Neapolitan Sfogliatelle

Sfogliatelle are classic Italian (Neapolitan) pastries that are typically served warm. On the outside, there are hundreds of buttery, crisp, and flaky layers; on the inside, a warm, rich citrus and vanilla filling thickened with semolina and ricotta. If you are up for a baking challenge, this recipe is for you! The results are very worthwhile!

History and Background

Originally created by an Italian nun, the sfogliatelle have been in existence for over 400 years old!

The challenge in making sfogliatella lies in the many layers needed, created by proper lamination, that crisp up into a beautiful, crackly, multi-layered shell that holds the thick, flavorful, sweetened cheese and semolina filling.

A pasta machine is required to get the dough thin enough, before rolling it up into a tight cylinder to achieve all those beautiful layers!

A variation of this pastry is called a lobster tail pastry, which contains a different filling (sweetened whipped cream and ricotta) along with a choux dough (pate a choux, cream puff dough) inside the laminated layers, which puffs up and allows the baker to fill the pastries after they have been baked, much like a cream puff. It is off-the-hook delicious!

Overview

For crafting these pastries, prepare a thick filling and the dough for the outer shell. The robust consistency of the filling is crucial to ensure the pastries puff up, achieving their signature clam-like shape.

Sfogliatelle dough is rolled out extremely thin, almost paper-like, and then liberally greased before being rolled into a tight cylinder. This cylinder is then sliced into discs, flattened, and filled with a sweet ricotta mixture before baking.

Ingredients for the Filling

Making the Filling

• Add water, salt, and sugar to a large sauce pan, simmer, and then sift semolina into the water mixture.
• Heat and stir until thickened.
• Afterwards, add the ricotta and continue cooking for a few minutes

• Add the yolks, and the remaining ingredients.
• Stir and cook for a couple more minutes.
• Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic, and store in the refrigerator after it has cooled down.

Ingredients for the Sfogliatelle Shell

Overview of Making the Shell

Mixing

• This dough is very dry and stiff. This is intentional and will result in the crispy layers that make this pastry so special.
• Leaving it rest for a bit after mixing the ingredients will make kneading easier (which I do with the pasta machine).
• Speaking of kneading, you will need a rolling pin and a pasta machine to make these.
• After mixing the dough, let the dough rest, covered with a bowl or tea towel, for about 30 minutes.
• Then, cut the dough into about 6 pieces and use the rolling pin to get each piece as smooth as you can before switching to the pasta machine to knead.
• Use the largest setting on your pasta machine and run each piece of dough through about 6 or 7 times until the dough is very smooth. Cover the dough to prevent drying out.

Making the Cylinder/Roll

• Making the roll is the most laborious part of this recipe; make sure you have enough time and patience before you start!!!
• You will run each of the 6 pieces of dough through the pasta machine from largest to smallest setting.
• On my pasta machine, I stop at the “6” setting (second to last/thinnest) but have also gone to the thinnest setting when using very strong flour (14% protein)
• After you have run the dough through the smallest setting, apply a thin layer of grease to the top side of the dough and then roll up, jelly roll style, to form a shape that looks like a cigar, taking care to keep roll as tight as possible.
• Before rolling, gently increase the width of each piece of dough (aim for 9 to 10 inches in width) by stretching it.
• Repeat this process for each of the 6 pieces of dough, and add the new layers onto the cylinder to make one large roll.
• Grease the outside of the roll generously and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Cutting and Filling

• Unwrap the dough roll and prepare to cut.
• Cut the ends off and then slice the roll into 1/2 inch thick slices. You should get about 16 to 18 from this recipe.
• Using the palm of your hand, gently flatten each circle from the center outward all around, until it is about 4 or 5 inches in diameter.
• Take each flattened circle and form into a cone shape by pressing thumbs into center and then around all edges while rotating. You may use extra shortening to help if desired.
• Fill each cone with the semolina-ricotta filling and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
• There is no need to seal the pastries, although I overfilled mine (don’t do this!)

Tips for Success

• Use bread flour or stronger (13% protein or higher)
• Let the dough rest if it is too difficult to roll. The gluten will relax as the dough rests making it easier to work.
• Definitely make this recipe in stages (day 1, day 2 at least); Making the filling is relatively easy as is cutting and filling the pastries. You will need lots of time, patience, and energy to make the cylinder/roll (which involves many many many rounds of running the dough through the pasta machine).
• Consider using a rolling pin to gather the dough as it comes off of the pasta machine during the thinning stage.
• Since we cut the dough into 6 pieces, the length of each shouldn’t be too too long but it helps to work on a large workspace (5 to 6 feet in length) if possible.
• You can use a mixture of butter and shortening to add flavor to shell. Others use lard in place of shortening.
• Make sure the filling is thick like a paste; the thickness is needed to prevent flat pastries. The filling will thicken as it cools, but feel free to add a few tablespoons extra of semolina if the mixture seems too thin.

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