Sourdough Panettone

Published: December 1, 2022 · Updated: December 1, 2022 by Ieva · This post may contain affiliate links · 47 Comments

Sourdough Panettone is one of my favourite Christmas treats! A rich buttery Italian bread, generously studded with dried fruit and mixed peel can easily be mistaken for cake! Using an active sourdough starter in this recipe, it does take a bit of patience to make, but the result is oh-so-good!

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Challenge of the Sourdough Panettone

I am not going to sugarcoat it, Sourdough Panettone will require a degree of patience, a good chunk of your time and just a little bit of skill (or reading the recipe twice and following it to a T). Even made with commercial yeast, Panettone is a bit of a labour of love, but if you love baking, you will love making this sourdough version of an amazing Italian Christmas Bread.

3 Tips to Ensure Success

Make sure your starter is active! Really, very and truly active! I feed my starter for 3 consecutive days before starting this recipe just to make sure I have yeast and bacteria cultures strong enough to carry this enriched dough through.
You do need a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment (we love Kenwood). And you have to be patient: run your stand mixer for as long as the recipe states, it will help this rich dough rise and you will get a fluffy and airy crumb.
You will need to find a warm spot in your house (around 25°C) to prove the dough. It is a heavily enriched dough that needs both time and warmth to rise.

Sourodugh Panettone cut in half on a wooden round chopping board.

Panettone Moulds

To make a panettone, you will need a mould. Whilst you can make it in the round cake tin, you will need to line it fully with sturdy baking parchment, so that it can rise, but the panettone will stick to it, and it may be difficult to peel the parchment off of it when baked. You can also buy non-stick Panettone tins (like this one here), I have to admit that I never used one before, so I cannot recommend it. What I use, is paper moulds, here (they are 500ml each). They are sturdy and brilliant for piercing with skewers that are then used to hang the panettones upside down to stabilise the crumb.

How to Make a 40% Hydration Starter?

This recipe uses a 40% hydration sourdough starter.

Mix 20g starter (100% hydration) with 25ml of water and 40g flour. This will make 85g of stiff sourdough starter, and you will only need 70g for this recipe, but it’s always best to make some more to allow for all the starter that will stick to the sides of the bowl and the spoon.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Make Sourdough Panettone?

Day 1: Starter and First Dough

Late in the morning or early afternoon, prepare stiff sourdough levain. (40% hydration). See notes above if unsure how to make it. Leave the levain to at least double in size, which will take 4-6 hours.

Once the starter is active and doubled, mix water and sugar in a bowl of your stand mixer. Add stiff levain and flour and get your stand mixer (we use and love Kenwood) fitted with a dough hook attachment running on slow speed, for about 10 minutes.

Once incorporated, increase the speed. Start adding butter one bit at a time, and carry on kneading until completely incorporated, for about 10 minutes. Then one by one add the egg yolks and knead until well incorporated, again for another 10 minutes.

Scoop the dough into a bowl (ideally a narrow, high-rimmed dish) and leave it to triple in size, for 8-12 hours (overnight) at room temperature (ideally 22-25°C). Be patient and go by the volume more than the time, you really want the dough to give time to rise.

First dough doubled in volume in a mason jar.

Mix all the ingredients for the honey mix and leave them in the fridge covered overnight to infuse with flavours.

Day 2: Second Dough and Baking

In the morning, mix strong flour and the first dough that should have tripled in size overnight. Knead well in a stand mixer for about 10 minutes.

Then add sugar, honey mix, salt and butter and keep on kneading until fully incorporated, for about 10 minutes. One by one start adding the egg yolks, mixing to fully incorporate the yolks into the dough before adding another one. Finally, reduce the speed to the minimum and mix in orange and lemon peel as well as raisins/ sultanas.

Paper mould pierces with wooden skewers.

Sticky dough for panettone with sourdough starter.

Insert 2 bamboo skewers (see photos above) into each panettone paper mould (we used 2x500ml moulds). You will use the skewers to hand the panettone upside down to stabilise after baking. Divide the dough into the prepared moulds and let it prove for 6-8 hours in a warm spot (around 25-27°C is ideal for a second proof).

It is important to note that it’s advisable to go by the size of the panettone. Proof it until it just about doubles in size, so if you are proofing at lower temperatures (20-22°C), it may take 18-24 hours in some instances for it to double in size. Just be patient with it – it will pay off!

Bake at 180°C Fan for 35-40 minutes depending on the size of the panettone. When baked, hang them upside down for about 12 hours to stabilize the crumb.

Two baked sourdough panettones on a baking sheet.

Panetonne hung upside down to stabilize the crumb.

Recipe FAQs

My Panettone Top Breaks When I Invert It. Why?

This is likely due to the gluten in the dough not being developed enough. The reasons for this are twofold: not enough mixing/ kneading (after all, a stand mixer is not equal stand mixer), and too much acidity in your sourdough starter that can significantly slow down the gluten development. Make sure you have a starter that is low in acid and run your stand mixer for a few minutes longer next time! Or try extra strong flour with higher gluten-content.

Other Christmas Bakes and Cakes

For other Christmas baking ideas, have a look at some of our other favourites below:

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