Sfoiatelle Italian Pastry Search

Hi,

sfogliatelle are really hard to do. A recipe is here:

http://www.cookaround.com/yabbse1/showthread.php?t=17172&page=1

the list of ingredients is straightforward (strutto is lard, miele is honey, the "ripieno" is the filling). The hard part is making the lobster shape.

The filling is one of the two generally used, the other one is the choux cream that swolls during baking.

The recipe should be straightforward if you watch the pictures, but if you have doubts just ask me.

Another one is here:

http://www.panperfocaccia.eu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6333

(scroll to the bottom of the page to see the illustrated recipe) that calls for high gluten flour.

Good luck!

When I asked my Aunt years ago about how to make them, all she said was that you need really cold hands!   Cheers, Tony.

There is also a recipe in Giuliano Bugialli's book Food of Naples and Campania:

http://www.amazon.com/Guiliano-Bugiallis-Food-Naples-Campania/dp/B0007XAWTE/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280952514&sr=8-10

I have this book and have tried it out once...  They didn't turn out pretty, but they tasted pretty darn good...

Hi I got onto these also not too long ago when i seen an Italian food program on sbs if ur not in Australia u can't see the video which really helps but the recipe is great and pastry is rolled through a pasta machine I bought one just to make these especially lol as well as shishbarak. The filling was mass with semolina and then chopped up into cubes n added to other ingredients like ricotta etc really scrumptious. It really helped to see how he rolled all the layers of dough to get that laminated "seashell" effect. Now I will also try this method with pastizzi

Sfogliatelle

Pronounced SVOY-lee-ah-tell-eh or SFEE-la-tell 

This is the way they are made in the Italian Bakeries in New Haven CT. 

Sfogliatelle means many leaves or layers and this crisp pastry's texture resembles leaves stacked on each other.  Sfogliatelle look like seashells when baked.  Some people also call them 'lobster tails' for their resemblance to the same although “Lobster tails” are usually filled with Pasticciera cream.  

The characteristic ridges form as the layers of dough separate during baking.  

The pastries are filled with a sweetened ricotta cream, semolina, and cinnamon mixture. Lemon zest or candied orange bits are also sometimes added.

I am providing you with a recipe for sfogliatelle pastry dough but you can substitute purchased puff pastry dough. The recipe also calls for using lard, which gives a flakier consistency, but you may wish to use margarine in its place.  

Making sfogliatelle is a time-consuming process.

If you are up for a challenge this is the recipe to try.

Pastry for Sfogliatelle

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup semolina flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup lard or margarine, melted

Note:  You may wish to substitute 1 (1 pound package of frozen puff pastry dough, thawed, for the above pastry recipe

Sfogliatelle Filling

1 cup milk

1/4 cup semolina flour

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon candied orange bits or grated orange zest

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

To make the dough:

In a large bowl, combine both flours, sugar and salt.

Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture.

Gradually add the water until a soft dough forms.

Form the dough into a disk, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

To make the filling:

Put the milk in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil.

Slowly add the semolina flour, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.

Simmer the mixture 3-4 minutes, until thick and smooth.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow to cool about 5 minutes.

Press the ricotta cheese through a sieve to remove any lumps.

Add the ricotta, egg, sugar, candied fruit, and cinnamon to the semolina mixture.

Beat well to blend and set aside.

Making the sfogliatelle:

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it  into 2 equal pieces.

If you are using puff pastry, use 1 of the 2 pieces from the package.

On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece into a 16 x 22-inch rectangle.

The dough will be very, very thin.

Starting at a short end, brush the first 1/3 of dough with some of the melted lard.

Begin rolling the pastry up like a  jellyroll.

Brush the second 1/3 of dough with more lard, and continue rolling.

Finally, brush the last 1/3 with lard, and roll up completely.

Cut the roll into 1-inch pieces, which will resemble narrow rolls of ribbon.

Forming the sfogliatelle:

Place one of the slices in the palm of your hand.

Press the thumb of your other hand in the center of the pastry and push it down to form a small ribbed cup.

You do not want the ribs to separate.

Now you will begin to stretch the dough.

Carefully work around the cup, pushing down with your thumbs and pulling up with your fingers.

Think of it an opening a collapsible travel cup.

Form each piece into a cone, shaped 3 to 4 inches across the mouth and 1-inch at the tip.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Lightly grease or line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Fill each pastry cone with 2 tablespoons of the filling.

Gently press the open edges together to seal the pastry.   Pull out the top ends to form a seashell shape.

Place the sfogliatelle 1-inch apart on the baking sheets.

Repeat the procedure with the second piece of pastry dough.

Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Allow the pastry to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.

Transfer the pastry to wire racks to cool completely.

To serve:

Sprinkle the sfogliatelle with confectioners' sugar and serve.

Makes about 32 pastries

I have an antique recipe that I got from the chef of a 2 star  michelin restaurant at the Villa Crespi, Lago di Orta, Piemonte, Italia.  He gave it to me in Italian, which I translated. It is pages long and I have made them.  It is very complicated and to be honest with you although they taste delicious you really can't achieve the same results by hand. The recipe even states this. The pastry is made with a machine specially made for this pastry. There are small machines that are used in restaurants such as the Villa Crespi. Most bakeries buy them frozen and then bake them each day. He makes them every day and serves them in the afternoon with expresso to his guests.  I used to watch them being made at a bakery in the North End in Boston when I was living there. The bakery doesn't exist anymore but there are distributors in Boston and NY that ship them frozen.

I'll write up a post for them as I took pictures of the process. 

Patricia

The best tasting ones I've had ever were from Naples when I visited years ago...  Maybe in 2000 or 2002.  I can't remember anymore.  But next best for me is at

La Bella Ferrara Bakery

108 Mulberry St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 966-7867

It's just above Canal Street.  They make small ones, and large ones.  They also sell lobster rolls, but I prefer the sfogliatelle...  The lobster tails are just too creamy for me...  Also, they make some of the best cannoli that I have ever tasted.  They have 2 store fronts.  One for waiter service, and the other for takeout...  If you have a chance, you should check them out.

Tim

Hi there

I Am Italian and I Am writing to you from Milano, which is not where sfogliatelle come from but where you can still buy very good ones.

sfogliatelle (the ones you generally find in pastry shops) are VERY difficult to replicate at home-  it is very tricky to roll the pastry the correct way.

Very few Italians ever make them at home.

But there is another type of sfogliatelle that can be made at home - sfogliatelle FROLLE. the filling is the usual one (the one you can find in many books), the outside is made of pasta frolla (italian shortpastry), the recipe of which is widely available (check Hazan and Nick Malgier)

this is rather simple.

stefano

Caution, these videos will make you anxious lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr-yaD1Gc1Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GGmqK6VVz4&feature=related

this recipe with pics looks easy

http://www.itchefs-gvci.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=281&Itemid=633

stefano

What great videos and links thanks for posting

wish you could view the video, but do give it a go anyways, and please let us know how you get on. the guy who made these is a pro and makes them for his cafe. have yet to try, still on my wish list. seems like its something that takes pracitce, but I think doable, although, i've noticed italians usually discourage one from making them at home, personally I think its because they're lucky enough to have easy access to good ones, that there's no point to make them at home :) hope you enjoy, the site is altogeher mad.

Great vidios, I wish I had seen them when I made them.  I also wish I had a big enough surface to try stretching the dough.  I think aftermaking them I'm going to stick to buying them.  I went to a place where I thought they made them in house yesterday to see if I could take a picture of the machine. As as it turned out they also buy them and just bake them inhouse.  Anyway I bought one and enjoyed it as usual.

Thanks for the videos I will send them on to my family to enjoy.

Patricia

Hi again, not to sound naively encouraging, but I really do believe this is totally doable, the video's that i have seen on youtube by the professionals i would not attempt at home simply because i don't have the bench space nor the fancy equipment, but the video I seen on that link i posted, was made by the cafe owner in a domestic kitchen. the dough was divided and rolled through a pasta machine, so you do not require a huge space to assemble these. then all the small pieces were rubbed with fat (can't remember exactly which was stated in recipe) and placed all on top of each other and then rolled and so that fat cylinder shape which provides the lamination was still achieved. then cut into discs gently stretch to hold filling, gently pat and place on baking tray. the end results were extremely crispy and looked very professional as you can see from the pic. i'm not saying we can achieve that exact result from the firs time, but i reckon with practice, practice, practice....:)

sorry, i just seen the video, and each strip of rolled-out dough from the pasta machine is spread with lard, then stretched and rolled into cylinder shape, then placed on next strip of dough and rolled up again, one into the other, so thats how you get the fat cylindar shape that when cut into discs gets all those layers. hope this helps

You know what you could do...  it would be different, but I think more manageable in a home kitchen...

You could make puff pastry with butter as you would normally, with all the folding and rolling.  Then you could just roll the puff pastry out into a wide strip, butter it, roll it into a log, and proceed with the sfogliatelle process by cutting it into disks, filling, closing and baking...

 In Italy we have two varieties of sfogliatella: riccia, a flaky exterior, and frolla, made of a smooth shortcrust pastry.

The "riccia" is very difficult to do. This is my version of sfogliatella frolla, with English translate:

http://croce-delizia.blogspot.com/2011/01/sfogliatella-frolla.html