Moist and spongy Christmas sweetbread

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Then, make a hole in the center to incorporate the crumbled yeast. In my experience, fresh yeast always works best for this type of bread.

Heat the milk until lukewarm (not hot) and add it little by little in the center while stirring so that the yeast dissolves completely. The warm milk helps the yeast to activate.

Add the eggs one by one and the orange and lemon zest, mix well until a homogeneous dough is obtained. This is the moment to add the butter at room temperature, it is essential to provide moisture to the bread.

Add the nuts and candied fruits and knead until smooth and elastic.

Let the dough rest covered with a damp cloth in a warm place for 2 hours. It is important not to interrupt this process as it is crucial to obtain a fluffy bread.

Once rested and doubled in size, place the dough in a panettone or panettone pan, previously greased and floured. Let it rest again for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Brush the bread with beaten egg. In my experience, the egg adds an attractive golden shine to the bread.

Bake for about 40 minutes, until the bread is golden brown. \\

Let cool completely before unmolding. Once cooled, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar to decorate.

And ready to serve this fluffy and moist Christmas sweet bread!