Milan Panettone and Pastry Workshop

The Milan Panettone and Pastry Workshop is a hands-on, roughly three-hour class held in a working Milan bakery or pastry kitchen, usually led by a professional pastry chef rather than a large branded school. Its centrepiece is panettone, the tall, domed sweet bread studded with candied citrus and raisins that originated in Milan and has become Italy's defining Christmas cake, now exported worldwide. Authentic panettone is a slow craft: it relies on a natural sour starter, the lievito madre, and a leavening process that traditionally unfolds over about three days, so the class focuses on understanding and practising the technique, the dough handling, the folding and the flavouring, rather than producing a finished loaf from scratch in a single sitting. Alongside panettone, sessions often cover other Milanese and Lombard baked goods, commonly pan de mei, the soft cornmeal and elderflower biscuits once eaten in spring, and the cornetto, Italy's answer to the croissant, giving participants a rounded introduction to the city's pastry repertoire. Classes typically end with a tasting of the finished products served with coffee, and participants usually take home what they have made or samples to enjoy later. Pricing generally runs from sixty-five to ninety euros per person and includes the ingredients, the guided instruction, the tasting and take-home products. Groups are kept small enough for genuine hands-on work, and most sessions are offered in English alongside Italian at a beginner-friendly pace. The workshop is available year-round but is naturally most popular in November and December, when panettone fills every Milanese bakery window and the city is in full Christmas mood, though learning the craft out of season means smaller groups and a calmer kitchen. Dietary needs can sometimes be accommodated with notice, though traditional panettone relies on butter, eggs and wheat, which limits how far recipes can be adapted. The experience suits baking enthusiasts, couples and groups who want to go beyond eating panettone to understanding why a genuine artisan loaf differs so much from a supermarket version, and to carry the technique, and the aroma of a freshly baked Milanese classic, home with them as both a skill and a souvenir of the city.