Christmas without panettone would be like Ascona without its lakeside promenade – unimaginable! Every household in Ticino serves this sweet, airy bread loaf for dessert at Christmas.
The production of panettone is complex and time-consuming: the process of kneading the dough, proving it, then baking and drying it can take 48 hours. It starts with preparing a starter dough, which then must be allowed to rest for some time. After adding other ingredients, the dough is transferred into the typical panettone baking paper mould, in which it rests again before being placed in the oven. After baking, the now airy golden-brown panettone is hung upside down from a kind of rail and dried for some six hours. Why upside down? So that the loaf doesn't collapse under its own weight and lose its airy character. Finally, the heavenly-smelling loaves are attractively packaged and displayed in the shops.
In Ascona-Locarno, panettone is a true artisanal specialty: several bakeries in the region produce panettoni of exceptional quality, repeatedly awarded in national and international competitions. Crafting panettone requires time, technique and great expertise, and every master pastry chef carefully guards the secret blend of ingredients behind their unique flavour. Some choose local products, such as alpine butter from Vallemaggia, whose mountain herbs lend the panettone a distinctive and unmistakable aroma. In every bakery, a unique creation comes to life — the result of passion, tradition and creativity.
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