Anyone who has spent at least one Christmas in Italy has tasted the iconic dessert of the local holiday season: the Panettone.
An iconic dessert all over the world and now bought and consumed everywhere thanks to the many e-commerce platforms available, it has over the years known endless variations (including the vegan one) that have been able to pander to anyone's dietary needs and tastes.
Egg yolk, butter, sourdough and flour are just some of the ingredients that make up the classic Milanese panettone, which, for the duration of the holiday season, enriches the windows of Italian artisanal and non-artisanal bakeries.
In fact, the classic recipe calls for only a few ingredients, but in recent years, the creativity of pastry chefs has resulted in many deliciously original variations. Some versions include dark or white chocolate, adding a rich and mouthwatering note to the traditional dough. Other panettoni are enriched with candied fruit, nuts, almonds or intense flavors such as vanilla or orange, offering an explosion of flavors in every bite. Gluten-free or alternative flour varieties are gaining in popularity, meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse audience.
In addition, some gourmet editions may feature fine ingredients such as Bronte pistachios, artisan chocolate or fine liqueurs, adding a touch of luxury to the already festive panettone.
In sum, the variety of panettoni reflects the richness of Italian tradition, welcoming innovations and reinterpretations that satisfy the most discerning palates during the holidays.
To observe (and savor!) up close the entire meticulous process that leads to the finished product, we spent an entire day inside the laboratory of a famous artisanal Italian pastry shop. With the master pastry chefs, we observed how, step by step, each ingredient becomes an integral part of a rich dough that goes through a long and very special preparation process.
With the exception of the dough (which requires professional mixer) every step in the preparation of true Italian panettone is done by hand, from portioning to the preparation of each individual panettone inside the baking molds.
Spending time inside a pastry workshop is like stopping time or rather, feeling it paced in a whole new way. Everything follows its own rhythm and there are no universal timelines. Observing the master pastry chefs, we marveled at how the preparation of a dessert so important to tradition is an operation that responds to extremely precise and rigorous rules and procedures. Observing the dexterity acquired in more than ten years of artisanal experience, listening to the directions, anecdotes, and experiences gained with the hands in the dough makes one want to get involved within the process of "creation" to be a little part of it.
That's what we did by capturing, with photos and videos, the most representative moments of that experience, and shot after shot we realized how much the protagonists of this day were actually two: the panettone, without a doubt, but just as much attention was captured by the hands of the master pastry chefs.
Manual skills, experience, fragrances, ingredients of excellence, stories of Italian craftsmanship that make our heritage of knowledge and skills great in the world: we were happy and honored to be able to live an experience to witness. Anyone who loves to get lost in the scents of Italian pastry should at least once indulge in a trip inside an artisan workshop. And if the scent that lingers on you of butter, sugar and raisins vanishes like a cloud after a few hours, the story and the magic of that moment remain inside forever in an experience that you only want to repeat next Christmas.
