Spuyadel Italian Pastry Recipes

SFOGLIATELLE RICCE - AUTHENTIC RECIPE STEP BY STEP

Steps:

• Add flour and salt in a mixing bowl, give a stir, add honey and lukewarm water. Mix well with your hands or in a stand mixer until you get a slightly crumbly dough. If you are going to roll the dough by hand it's best to add another few tablespoons of water to make the dough a bit smoother. But if you're going to use a pasta machine feel free to leave the dough at that "slightly crumbly" stage, it'll all come together later in the process.
• Cover the dough with a plastic wrap or linen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Past that time divide the dough in 3-4 parts. Take one part and keep the rest of the dough covered to prevent it from drying. Pass the first part of the dough through pasta machine on the widest setting "0 setting".Fold it over on itself, rotate and pass again on the same thickness setting.
• Pass the dough at least 3-5 times repeating the folding process, until you get a smooth and even sheet. Then set the regulating knob of the pasta machine to the next setting (setting 1) and pass it again several times. Continue increasing thickness setting until you get to the thinnest sheet possible (setting 7-8 on Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine).
• You'll need to pass the dough just once on that last thickness setting. I also recommend stopping the machine a couple of times as the dough sheet comes through and roll it up onto the rolling pin. The ends (handles) of the rolling pin should be settled between two water bottles or soup bowls to prevent the dough from touching the table. Cover rolled dough with a plastic wrap.
• Repeat the same process with the remaining dough chunks.At the end you should get a sheet pastry approx 15 feet long and 5-6 inches wide rolled over the rolling pin.
• Prepare lard at room temperature or melted butter.Start to unfold sfogliatelle sheets from the rolling pin.
• Extend the dough sheet over a clean work surface and grease it thoroughly with lard/butter making sure you smear well the edges as well.You can use your hands if using lard or painting brush if using melted butter.
• Place your hands underneath the dough and gently stretch it outwards elongating it to approx. 7-8 inches wide.
• Roll the greased piece into a very tight roll and unfold another section. Repeat the greasing, stretching and rolling process until you've used all the dough from the rolling pin.
• As a result you should get a very tight kind of dough log. Grease it all over with remaining lard/butter, cover with a plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or better yet overnight.
• If you are short on time you can place it in the freezer for about an hour.In the meantime prepare the cream.
• In a stove-top pot add milk, butter (see notes), salt and sugar. Stir well and bring the mixture to boil.
• Constantly stirring slowly add semolina. Continue whisking to avoid formation of the lumps and cook for 5 minutes. Let cool completely.
• In a food processor add cooked semolina, ricotta and an egg. Pulse a few times until smooth and even texture. If you don't have a food processor just use a hand-hold or standing mixer.
• Add candied oranges, cinnamon, vanilla extract and orange blossom water.Mix with a whisk and set aside.
• Take the sfogliatelle dough log out of the fridge and while it's still covered with a plastic wrap gently but firmly squeeze and stretch it with your hands going from the center towards the sides.
• Remove the plastic wrap and cut off uneven sides of the log, then cut into approx ½ inch slices.
• To form the sfogliatelle cone, take a dough slice and start gently working it with your fingers.Using your thumbs and a rotating motion push the center of the slice out opening up dough layers and forming a cone shape. Be careful not to push the layers too much apart, you still want them to stay together.
• Holding sfogliatella in one hand fill the cavity of the cone with ricotta cream. Make sure to fill with enough cream so that sfogliatelle stay full and puffy. If the cream is not enough they'll simply flatten out in the oven.
• Put together the edges of the opening as you can, they don't have to be perfectly sealed. The cream is thick enough to hold in the pastry.Place sfogliatelle on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Preheat the oven to 380F.Bake sfogliatelle in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
• Serve warm generously dusted with confectioners' sugar.

SFOGLIATELLE

Steps:

• Sift flour and salt and turn into bowl.
• Cut in shortening with fingers to mealy consistency.
• Add enough water (approx. 1/2 c) to hold mixture together.
• Dough should be not too hard or too soft (similar to egg noodle dough).
• Knead well several minutes.
• Form into ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes to enable it to lose elasticity and roll out easily.
• Roll dough very thin on lightly floured board into rectangular pice measuring about 28 x 24 inches.
• Cut edges evenly, then cut into 4 pieces lengthwise, 28 x 6 inches.
• Using a brush, spread melted shortening generously and evenly over one strip, top with second strip and spread with shortening.
• Repeat with the third and fourth strips, separating each strip by a layer of shortening.
• Let shortening cool and set.
• Using great care, roll four strips together, as for jelly roll, starting from shorter end.
• Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate about 15 minutes.
• Remove.
• wax paper and cut ends evenly using a short thing knige.
• Cut roll into 12 1/2 inch pieces (For easier cutting, dip knife in flour before cutting dough).
• Slices will resemble narrow rolls of ribbon.
• Place on lightly floured board and sprinkle lightly with flour.
• Gently place rolling pin a center of slice and roll out from center toward left.
• Return rolling pin to center and roll out from center toward right.
• The slice, fromerly round, will be a larger and thinger oval shape.
• Gently roll again from center toward top with one stroke and from center toward bottom with one stroke.
• The oval should measure about 7 1/2 inches at its longest part.
• Placed prepared oval on lightly floured board, rolled side down.
• Proceed as above with the other pieces, arranging finished ovals on board, side by side.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Drain ricotta through cheese cloth until quite dry.
• Place in bowl, stir in remaining ingredients and blend throroughly.
• Place a tablespoons or two of ricotta mixture on lower half of each oval, wet edges of dough with a little egg white and fold over filling, bringing narrow edges together to form a shell-like shape.
• Press edges together tightly to seal in filling.
• Brush each shell with melted shortening.
• Bake about 15 minutes, then quickly brush more melted shortening over shells using light, gentle strokes.
• Close oven door quickly, lower heat to 350 and bake another 20 minutes.
• Brush once more with shortening.
• Pastries will puff up and have a beautiful golden color showing shell-like ribs or lines.
• Lower heat to 250 and bake another 5 to 10 minutes.
• Cool on rack.
• When cold, dust with confectioners sugar.

LAZY SFOGLIATELLE {QUICK & EASY TO MAKE}

Steps:

• In a stove-top pot add milk, salt, sugar and butter (optional, see notes).Stir well and bring the mixture to boil.
• Constantly stirring, slowly add semolina flour. Continue whisking to avoid formation of the lumps and cook for 5 minutes. Let cool completely.
• In a food processor add cooked semolina, ricotta and an egg. Pulse a few times until smooth and even texture. If you don't have a food processor just use a hand-hold or standing mixer.
• Add chopped candied oranges, cinnamon and vanilla extract and orange blossom water (optional). Mix well and set aside until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 355F (180C).
• Start by dividing puff pastry dough in 6 rectangles. If it's too hot where you work with the dough work with 1-2 pieces of dough at a time and keep the rest in the fridge or in the freezer.
• Place small puff pastry rectangle short side facing you.
• Make long slit cuts with a small sharp knife on the bottom half of the dough (about 6 cuts) leaving both sides intact.Holding gently the top sides of the rectangular fold them over.
• Place a spoonful of ricotta cream in the middle.Fold sides of the puff pastry making them slightly overlap.Using your fingers press gently to seal the bottom and center of the pastry.Flip over and place on a baking sheet lines with parchment paper.Repeat the process with the rest of the rectangles.Make sure to leave enough space between sfogliatelle when arranging them on a baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated to 355F (180C) oven for 25-30 minutes or until nice golden color.
• Let cool and dust with confectioners sugar.