GLUTEN FREE ITALIAN PANETTONE
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This is an easy Gluten Free Italian Panettone recipe. I think it is not Christmas until you make panettone. You will feel like you are in Italy for Christmas with every bite. It is buttery, light, spongy, citrusy, and sweet.
WHAT IS PANETTONE?
Panettone is an Italian type of sweet bread filled with dried fruit and nuts, sometimes chocolate chips, usually prepared for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. This sweet bread originated in Milan; it has a cupola shape. It’s a tall bread around 12 to 15 cm height and it can be made in 500g, 1kg or 2kg.
If you have never tried panettone before it is like Christmas fruit cake, but less fruit, less dense, more spongy, and softer.
When I was young as a kid and until my early 20s, I always was excited about Christmas food, and always always expecting to eat panettone. This one was usually store-bought because no one in my family was brave enough to make this Italian bread.
But now as an adult and with my allergies, I have found the way to make this delicious Italian sweet bread in its gluten-free version.
WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR THIS GLUTEN FREE ITALIAN PANETTONE?
You will need a mix of one heavy flour (brown rice) and two starches (tapioca flour, potato starch, or corn starch), along with a binder (xanthan gum), baking powder, eggs, butter, sweetener in my case allulose/erythritol/stevia/monk fruit. You also will need some nuts such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, and dried fruits like raisins, cranberries, orange/lemon peel, glazed cherries, and last but not least chocolate chips.
But hey! Don’t forget one of the most important things in this recipe or any bread recipe. Yes, you’re right! Yeast! Which did happen to me. I forgot to add the yeast to flour when I was measuring the ingredients. I don’t know WTF I was thinking. But no worries I was fast enough to fix it.
I bloomed the yeast in two tablespoons of warm water with one tablespoon of sugar and wait between 5 to 10 minutes, and then I added it to the dough using my hand mixer. And I saved Christmas! Hahaha! Well, let me tell you this bread turned out perfect. By all means don’t do this, just sharing my experience because I forgot to add the instant yeast at the beginning.
IS THIS PANETTONE SUGAR FREE?
No, it’s not entirely sugar-free. It’s more refined sugar-free. Yes, I did use zero sweeteners instead of sugar, but remember the candied citrus peel and the glazed cherries have added sugar. If you find those sugar free by all means use those.
The royal icing frosting is made of powdered erythritol zero calories, this will also help to reduce the sugar per serving. But it is the holidays if you would like to make the Gluten Free Italian Panettone with sugar cane do it, it’s your choice.
FAQS GLUTEN FREE ITALIAN PANETTONE
Can you make in advance this Italian sweet bread?
Yes, you can I would suggest no more than 2 days in advance, you know how gluten-free bread goes stale pretty quick, although this one kept moist from the fillings. You could as well, bake it and have it in the fridge ready to eat just bring to room temperature or warm it up in the oven before eating it.
Can you freeze the bread after is baked?
Yes, just make sure the bread has cooled down fully before freezing it. Slice and separate each piece with greaseproof paper, then cling film, and finally into a zip-lock bag or freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge before heating it up in the oven, or defrost in the microwave (without the cling film, zip-lock bag) for a few minutes. Then place in the oven to warm up or use the toaster. Also, you can leave it in one piece, wrap it with cling film, and a zip-lock bag. So, thaw in the fridge the night before, slice before heating up in the oven or toaster.
Can you substitute the add-ins?
Yes, it will always depend on what flavour do you lean for. You can make it only with dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips, just raisins or dried fruit because you are allergic to nuts. But for the first time, I suggest sticking to the original add-ins walnuts, almonds, raisins, dried peel citrus, and glazed cherries.
How do you eat this Gluten-Free Panettone?
You can eat as a dessert in Christmas dinner, New Year’s Eve dinner, have it for breakfast, brunch, snack, you name it. With tea or coffee, with butter or my strawberry jam or blackberry jam, even with my sugar-free cranberry sauce. And if you love chocolate… well, try with my Homemade Nutella. Just warm it up first and then lather the hazelnut spread mmm scrumptious.
WANT MORE HOLIDAY RECIPES?
Sugar free dried Cranberries
Cranberry Sauce
Pistachio Cranberries Snow Balls
Apple Crumble Pie
Pumpkin Protein Bread Copycat Starbucks
Protein Pumpkin Donuts
Christmas cake Protein Donuts
Gingerbread Biscuits
Sugar Free Protein Eggnog
Enjoy!
Hope you enjoy my recipe and give it a go, snap a picture tag me on Instagram @ikarlina_l #ikarolina_l so I can see it. Also, I am on Pinterest iKarolinaL and Facebook ikarolinal. It will make my day.
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This is my recipe for Gluten Free Italian Panettone. If you like this recipe then consider sharing it with other Christmas recipe lovers on social media
GLUTEN FREE ITALIAN PANETTONE
Course: RecipesCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium12
servings30
minutes50
minutes260
kcal90
minutes2
hours50
minutesThis is the best gluten-free Italian panettone you will ever try. It is spongy, soft, buttery and full of flavour
Ingredients
90g Brown Rice Flour
100g Potato Starch
115g Tapioca Flour
10g (1 tbsp) Xanthan Gum
2 tbsp Baking Powder
2 large eggs (120g approx.), room temperature
100g Allulose or Erythritol/stevia
40ml liquid-soaked raisins
60g lactose-free butter, room temperature
2 tsp Orange Blossom Water
1 ½ tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Lemon Zest of 1 lemon
200g warm water about 30C
1 tbsp sugar
12g instant yeast or 15 grams active dry yeast
Fruit and Nuts:
50g Walnuts, chopped
50g Almonds, chopped
50g Citrus peel/candied fruit
50g raisins/sultanas
50g chocolate chips (optional)
Royal Icing:
1 tsp egg white powder
2 tsp water (27C)
40g Erythritol, Powdered or Icing sugar
- ½ tsp Corn starch
¼ tsp Almond extract
Water as needed to thin out the royal icing
Directions
- In a medium/big bowl if using a hand mixer, or in the stand mixer bowl, mix all flours (take 2 tablespoons and set aside), xanthan gum, baking powder, instant yeast*, and sweetener, but the salt and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk the butter until soft and pale, add the eggs, one at a time until combined.
- Now add the warm water about 30 to 40 C, the tea from the soaked raisin, orange blossom water, vanilla extract and lemon zest and whisk until creamy and smooth.
- Now add the dry ingredients in 2 parts, and the salt, and whisk with the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer or the batter mixers of your hand mixer, until no dry pockets of flour are left about 5 minutes.
- Let the dough rise in a warm area (check the post for methods on this matter) for 30 min to an hour, the dough should be double in size.
- Meanwhile, drain the raisins and add them into a bowl with the other nuts and dry fruits, and add the 2 tablespoons of the flour you set aside and mix, this will prevent all the fruit from sinking at the bottom of the panettone.
- When the dough is double in size, stir in slowly all the fruit from step 6, and they are evenly distributed.
- Now transfer to the panettone mould. Use a spatula and make sure all the batter is evenly spread especially at the bottom, to avoid air bubbles, which make the panettone collapse during baking. Fill the moulds halfway.
- Gently tap the moulds on the counter, this will help to fill any air bubble with the batter.
- Place the mould in your warm spot and let rise until goes above the rim of the mould. That could take from 30 minutes to an hour.
- When the panettone is about to finish rising, turn on the oven to the maximum heat, my one is 250C Fan assisted.
- Time for baking, the panettone has risen fully now place in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes at 250C and then turn it down to 160 C and bake for further 40 min.
- If after 30 minutes the panettone is browning too much place a piece of tin foil loosely over to prevent it from burning.
- Let the panettone cold down at least 30 minutes before decorating with royal icing.
- Enjoy!
- Royal Icing
- In a medium bowl place, the egg white powder and warm water and whisk with your electric hand mixer until frothy, then add the icing sugar substitute and keep mixing until consistency is achieved. Add almond extract and mix again. Add more water if you want it runnier.
- Decorate the panettone.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- * If using instant yeast add it directly to the dry ingredients or if you are using active dry yeast, you need to activate it with warm water for 10min.
- ** If you are using powdered erythritol you need an anticaking like corn starch. If you decide to use regular powdered sugar or icing sugar, then omit the corn starch.
Nutrition Facts
12 servings per container
- Amount Per ServingCalories260
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
15.7g
25%
- Saturated Fat 2.8g 14%
- Sodium 324.2mg 14%
- Potassium 21.4mg 1%
- Total Carbohydrate
28.6g
10%
- Dietary Fiber 5.6g 23%
- Sugars 4.3g
- Protein 4.3g 9%
- Calcium 0.8%
- Iron 1.2%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
