6 cups of flour
10 eggs
8 oz. of sugar
1 thick slice of Crisco
Zest of 2 lemons
Raisins (1/2 cup to a cup)
1 bag of dried traditional yeast ( 8 g)

Mix ingredients. Work into a soft dough, kneading for about 15 minutes.

Place dough in a container. Cover. Let it rest for a few hours.

Remove dough, and knead it a second time for about 10 minutes.

Replace dough in a container. Cover. Let it rest for a few more hours until it doubles in size.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven until the crust is thick and a dark golden brown -- about an hour.

According to the contributor's aunt, Mrs. Adelaide Palazzo, prior to World War II "panettone" was only made for the Easter celebrations in Molise. However, when Italians came to Montreal in the 1950s, they started to make it for Christmas as well as for Easter. Later on, in the 1970s, boxes of imported "panettone" were sold in Montreal shops around the Christmas and Easter holidays so Italians bought them for both festivities. Nowadays, of course, boxes of "panettone" direct from Milan and other areas of Italy are available year round in Italian grocery shops, so for many third generation Italians "panettone" is no longer associated with any special festivity.... The photo was taken by Mary Melfi who tried the recipe and found it a bit difficult to do. She also discovered that this traditional "panettone" is less sweet than what is presently sold in the shops as "panettone." Obviously, in the old days, "panettone" was seen as a "holiday bread" rather than a cake. Nowadays the great tasting stuff Italy exports is as sweet, if not sweeter, than any North American doughnut.

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