December 2, 2024

Food

The best panettoni in Tuscany

The historic pastry shops where you can find the inimitable and delicious handmade panettone

The undisputed symbol of convivial moments with friends or on the table during the Christmas festivities, the Panettone, of Milanese origin, has become a top artisan product in Tuscany, cared for and pampered by chefs and pastry chefs who interpret and reinvent it in a thousand flavours by focusing on excellent raw materials and long natural leavening so as to make it a unique product.

But where to buy the best? We'll tell you, starting in Florence!

Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
Borgo Pinti, 99
ph. +39 055 2626450

The recipe for the Panettone della Gherardesca is the result of a collaboration between Executive Chef Paolo Lavezzini, Executive Pastry Chef Mariano Dileo and the artisan bakery and biscuit maker Leonardo Firenze. The three wanted to create a homage to the spontaneous flavours of the earth such as laurel, rosemary and chestnut honey. But it is also a reminder to go beyond Florence, to taste Apulian almonds and Brazilian walnuts. This year's panettone box shines with a design inspired by the fresco in the Salone del Conventino, a deconsecrated neo-Gothic church hidden away in the Palazzo del Nero. (1kg, €55)

Galleria Iginio Massari Firenze
Via de' Vecchietti, 3
ph. +39 055 8025253

One of Massari's most famous haute patisserie creations. The King of Leavened Pastries is characterised by a complex working process that lasts a good 65 hours with four leavening processes and two doughs, giving the leavened product a particularly soft consistency. Inside, the perfect alveolatura encloses precious cubes of Calabrian candied orange and Sei Corone sultanas, which accompany and enrich the aromatic scents of butter and vanilla. An exquisite icing made with almonds and made even more delicious by a touch of cocoa, covers the top, trapping raw almonds and grains of sugar. A rich aromatic bouquet and a perfect balance of tastes and textures for an extraordinary panettone. Different variants are also available: Cocoa and Chocolate, Pistachio, Chocolate and Raspberry, Wholewheat with Caramel and Pears, Strawberry Mara des Bois and Chocolate Monorigine. And also a version without candied fruit and one without lactose.

Caffè Gilli
Via Roma 1/r
ph. +39 055 213896

In Caffè Gilli's range of Christmas products, made by Maestro Massimo Davitti, assisted by Ivan Santoro, the handcrafted Panettone stands out. It is the result of meticulous workmanship, which involves a double dough and a leavening process of 36 hours, thanks to the use of live mother yeast. The Panettone Classico, in particular, is enriched with cubes of candied orange and lemon, which give it an intense freshness and fragrance. In addition, Australian sultanas, chosen for their sweetness and quality, complete the whole, providing a note of deliciousness. To further enhance the flavours, fresh candied orange paste and vanilla berries are used, adding an enveloping aroma. The balanced mix of these ingredients is accompanied by the classic hints of butter and vanilla. Four new Panettone variants make up Caffè Gilli's 2024 Christmas range: the Almond Panettone, also in a lactose-free version; the Pistachio Panettone and the Chocolate Panettone. Not to be missed in the Christmas selection are the Nougat, made with honey and IGP Piedmont hazelnuts, and the Panforte Classico.

Gucci Osteria
Piazza della Signoria, 10
ph. +39 055 0621744

Make your holidays unforgettable with Gucci Osteria 2024 Limited Edition Traditional Panettone. A soft, light and fragrant cake, proposed in a tin box created for the occasion. Also available is a special version with salted caramel, which goes perfectly with the light and fluffy texture of this panettone, adding a unique touch to the traditional cake.

We continue our tour of the best panettoni in the rest of Tuscany:

Castelfalfi
Località Castelfalfi, Montaione (FI)
ph. +39 0571 892000

In the workshop in Castelfalfi, the day has started every day for many years with the same scent: that of mother yeast, an authentic culinary heritage that they guard with care. It is precisely from the mother yeast that the processing of Chef Michele Rinaldi's artisan panettone begins. All the raw materials are selected by the Chef with extreme attention to detail and quality. No preservatives or chemical additives or emulsifiers are used. To enjoy it in all its freshness, in fact, the Chef recommends consuming it as soon as possible after purchase. Both the traditional grand almond version (with almonds, hazelnuts, candied orange, citron, lemon, sultanas) and the chocolate version (with almonds, hazelnuts, semi-candied apricots, gianduja chocolate, cocoa, tonka bean) are available. The price is 50 euros.

Pasticceria Caffè Nuovo Mondo
Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 23 - Prato
ph. +39 0574 27765

From the great Paolo Sacchetti in Prato who has won practically everything with his Pasticceria Nuovo Mondo. Absolutely not to be missed is the Giulebbe, a kind of panettone shaped like a fruitcake with dried figs from Carmignano and walnuts from Val Bisenzio.

Rigacci '48
via Pablo Picasso, 14 - Cerbaia Val di Pesa (FI)
ph. +39 055 826126

The goodness that comes from the genuineness of the ingredients, the passion and craftsmanship of the confectioners. A magical alchemy that leaves a pleasant, delicate flavour in the mouth with a warm, extremely aromatic and non-sticky finish.

Pasticceria F.lli Bonci
Via A.Vespucci, 101 - Montevarchi (AR)
ph. +39 055 981225

A soft dough naturally leavened 36 hours, with selected high quality raw materials, without preservatives and with an unmistakable taste given by the liqueur soul. Pasticceria Bonci's iconic Panbriacone is available in different formats and always ready to make your moments of sweetness unique.

Pasticceria Nannini Conca D'Oro
Via Banchi di Sopra, 24 - Siena SI
ph. +39 0577 236009

We disembark in Siena at Nannini's, the historic pastry shop that holds the record for the best ricciarelli in the city, but not only. Their panettone is not to be missed: fragrance, measured sweetness and excellent structure are the right keys here, all seasoned with the pleasant aromas of citrus and dried fruit

Pasticceria Peccati di Gola
Via Enea Silvio Piccolomini, 41 - Siena SI
ph. +39 0577 283155

Another Sienese pearl, the Peccati di Gola pastry shop, with its panettone cake that really has to be tried. The main actors are a knockout chocolate and the refreshing candied ginger in the pastry.

Pasticceria Mearini
Via Montalbano, 65 - Quarrata PT
ph. +39 0573 739623

Pasticceria Mearini in Quarrata offers a true Christmas masterpiece: strawberries, raspberries, and fresh blueberries gently embedded in the pastry.

Il Cantuccio di Federigo
Via Paolo Maioli, 67 - San Miniato PI
ph. +39 0571 418344

We come to Il Cantuccio di Federigo in San Miniato, softness and butteriness melted with tenderness. A panettone for young and old.

Pasticceria Fratelli Lucchesi
Piazzale Matteotti - Barga LU
ph. +39 0583 723193

From Fratelli Lucchesi in Barga, an extremely refined panettone, splendid in its combination: candied chestnuts that give aromaticity without affecting a barely perceptible sweetness and matched by concordance.

Corsini Bakery Dolci e Biscotti
Via Cellane, 9 - Castel Del Piano-Monte Amiata (GR)
ph. +39 0564 956787

We end in Grosseto, at Corsini's, with a soft and delicate panettone, where the softness and aromas of EVO oil leave the palate with memories of an incredible Christmas.