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Panettone is a fluffy Italian Christmas Bread made with yeast, candied fruit and sometimes also chocolate chips. The flavour is quite similar to a Czech version called Vánočka which is a plaited bread, or Mazanec which is a round loaf version of it served at Easter. In Italy Panettone is often served with mascarpone cheese but you can serve it with butter, or on its own, just like we do in Czechia.
How to Make the Perfect Low-Carb Panettone
I've worked really hard to make this recipe as close to the traditional Panettone as possible, and it worked better than I imagined! I love it and I've already made another batch since I made it a week ago. It's keto, grain-free and gluten-free, and if you use coconut oil for greasing it's also dairy-free!
The key ingredient is the defatted super fine almond flour which may seem like an overkill, but it makes a big difference to the texture, keeping it light and airy. It's also called de-oiled or superfine and I get mine on Amazon from RealFoodSource.
If you absolutely need to substitute the defatted almond flour, try using about 2 cups (200 g/ 7.1 oz) of regular almond flour. I have to warn you though, I have not tried it so I'm only guessing here. If the dough is still too wet (check with picture in Step 9), add 2 to 4 tablespoons of coconut flour. The texture will likely not be as light and fluffy and will make the Panettone a little more dense.
Update: Based on all your amazing feedback and creations shared in our Facebook Support Group, some of you had success with Kirkland Superfine Almond Flour and other types of extra fine almond flour. If you use any of these alternatives, use the same amount but make sure to go by weight (grams or ounces) and not cup measurements as these almond flour alternatives may have slightly different densities (to avoid confusion I removed the cup equivalent from the Ingredients). For a comparison, I found that a (packed) cup of RealFoodSource Almond flour was 120-130 grams, while a (packed) cup of Sukrin Defatted Almond Flour was 100-105 grams, even though they are both defatted and look the same.
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How Does Panettone Taste?
This low-carb Panettone tastes amazing! Thanks to the yeast it's fluffy and full of flavour. The cranberries taste like raisins and the orange zest pairs really well with the chocolate chips.
It's definitely richer and slightly more moist than the traditional Italian Christmas Bread. (I don't know about you but I always found Panettone a bit too dry so I prefer this keto version!)
What You Need For Keto Panettone
Making grain-free and gluten-free Panettone will require careful timing and patience but I promise it's really worth the effort. And it gets easier with every batch. Here's what you need to make it:
- Yeast — I prefer using fresh yeast but you can use dry active yeast instead. Yeast is what will give this keto Panettone delicious flavour and fluffy texture.
- Inulin-based sweetener such as yacon syrup, honey or sugar. This ingredient is essential for activating the yeast. Don't panic, no sugar will be left after the fermentation of yeast!
- Low-carb flour mix — I used a combination of superfine, defatted almond flour, coconut flour and psyllium husk powder. To replace the gluten found in regular wheat flour, I added whey protein powder and xanthan gum. Xanthan gum can be omitted but the texture is better if you use it. Finally, I added cream of tartar and baking soda for extra fluffy texture.
- Eggs and egg whites. You'll generally need to use more egg whites to keep the bread fluffy. Don't worry it won't taste eggy!
- Fruit — you can use fresh orange zest or lemon zest, and my Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries which are easy to make but you need to reserve 3 to 4 hours for dehydrating them.
- Chocolate chips — you can use 90% dark chocolate chips or sugar-free chocolate chips (dark or milk chocolate) sweetened with low-carb sweeteners such as Xylitol, Erythritol, FOS or Allulose.
- Finally, a large Panettone mould. I used this 14 cm large Panettone mould (Amazon UK) which should be similar to this one (Amazon US). Make sure to grease it before adding the dough.
If you have any questions about yeast dough, check out this Keto Yeast Bread Recipe. I included tips and answers to common questions.
I hope you love this as much as I do! If you make this bread, make sure to leave a comment below, tag me on Instagram or share it in our Facebook group!
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Hands-on Overall
Serving size 1 slice
Nutritional values (per serving, 1 slice)
Net carbs3.9 grams
Protein11.9 grams
Fat4.8 grams
Calories125 kcal
Calories from carbs 15%, protein 45%, fat 40%
Total carbs10 gramsFiber6 gramsSugars1.8 gramsSaturated fat2 gramsSodium70 mg(3% RDA)Magnesium42 mg(10% RDA)Potassium207 mg(10% EMR)
Ingredients (makes 12 servings)
Wet ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cups warm water, divided (320 ml/ 11 fl oz)
- 1 tbsp yacon syrup (15 ml) or honey (won't affect the carb count)
- 4 large egg whites
- 2 large egg yolks, divided
Dry ingredients:
Instructions
- To make this recipe, make sure you have your Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries ready.
- Turn the light on in the oven (only the light). Pour 1/3 cup (80 ml) of the warm water into a bowl. The temperature should be about 40 °C/ 100 °F, but no more than 45 °C/ 110 °F. If you don't have this option on your oven, preheat the oven to the lowest setting (mine is 50 °C/ 120 °F). Open the oven for about 30 seconds to cool down slightly before placing the yeast inside and close the door.
- Add yacon syrup (or honey) and stir until fully dissolved. (Don't panic, no sugar will be left after the fermentation of yeast!) Sprinkle with active dry yeast (or use 30 g/ 1.1 oz fresh yeast). Place the bowl in the oven. The light will be enough to keep the bowl warm. Allow to proof for 10 minutes. When ready, the yeast will be frothy and will grow in volume.
- Once the yeast have proofed (it will become foamy), remove the bowl from the warm oven. Keep the light in the oven on.
- Meanwhile, place the whole psyllium husks in a coffee grinder and process until powdered. You can use ready-made psyllium powder, just make sure it's the right one.
- Place all of the remaining dry ingredients in another bowl: fine defatted almond flour, coconut flour, whey (or egg white) protein powder, psyllium powder, Erythritol, xanthan gum, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine or use a hand mixer to process well. (Instead of cream of tartar, you can use the same amount of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar and add it to the eggs before mixing with the dry ingredients).
Note: I used RealFoodSource defatted almond flour which (based on the feedback in comments) may have a different density than the one you use. Please make sure you use extra fine, defatted almond flour, not almond meal. If you can't find defatted almond flour, use extra/super fine almond flour and use the same amount in grams/ounces.
- Place all of the egg whites and 1 1/2 egg yolks in a bowl. (You'll need about half egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon of water to brush on top of the bread.)
- Add the egg whites and egg yolks into the bowl with the proofed yeast. Add the orange zest and the remaining warm water (1 cup/ 240 ml).
- Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer and process until well combined. Add the dried mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time and process well. Gradually add more until you use all of it.
- Add the cranberries and the chocolate chips.
- Fold in until well combined.
- Transfer the dough into a greased Panettone mould (I used one large mould, 14 cm/ 5.5 inch in diameter) lightly greased with ghee or coconut oil. The mould should not be more than 3/4 full. Place in the oven and let it proof with the oven light on for 60 minutes.
- Once the dough has proofed, remove from the oven. Preheat the oven to 160 °C/ 320 °F (fan assisted), or 180 °C/ 355 °F (conventional). Gently brush the reserved egg yolk mixed with water on top of the bread without pressing too much (do not deflate the bread).
- Loosely cover the bread with aluminium foil and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of the baking process.
- Once completely cool, slice and serve with butter on top.
- Store at room temperature loosely covered with kitchen towel for up to 3 days. To store for longer, freeze in batches of 2 to 4 slices for up to 3 months.
Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, 1 slice)
| Net carbs | Protein | Fat | Calories |
|---|
| Water, still |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Yacon syrup, natural sweetener |
| 0.7 g | 0 g | 0 g | 3 kcal |
| Egg white, fresh |
| 0.1 g | 1.2 g | 0 g | 6 kcal |
| Egg, yolk, raw, fresh |
| 0.1 g | 0.4 g | 0.8 g | 9 kcal |
| Yeast, active dried yeast, leavening agent |
| 0.2 g | 0.5 g | 0 g | 4 kcal |
| Almond flour (deoiled, defatted, fine) |
| 0.9 g | 7.1 g | 1.8 g | 55 kcal |
| Coconut flour, organic |
| 0.4 g | 0.6 g | 0.5 g | 12 kcal |
| Whey protein powder (protein isolate, Jay Robb) |
| 0.1 g | 1.6 g | 0 g | 7 kcal |
| Psyllium husks, whole |
| 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Erythritol (natural low-carb sweetener) |
| 0.3 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Xanthan gum, thickening agent |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Cream of tartar, raising agent |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Baking soda, raising agent (bicarbonate of soda) |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Salt, sea salt |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Orange peel (zest), fresh |
| 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Cranberries, Sugar-Free Dried (KetoDiet blog) |
| 0.7 g | 0 g | 0.3 g | 6 kcal |
| Sugar-free dark chocolate chips |
| 0.4 g | 0.4 g | 1.4 g | 20 kcal |
| Total per serving, 1 slice |
| 3.9 g | 11.9 g | 4.8 g | 125 kcal |
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