Panettone is a traditional holiday sweet bread from Milan, Italy, that is especially favored at Christmas and New Years, and by the descendents of Italian immigrants who celebrate Christmas in an amalgamation of Northwest and Italian traditions. Panettone is visually marked by its shape—a cupola or other ornamental vaguely cylindrical and fairly large loaf, and studded with brightly colored candied fruits and citrus peels. The dough is a yeast-base sourdough type of dough, though it is usually sweeter than sourdough, and it rises twice. Panettone recipes typically include not only yeast but eggs, and recipes may also call for other ingredients, including marsala.

Panettone is traditionally made in a special tin (hence the shape) but it is increasingly common to be able to purchase commercially made Panettone online, or at large stores. In the Northwest, I note that Trader Joe's has carried Panettone for years from about Thanksgiving to New Years, and that it's especially to find in the "Italian" quarter of any metropolitan area. In fact, you can find it at local bakeries in San Francisco just about all year long, and in the winter, you'll see tourists buying a loaf at the airport to take back home. In Washington state, Panettone is available at several specialty bakeries in Seattle, at Pike's, at Bargain Grocery Outlets, and yes, at Trader Joe's.

Traditionally, Panettone is served in cross-sectioned slices, accompanied with a sweet dessert style wine, like Moscato; in Britain, my Italian hosts served it with hot spiced tea and mulled wine or sherry. The Panettone may be simply sliced and served as it, or toasted and drizzled with butter. There are a number of modern versions of the basic recipe; some call for the special Panettone pan or mold, but others simply place the dough in a ring on a specially prepared baking sheet or in a round pan lined with a high ring of paper, or even using a coffee can as a bread pan. Other Panettone variations beyond the traditional dried or candied fruit and candied citrus peel include anise, or even chocolate added as flavorings. The name of course is the Italian root panetto, for a small loaf of bread, plus the suffix, -one, which implies a single larger loaf, and yes, panneto is cognate with French pain "bread."

This recipe is a fairly straight forward and very traditional Panettone. This Panettone recipe uses marsala, and is baked in two prepared 10 to 15 ounce coffee cans. This fairly traditional Panettone recipe calls for sultanas, and honey. This rather modern Panettone variant calls for raisins, currants, and yogurt. This recipe designed for Panettone made in a bread machine calls for anise. This ultra-modern Panettone recipe doesn't even use yeast. Remember, that this is a bread that freezes exceptionally well; why not make two loaves, one for Christmas, and one for New Years, or use a loaf as thoughtful holiday gift?