Panettone Bread Pudding
2021 has been a whirlwind year for me, and mostly not in the best way. We were in limbo for most of the year… which is a story I would really rather not cover here. But I am back now, and have time to post something recipe-related in my journal… and just in time for the holidays!
I made this moving image of Livia’s panettone last year.
If you’ve been following me on Instagram for a while, you will know that my favourite bread in this city comes from Livia. Last year was the first year they offered panettone. I, up until this time, have always put panettone on the same vein as fruitcake; it is not something I usually rush to buy when December rolls in, only because I have always had such an underwhelming experience with this Italian holiday classic. Still, I will try anything Livia releases, so I bought myself a loaf.
I had my time with sourdough baking—my friends and long-time followers will know this—so I know that the making of a good-quality panettone takes A LOT of time. The starter alone takes a lot of maintenance and love. I often scratch my head wondering how most Italian grocery stores stock them at $12 a loaf, but then I was introduced to whole world of quality ones that go for an average price of $45. This is well worth the price, however. A quick Google search on the process that goes into a panettone will reveal to you how much time and love goes into the making of one, much less, A LOT. Livia’s panettone is no stranger to the whole process. They candy the peels that go into the dough, maintain the starter that gives the panettone its crumb, hang the panettone upside down… literally EVERYTHING that goes into a traditional panettone, Claire and her team do by hand, FROM SCRATCH, from quality ingredients. The final price? $43 CAD. A fair price to pay for all of that work, really.
I cannot stress this enough, if you are lucky enough to have a local bakery that makes this iconic Italian holiday staple from scratch, do not be alarmed at its price tag. The $45 average price is well-worth it, if you want to treat yourself, food-wise. As much as I ascribe to lovingly transforming otherwise underwhelming breads into something transcendent, I will say this… superior ingredients make superior food. Superior does not always mean expensive—I too, want to stress this—but this panettone is of superior quality, so this bread pudding is… well… superior by association, if I may say so myself.
I like eating slices of panettone lightly toasted. I don’t put any butter on it, as it is rich and buttery enough for me; I simply enjoy it warm with a cup of tea. I also often turn panettone into French toast by drying slices out on a cooling rack, uncovered, overnight, so it can better soak up the custard the next day. Honestly, it’s like eating a Christmas doughnut… it is just that good.
I was watching Jamie Oliver’s Christmas specials on YouTube one evening, simply because I miss old-school Canadian Food Network and went down a rabbit hole of YouTube-ing all my old faves: Nigella Feasts, Heston Blumenthal’s Fantastical Feasts, Jamie at Home… I watched them all. I had been watching Jamie’s Christmas specials for as long as I have had access to cable TV, but because I haven’t had one since 2014 (S/O to us, the “Streaming” generation!), crappy, incomplete YouTube videos will suffice. Jamie Oliver made a panettone bread pudding on one of these holiday specials, so after reliving that episode, I set out to work.
I made this bread pudding the way my grandma would normally make her banana bread puddings, by immersing the whole thing in a bain-marie (a water bath). Jamie Oliver’s method is sort of a riff on the bread pudding, where he opted to line the interior of his tart shell with slices of the panettone’s crust to make a tart shell of sorts, and then immersing chunks of panettone in custard before placing the entire custardy lot on top of the panettone crust-lined tart shell, and then baking it off in an oven. Super rustic, super imprecise, and looks super delish. My method combines my grandma’s method with Jamie’s.
I dry out the panettone slices the night before I made this to better absorb the custard, but you can also give it a light toast on a 350°C oven for 8 to 10 minutes to dry it out. Just make sure to cool it completely before immersing it in cold custard.
My version is also a riff on Nutella and orange. Livia’s panettone is studded with pistachios, and if I had pistachio cream in my pantry, I totally would have amped that up… but I didn’t. I do, however, have locally-made chocolate hazelnut spread and plain hazelnut spread in my pantry. I made my custard from those. The result is this beautiful marriage of hazelnut, pistachio, and orange, ensconced in the velvety custard-coated panettone chunks. It’s heaven served slightly warm out of the oven, and topped with a generous scoop (or quenelle, if you’re fancy!) of vanilla ice cream.
Panettone Bread Pudding
10 - 12 slices of dried-out panettone slices
3 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp hazelnut butter
1/3 cup organic cane sugar + an extra 2 tbsp
3 clementines, zested and juiced
1 generous tsp. of vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces (I use 76% dark)
3 to 4 tbsp chocolate hazelnut butter
1/4 chopped raw hazelnuts
1 to 2 tbsp of softened butter
a kettle full of hot water
Equipment: aluminum foil, a large cookie sheet, an oval or square baking dish (at least 9” in length), and a deep roasting tray that’s large enough to hold your baking dish
1) Preheat your oven to 350°C. Boil a kettle full of water.
2) Coat the inside of your baking dish with the softened butter, then dust the entire interior of the baking dish with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
3) Slice your dried-out panettone slices into manageable cubes. Spread half of the cubes in a single layer inside your buttered, sugar-coated baking dish. Set aside the other half.
4) Make the custard. Whip the eggs, heavy cream, hazelnut butter, the zest and juice of 3 clementines, vanilla, and salt until well-mixed. Pour half of this custard into the baking dish with half the dried-out panettone.
5) Immerse the second half of the dried panettone cubes into the other half of the custard and let this soak for about 2 minutes. In the meantime, dot the little nooks and crannies of the custard and panettone mixture inside the baking dish with chocolate hazelnut butter and dark chocolate pieces—about half of the amount. You want to set aside the other half with which to dot the top of the bread pudding.
6) Take the other half of the panettone cubes that have been soaking in the second half of the custard mixture and carefully place on top of the first layer. Dot the top with the remaining half of the chocolate hazelnut butter and dark chocolate pieces.
7) Top the whole lot with the chopped raw hazelnuts. Cover the bread pudding with aluminum foil—be careful not to let the foil touch the bread pudding. Poke some holes on the foil top, then nestle the baking dish inside the roasting tray.
8) Take the roasting tray with the bread pudding nestled inside and place it in the oven. Carefully pour the hot water into the roasting tray, enough so that it reaches halfway through the sides of the baking dish. Close the oven door and leave it to steam inside for 40-45 minutes.
9) Carefully take out the roasting tray and fish out the baking dish with the bread pudding inside. Take off the aluminum foil and sprinkle the top with a small amount of sugar. Return the baking dish—uncovered—into the oven and bake for ten more minutes.
10) Finish with a final flourish of clementine zest and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
xo, Issha