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panettone no mold

PANETTONE - NO MOLD, NO KNEAD

Soft and fluffy Italian Panettone recipe made without mold in a super easy way without a stand mixer and without kneading!
Panettone is the most iconic Italian Christmas recipe, a delicious buttery dough traditionally enriched with candied orange, cedar and raisins, but you can susbstitute them with chocolate chunks too or use your favourite candied fruit .
The traditional Italian Panettone is very difficult and long to prepare, you could need many days since it's made with sourdough, not with yeast, and you usually need a professional stand mixer.
But don't worry, because with this easy recipe made with yeast, without kneading and made in a homemade mold, you'll get a delicious real Panettone with the classic original Italian flavor!
Here you can find the original Italian Panettone Frosting recipe we use in Italy to serve Panettone.
If you can't eat eggs, check out my Eggless Panettone recipe!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 50 mins
Rising Time 8 hrs
Total Time 9 hrs 20 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Servings 12 servings
Calories 283 kcal

Equipment

  • Parchment paper
  • Stapler
  • Ruler, scissor, pencil
  • OR 1 kg traditional Panettone paper mold

Ingredients
  

  • 180 g (3/4 cup) lukewarm water
  • 18 g (1 tbsp) honey
  • 7 g (2 tsp) active dry yeast or instant dry yeast
  • 140 g (2/3 cup) sugar
  • 110 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter melted
  • 70 g 4 egg yolks room temperature, beaten
  • The zest from 1 orange grated
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 410 g (3 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) strong bread flour with 14 g protein I've used Manitoba flour. If you can't find this type of flour, use a bread flour with high protein amount (13-14 g).
  • 80 g (1/2 cup) raisins
  • 100 g (3,5 oz) candied fruits chopped in large chunks. The traditional Panettone is made with candied orange and cedar, but you can use your favourite candied fruit.

Instructions
 

Make the mold

  • Cut a 58x24 cm-23x9,5 inch rectangle with parchment paper.
  • Longwise fold in two: you get a 58x12 cm-23x4,7 inch rectangle.
  • Press and slide your fingers over the fold so that the rectangle can easily close and shape into a ring.
  • Make a ring overlapping the rectangle sides of 4 cm-1,5 inch and use a stapler to secure it. You get a 17x12 cm-6,7x4,7 inch round mold.
  • Cut 4 long 36x3 cm-14x1 inch strips of parchment paper.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the 4 long strips in the center to form a star.
  • The mold is done, you will assemble it when Panettone dough is ready!

Make Panettone

  • Soak raisins in lukewarm water for about 20 minutes.
  • In a large bowl dissolve honey in water, add the yeast and wait 10 minutes to activate the yeast. The waiting time is optional and you can skip it if you use instant yeast or if your active dry yeast doesn't need to be activated.
  • Add sugar, beaten eggs and mix until well combined. Then add melted butter, vanilla, orange zest and mix until combined.
  • Add flour in 3 times: use a strong bread flour with about 14 g of pretein amount (like Manitoba). You get a very very sticky dough, more similar to a thick batter than a dough: it's ok!
  • Drain and dry raisins with kitchen paper and incorporate it to the dough with chopped candied fruit.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 30 minutes. If you live in a hot climate you can let it rise at room temperature; if your home is about 19-20°C is better to let it rise in slightly preheated and turned off oven.
  • After 30 minutes, wet your hands and make 4 folds to the dough in the bowl (watch the recipe video below to see how I make them). Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 30 minutes.
  • Repeat the folding method for another 3 times, leaving 30 minutes in between each round (let it rise in preheated turned off oven if your home is cold).
    This folding method is 2 hours long, but making folds is incredibly easy and quick: you make the 4 folds in literally 2 minutes!
    After the folding method, the dough became more shiny and a bit less sticky.
  • Invert the dough onto the work surface, be gentle and touch it as little as possible, and form it into a large ball.
  • Transfer the dough at the center of the parchment paper strips star (or in a traditional 1 kg panettone paper mold) and quickly lift the strips and stick them to the dough.
    Quickly place the parchment paper ring mold around the dough; you can lift the strips to lift the dough if it spreaded too much.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to rise overnight (you can leave it in the fridge from 8 to 20 hours). It's ready when the dough reaches 2 cm from the top of the mold.
  • Remove from the fridge, you can set the dough at room temperature from 1 to 3 hours.
  • Remove the plastic wrap on top and let it dry panettone top at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • Score a cross (1 cm deep) on top of panettone using a blade.
  • You can place a piece of butter on top of panettone or you can make the "scarpatura" of panettone as I show you in the recipe video below.
  • Bake in preheated oven (no fan, upper+lower heat) at 160°C-320°F for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
    After about 25 minutes that it's baking, cover Panettone on top with a double aluminium foil to prevent burns.
  • Cool down for at least 2 hours before slice it and serve it.
    If you used a traditional panettone paper mold, you can skewer panettone - immediately when comes out from the oven - at 1cm-0,5 inch from the bottom with two long knitting needles and invert panettone upside down over two paper towel rolls (watch this video to see the technique): in this way your panettone won't become flat on top.
    If you've used a homemade parchment paper mold, you can't cool it down upside down.

Video

Notes

Store at room temperature wrapped in plastic wrap and closed in a plastic bag for 3-4 days.
If it dries out a bit, you can slice it and heat in a toaster or under the grill of the oven: it will be delicious!