Find out about the best Italian panettoni for this Christmas season.
In Italy one of the most appreciated desserts which is also the most famous all over the world is panettone, undoubtedly. Italy’s gastronomic tradition comes with many regional and national dessert recipes. However, you should know that this product is together with pandoro a symbol of Italian Christmas. In fact, its presence on the table during the Christmas festivities is a must. Its recipe dates back to the Middle Ages and it is connected to several myths. Here you will find out how this traditional Christmas dessert came to be and what are its main features. Finally, we will have a round up of what are the most consumed panettoni by Italian during the Christmas holidays.
The origins of panettone
Not everybody knows the story of how panettone came to be. This Christmas desserts started to circulate in Italy during the late Middle Ages. In fact it was customary, in occasion of celebrations, to serve a bread that was richer than that usually consumed. The two most interesting and fascinating myths regarding the origin of the panettone are both related to the city of Milan.
- The first legend tells of the invention of panettone by a young man from Milan called Toni who to conquer the heart of a girls he had fallen in love with had her father hire him in the local bakery, of which he was the owner. In the attempt to make an impression he created a sort of bread adding butter, eggs, sugar, raisins and candied fruit. The recipe was a hit and allowed the baker to make a fortune off of the idea so he gave his permission to the marriage between Toni and his daughter.
- The other myth tells that panettone, the dessert typical of Italian Christmas, happened in the court of Ludovico the Moor in the XV century. In Christmas Eve the cook of the Sforza family burned the dessert by mistake. To remedy the situation a young helper named Toni decided to use some yeast that had been stored for Christmas Day and kneaded it with flour, eggs, butter, sugar, candies fruit and raisins. The dessert was a huge hit among the Sforza family who decided to call it pane di Toni (bread of Toni). There is no evidence that one of these legends is true but according to some written evidence the pane di Toni was already present on aristocratic table in the 13th century. However, the panettone of that time is very different to what we are accustomed to. In fact you should know that the invention of modern day panettone was carried out thanks to Angelo Motta who in 1919 created this recipe giving the panettone its typical dome shape and the experimentation of the triple rise of the dough.
Panettone: the recipe and main features
Over the years, as seen previously, the recipe of the panettone underwent many changes. You should know that starting from 2005 this Christmas dessert has been provided with a law that protects its quality and sets out the ingredient that must be used in order to call something panettone. Here a list of the main ingredients that cannot be missing in a panettone. We have:
- Flour
- Eggs
- Butter
- Natural yeast
- Sugar
- Raisins
- Citrus skin
But that is not all, for to be able to call it panettone it needs to have the typical elongated mushroom like shape and it needs to be very soft. Furthermore, the crust must feature the typical cross shaped mark. An important aspect to highlight regards all the steps relating the process must be same but the ingredient can change to some extent.
Among the most popular are panettoni without raisins, chocolate ones, liquor ones, pistacchio ones. Then there are those made for people who have allergies. Finally, recently panettoni have been created with more sophisticated and refined ingredients.
The best Italian panettoni
Choosing the best panettone for Christmas is no easy task given the vast offer. You can buy bakery panettoni and artisanal panettoni which stand out for the quality of the ingredients used. But that is not all, in fact you can opt for industrial production panettoni that are high quality as well. So here a list of the best Italian panettoni that you can buy for the Christmas holidays. Starting for the supermarket bought ones we cannot not mention Motta who was the creator of the panettone as we know it today. Then there are Balocco and Bauli panettoni which are among the most sold. As for bakery panettoni the offer is vast. One of the most appreciated is that made by Milan’s Vergani bakery. Among the most appreciated there is that from the Cova bakery which has a two century old history and still carries on the panettone tradition. Finally, among the most appreciated artisanal panettoni there is that made by Iginio Massari.
Cover Image: guarracino