STORY: Panettone: Zeelandia explore the rising star of festive breads

Christmas is nearly upon us which means a whole range of festive delicacies, including a traditional Italian bread that is steadily rising in popularity in the UK.

Known for its towering dome shape and fluffy texture, panettone is a European Christmas staple that has been taking the UK market by storm. A 57% of increase in sales of the fruit bread was reported in 2021*, and businesses have jumped on the trend for 2022, including Selfridges who released a humungous 8kg panettone with their Christmas range.

Andrew Taylor, New Product Development Manager at global ingredient supplier Zeelandia UK, gives insight into the Italian bread’s newfound success overseas.

Andrew said: “Is it a cake or a bread? With its light fluffy center full of fruit and yumminess, what’s not to like about a pannettone. 

“Fruit breads are popular with families both as a quick and easy breakfast item and a special weekend treat. Our pannettone recipe using Zeelandia Exakt Zest bun concentrate has been developed by our expert bakers giving a British twist to this Italian masterpiece.  

“As an international company with operations in over 30 countries and sales in over 100, we take a lot of inspiration from Zeelandia divisions across Europe when developing products and predicting industry trends.

“Exakt Zest is ideal for sweet breads with a high fruit content, and this year we’ve been teaching bakers how they can use it to put their own twist on one of the most popular Christmas breads of 2022.”

Zeelandia UK have produced a step-by-step video showing bakers how Exakt Zest can be combined with just three ingredients to bake delicious stollen and panettone. A traditional Christmas bread in Germany, stollen is another global festive treat Zeelandia foresee gaining popularity in the UK.

Explore Zeelandia’s Christmas Range here

*thefoodpeople, 2021