Is this Melbourne’s best Panettone? It’s a big call to make, given the sweet bread’s popularity in this city, but even still, we think we can throw our hat in the ring.

All about Panettone

If you’re new to the Italian dessert scene, you may be wondering what Panettone actually is. So here’s the 4-1-1 on this Christmas treat.

Panettone is a traditional Italian sweet bread, commonly enjoyed during the Christmas season. This festive treat is characterized by its tall cylindrical shape, airy texture, and a distinctive flavour. Typically made with flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and candied fruits like orange peel and raisins. The sweet bread boasts a rich, sweet taste with a hint of citrus.

The History

Panettone’s roots date all the way back to 15th century Milan. There are a number of tales about the origins of the dessert, but one is quoted more than the rest.

As the story goes, the Duke of Milan threw an elaborate Christmas banquet, when disaster struck – the dessert was burnt. In swooped a creative young chef, Toni, to save the day. Toni created a dessert with the left over ingredients they had on hand – flour, butter, eggs, citrus zest and raisins. When the Panettone was presented to the guest they were thrilled, and the dessert was christened Toni’s Bread, or in Italian, Pane di Toni – Panettone.

In Italian Culture

Since the 1400’s, Panettone’s popularity has grown exponentially and today you’d be hard pressed to find an Italian household without one at Christmas time. In fact, Italy produces 7,100 tonnes of Panettone each year.

Panettone is a popular Christmas gift among Italians, but making Panettone is no small task, with a lot of time needed from start to finish, because of this many Italian families opt for store bought Panettone as their gift of choice.

Eating Panettone

Panettone offers a versatile and delightful eating experience with various ways to savour this traditional Italian sweet bread. Sitting somewhere between a dessert and a bread, Panettone is a popular for breakfast through to dessert. Typically sliced into wedges like a cake, a serrated knife is the best utensil to use to reveal the soft and airy texture inside. Enjoy with a cup of coffee, Cioccolato Calda or a glass of prosecco.

For those seeking an extra crunch, toasting panettone slices lightly is an option, and adding butter can enhance the flavour. This festive treat also pairs well with extras such as whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Panettone also makes a fantastic base for a range of desserts, such as bread pudding or trifle, allowing for creative variations that cater to individual taste preferences.

Why this Panettone is so special?

For many years, Panettone has been the name of the Christmas game here at Brunetti Oro and this year our Traditional Panettone is back better than ever. We’ve revamped our whole Panettone process – with new procedures and higher quality ingredients, making an all round softer, fluffier and tastier product.

One exciting step in our Panettone process is the 12+ hours our panettone spends upside down – you heard that right, upside down! They’re baked in a special trolley, with skewers through the Panettone, so that when they’re removed from the oven, the whole trolley is flipped. The panettone then spend the next twelve hours cooling in this position, making for a taller, airier finish.

Variations

While the Traditional Panettone is by far the most popular, we’ve seen a lot of new twists arise in recent years. Popular variations to the iconic treat include swapping the fruits for chocolate, or filling the dessert with creamy gelato. This year Brunetti Oro has several variations to the Traditional Panettone ready for you to try.

Starry Night Gelattone

Filled with pistachio and hazelnut gelati with a chocolate sauce.

Let it Snow Gelattone

Filled with vanilla gelato and mixed berry sorbet with a wild strawberry sauce.

Chocolate Gianduia

Injected with a hazelnut chocolate Gianduia sauce.

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