Panettone Bread Pudding — Bread Made Sacred, Week After Week

I crossed the bridge to Anapra on Wednesday — the weekly visit, the taste-and-check ritual. The conchas were perfect (Lupita's hands are confident now — eight years of practice, eight years of Rosa's recipe, the hands know). I sat at the small table by the window and drank coffee and watched the neighborhood women come and go, and the watching was the prayer, and the prayer was: thank you, Rosa.

Watching Lupita’s hands move through Rosa’s recipe — steady, practiced, unhurried — I kept thinking about what bread really is: not just flour and sugar and lard, but time made edible, memory you can hold. When I got home that Wednesday evening, still carrying the warmth of that little table by the window, I wanted to stay inside that feeling a little longer. Panettone Bread Pudding felt exactly right — another sweet, enriched bread given new life, transformed by patience and a custard that asks nothing of you but to let it set slowly. It’s the kind of recipe Rosa would have understood.

Panettone Bread Pudding

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 50 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 lb (about 8 cups) panettone, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing
• Powdered sugar, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Prepare the pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Dry the bread. Spread the panettone cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8–10 minutes until lightly dried and golden at the edges. Remove and let cool slightly.
3. Make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg until smooth and well combined.
4. Soak the bread. Transfer the toasted panettone cubes to the prepared baking dish. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the bread. Press down gently so every cube absorbs the custard. Let it soak for at least 15 minutes.
5. Add butter and bake. Drizzle the melted butter over the top. Bake uncovered for 45–50 minutes, until the custard is set in the center and the top is golden brown.
6. Rest and serve. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 46g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 210mg