Christmas is not Christmas in Italy without his majesty the Panettone on the table.
At Bellina we can’t get enough of Balsamic Vinegar, and over the holidays we bring it to you in a new form. The historical Italian bakery Antica Pasticceria Muzzi, designed a unique “panettone”, combining the best of the Milanese traditions with those of Modena. Balsamic vinegar Giusti 3 Gold Medals is added to the dough, used to soak the raisins, and finally added in the form of cream filling. The sweet and sour of the balsamic vinegar is a perfect complement to the fragrant softness of the panettone.
In case you don’t know this specialty yet here is some background info: Panettone is a rich, fluffy, naturally leavened bread cake filled with candied fruits and raisins. The yeast is rigorously sour dough (Italians call it “madre”, mother, just to give you a vague idea of its importance…) and it is essential because it provides a very slow leavening, responsible for the above fluffiness, not to speak about the indescribable taste. Some bakers have kept the same starter for centuries, passing it on from generation to generation. There’s literally 200-year old sour doughs out there, providing some of the most incredible panettones.
“Pane” in Italian means bread and “panettone” literally translates as “large bread”. But there’s also an interesting legend saying that the inventor was a baker called Toni, and that the phrase “Pan de Toni” (bread of Toni) actually triggered the birth of the name.
We recommend trying this delicacy with vanilla gelato, or custard and why not a drizzle of balsamic vinegar!