Panettone French Toast

This panettone french toast gives new life and even more decadence to a traditional Italian Christmas bread that’s already rich with butter and eggs and studded with candied fruits.

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There are countless Italian American traditions that my family honors, but to tell the truth… eating panettone on Christmas is not one of them. I don’t think any of us count panettone in our favorite desserts, and we almost unanimously pass it over for the masses of other desserts on our Christmas table. As such, panettone is more likely to get passed around than eaten, re-gifted or brought from one Christmas celebration to another. Case in point: this year, my boyfriend Gabe received a panettone as a gift. He brought it to my aunt Camille’s house for Christmas eve, where it was never even opened. So she in turn brought it back to us, where it sat untouched on our kitchen table for two months. But I finally found a way to bring new life to panettone, in a way that’s sure to please everyone: panettone french toast.

Last Christmas’ passing of the panettone was no new thing in my family. It feels like every year we end up with a whole, unopened panettone long after Christmas. As a kid my dad used to slice the leftover panettone and fry it in butter for breakfast. Those childhood memories partially inspired this panettone french toast.. Slightly (but only slightly) more complicated than that, I chose to dip my panettone slices in an egg-milk batter before frying them, a la french toast. It makes the panettone even more rich, while the batter mellows out the sweetness of the dried fruit a bit, which can be a little overpowering in some panettone. For even more decadence and flavor, add some cinnamon to the batter and top with maple syrup and fresh berries when done.

AN ITALIAN TRADITION

I know it sounds like I’m being pretty harsh towards the noble panettone, but the truth is that we rarely get a really good panettone in the US. In Italy, however, panettone is an essential part of Christmas celebrations. Many bakers dedicate years to perfecting this bread. They work on it for a minimum of 36 hours (not counting the hours and days spent on the starter), and nourish it with love and care. Milan even has an entire festival, the Re Panettone, dedicated to it. In Italy it would be sacrilege to butter or toast it, let alone make panettone french toast. And if ever I’m in Italy around Christmastime I’ll be sure to never even mention this recipe. But for now, with our American versions of panettone, I’ll continue to batter panettone in eggs and fry it in butter.

PANETTONE FRENCH TOAST LONG AFTER CHRISTMAS

I know it might seem strange that I’m posting this recipe long after Christmas, but I really only made this panettone french toast last weekend. Due to its high fat content and long rise, panettone actually lasts a surprisingly long time. It will probably still be good by Easter, and just as fluffy as the day it was baked. In fact, the tradition in Milan is to save a slice of panettone until February 3rd in honor of San Biagio, who once saved a child that was choking on a fish bone by giving him a slice of bread. And it’s a good thing it lasts so long, because it means that you’ll have ample opportunity to make this panettone french toast all the way into spring.

Of course if you’re not from a crazy family that saves their panettone for months after Christmas, or that actually enjoys eating panettone, you could make this recipe with another rich, high fat bread like challah or brioche. You could even try making a stuffed french toast by sandwiching dried fruit and candied oranges between two slices of bread before dipping in the egg batter, to really channel the feeling of panettone.