Panettone | Italian Sweet Christmas Bread With Dry Fruits and Nuts

Panettone - An Italian Christmas Delicacy

 Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 packages dry yeast
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped nus
• 1/4 cup few golden raisins, candied pineapple

Directions

Combine in a medium bowl water and yeast and let stand until the yeast is completely dissolved.To this add 1 cup flour. Cover and keep it in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

     Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy.Beat in eggs , one at a time Add salt, lemon zest and flour , beat with dough hook for about 5 minutes. Stir in dry fruits and nuts.Cover the bowl  with a cloth and let the dough rise about 2 hours or until almost doubled in size. Place in 2 greasesd 9 inch tube pans or greased 6 cup coffee cans and let rise until puffy. (I used springform pan for this,worked just fine).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly brush the top of the bread with melted butter. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes.
Adapted from Joy of cooking

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