Milan, Lombardia
Milan's canonical Christmas leavened cake: a tall, domed brioche-like bread made with natural lievito madre (mother yeast), enriched with butter, egg yolks, and sugar over three days of successive feeding, folded with candied orange peel, citron, and plump sultanas. The finished panettone has a fibrous, pull-apart crumb held in a gossamer butter-and-egg structure, an air pocket crown under the paper form, and a characteristic bitter-sweet perfume from the fermentation and citrus oils.
Buttery, lightly acidic from fermentation, fragrant with candied citrus oils and vanilla, with a featherweight crumb that pulls apart in long fibrous threads
The lievito madre (mother yeast) must be at peak activity — refreshed three times in 24 hours before incorporation. Total fermentation time (two doughs) is 18-24 hours minimum. The butter must be incorporated in stages at the correct temperature — too warm and it melts into the dough instead of laminating it. The 'pirlatura' (rolling-tightening motion) during shaping builds surface tension for the tall dome. Post-bake inversion (hanging upside down for 2-3 hours) prevents the crumb from collapsing under its own weight.
The classic panettone accompaniment is mascarpone cream: whipped mascarpone with egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala. For leftover panettone: slice thick, dip in egg-milk batter, fry in butter for the best French toast of your life. The commercial panettone (mass-produced) is acceptable but artisan (48-72 hour process) is a different product entirely — the fermentation creates wild-yeast esters unavailable from commercial production.
Using commercial yeast instead of lievito madre produces an inferior flavour with none of the complex acidity. Under-fermenting produces a tight, dense crumb instead of the cloud-like open structure. Adding butter at the wrong temperature smears the dough instead of enriching it. Not inverting after baking collapses the structure — panettone must be hung upside down while cooling.
Il Panettone — Iginio Massari