Panettone is a type of rich sweet bread originally from Milan usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Italy, and is one of the symbols of the city of Milan. Panettone is a leavened cake and dates back to Roman times, and there is written proof linking this bread to Christmas goes back to the 18th century. It wasn’t until the 20th century that commercial bakers decided to make panettone on a large scale, thus decreasing the price and increasing Panettone’s popularity as a Christmas gift. When guests visit during the holiday season, a loaf will often be brought out and served with sweet wine or coffee. This recipe for mini panettone makes an excellent gift for friends and neighbors.
Recipe courtesy of Ambujom from Zesty South Indian Kitchen.
In a plastic bowl add all the ingredients, mix and knead well for 5 minutes to form dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for a minimum 8 hours or preferably overnight.
Prepare the Fruit
Place the raisins in a bowl, add rum, toss to coat and cover it overnight. Add mixed fruit peel just before mixing it into the dough.
Day of: Baking
Place the dry ingredients, orange zest, sponge, vanilla extract and Fiori di Sicilia into a mixing bowl fitted with a dough hook, and mix to combine. Then add egg yolks and water and mix once again to combine.
Add 1/4 cup softened butter over 5 additions while still kneading. This process will take some time. At first the dough will be soft and sticky. Knead for 10-15 minutes. Rest the dough for 1 minute every 2-3 minutes until it becomes very smooth, elastic, soft and shiny.
Set aside until doubled in size in a lightly greased bowl for about 1 hour.
Knock it down and fold the dough once again and set aside for another 30 minutes. To this dough incorporate the rum soaked raisins and candied fruit peels and knead once again, until you incorporate the entire fruit into the dough. Set aside until it doubles, about 35 minutes.
Then divide the dough into 12 equal pieces of about 50 g dough each and place it into a buttered muffin tin. Let it set aside to rise about 30 minutes.
In meantime, preheat the oven to 375°F and before ready to bake the mini panettone, make an x mark and on the top and place 1/2 tablespoon butter on top. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until they become golden brown and domed on top.
Once they are removed from the oven, immediately brush with melted butter and leave them to cool. You don’t need to hang the panettone as we need to do for the regular panettone.
