....)

Ah!

Next time you visit Seattle, Jeff, go to the Pike Place Market.

There's a Russian-owned place there, aptly named Piroshki, I believe, that makes fresh piroshki that are delicious.

But they also have sweet rolls and pastries, among them an exceptional cardamom sweet roll, absolutely loaded with cardamom. I try to plan my visit each time so I can get one of those!