So, autumn creeps up on us and it’s almost as if you can already smell freshly baked panettone for the holidays. I don’t know about you, but there is no winter vacation in my house without baking this traditional dessert.

Everyone loves panettone, but the classic recipe can be a bit intimidating for most working moms and grandmothers. I remember in my first year of marriage spending a good part of the night baking panettone. After that, for a long, long period, I couldn’t do it anymore. It was too demanding.

Not anymore! I adjusted my mom and grandma’s recipe to work with a bread maker, and now it’s really, really easy to make! If you don’t have a bread maker but love panettone, consider investing in a basic bread maker this winter. In addition, you can make fresh and natural bread every day and many other delicacies, including pizza. One drawback: be careful with your diet: all these delicacies add up to calories quickly…

Here is my recipe for panettone.

Ingredients: 1.1 lbs. bread flour, 3 eggs, 5.3 oz. (150 g) sugar, 4.4 oz. (125 g) butter, 1 cup milk, 3 teaspoons dry yeast, 2 oz. raisins, 1 pinch of salt, grated lemon peel, rum extract (1 teaspoon), and vanilla extract (1 teaspoon).

These instructions are for a generic bread maker that has the option to select a raisin bake cycle. Be sure to check the capacity of the machine and adjust quantities accordingly. The way to check is to match the amount of flour in our recipe with the amount of flour usually recommended in the bread recipes that come with the machine. The machines usually accept multiple sizes, mine has Medium, Large and Extra Large options. For example, if the Large option corresponds to approximately 1 pound of flour in the recommended bread recipe, use this recipe with the Large option.

Step by step instructions:

1. Add all ingredients except raisins and dry yeast to breadmaker.
2. Dry yeast must be added to the yeast dispenser.
3. Select the “bake with raisins” option.
4. Start the machine.
5. When the machine beeps, add the raisins (or chopped nuts or chocolate chips).

The machine will do all the work for you, including the baking. When the panettone is done, remove it from the bread maker and let it cool. Sprinkle with icing sugar on top and enjoy!