Italian Christmas Bread,

Italian Christmas bread immediately follows or sometimes accompanies the opening of presents on Christmas morning. Italian Christmas bread, braided, sweet, golden bodied, dotted with raisins and sometimes with red, yellow and green citron, crowned with white glaze, cherries and colored sprinkles surpasses almost any other breakfast pastry. Slathered with butter, toasted or eaten plain it is a joy to the world. Italian Christmas bread, something between a lusty challah and a delicate brioche, shares in the common heritage of ethnic home-made baking delights.

Panettone Wikipedia

Most people, when they think of Italian Christmas bread, think immediately of “Panettone.” While panettone has a long history in Northern Italy, the panettone we know commercially, is rather recent. It was created in 1919 in Milan and popularized by the Motta baking company. Home-made Italian Christmas bread is something quite different. The version here at The Food Table, is from my brother, Richard. This bread is of far more ancient ancestry and can be traced to the Middle Ages and earlier. Italian Christmas bread is not a difficult recipe, but it does take time and requires several steps.

For more Italian American Christmas recipes see:

Italian Christmas Cookies

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Putting it together - What you need

Equipment

Heavy duty mixer (or by hand)

Ingredients

For the dough Egg Glaze
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour 1 egg yolk whisked with
1 package active dry yeast some milk.
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter,melted Sugar Glaze
1 egg 1/2 cup confestioner's sugar
pinch of salt tablespoon of milk

additions to the dough
cinnamon
mace
zest of one lemon or orange

handful of each
raisins
citron (traditional but so common these days)
walnuts

Yeast

Dissolve the yeast with a few pinched of sugar in warm water. Let it sit until it begins to bubble.

Melt the butter in the microwave.Whisk the butter, egg the warm milk and add to the yeast water.

Sugar and Flour

Add the sugar and flour.
Knead with a dough hook.

Adjust the quantity of flour as needed.

Lemon zest, raisins, etc.

Add the raisins, lemon zest and any other ingredients of your choice.
Mix through.

Let rise

Place the bread dough in a large plastic bag or a covered bowl and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours.

Punch and divide

Punch the risen dough down and divide it into three equal pieces.

Braiding

Roll the dough into three ropes and braid it.

Egg glaze

Set the bread on a baking pan.
Glaze the top with the egg and milk wash.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Check for golden color.

Finished bread

The bread should be a shining golden brown.

When the bread has cooled coat the bread with the confectioner's sugar glaze.
Decorate with Mareschino cherries and colored sprinkles.