Neapolitan Sfogliatelle (Sfogliatelle Ricce)

5 from 6 votes

Neapolitan Sfogliatelle (Sfogliatelle Ricce)

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.

Prep Time6

Cook Time25

Total Time6 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 341kcal

Author: Marie Pinto Bialek

Equipment

Pasta machine required. I also have a motor on mine
Rolling Pin
Large work surface, 5 to 6 feet in length.

Ingredients

For the shells (dough)

500 grams bread flour (I used to use Sir Lancelot, a very high gluten King Arthur brand, but any good bread flour is absolutely fine here)
10 grams salt
185 grams water up to 200 grams

For the filling

225 mls water
200 grams sugar
5 grams salt
75 grams semolina
350 grams ricotta whole milk, drained overnight or squeezed dry in cheesecloth
3 large egg yolks
150 grams citron optional but traditional
1/4 tsp cinnamon or 1 tiny drop of cinnamon oil (this stuff is STRONG)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 small orange zest only

For laminating (greasing the dough layers)

200 grams lard or more if needed

To decorate

powdered sugar

Instructions

To Make the Filling

In a large pot, add water, salt, and sugar. Bring to a simmer.
Sift the semolina over the simmering water and stir (I use a fine mesh strainer). Cook until smooth and very thick (about 4 to 6 minutes). Reduce heat to low during this process (the mixture will bubble and splatter if not). This will form the base of the filling, and it must be very thick.
Add ricotta and continue cooking for about 3 more minutes on low heat.
Add egg yolks, citron (if using), cinnamon, vanilla, and orange zest and stir until combined and heat for another minute or two.
Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. After the filling has cooled, store in the refrigerator until needed. The filling will thicken more as it cools.

To Make the Dough

Tip: Using a kitchen scale ensures you have the perfect amounts of water and flour for the dough.
Place the flour in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl or cup, stir together the water and salt until the salt dissolves. Slowly add the salt water to the flour while mixing with your hands.
The dough will be very dry, stiff, and difficult to knead. This is normal. Rather than trying to knead it like bread dough, squeeze the mixture firmly in your hands, turning and squeezing repeatedly until most all the dry flour and loose pieces have been incorporated into a rough dough.
Cover the dough with a bowl or a clean, damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 1 hour. This rest helps hydrate the flour and makes the very stiff dough easier to work with.
A pasta machine is necessary for the next step. After resting, divide the dough into 2 pieces; it's much easier to work in segments than to feed one long strip through the machine. Squeeze and flatten each piece firmly with a rolling pin until it's narrow and thin enough to fit through setting 0 of your pasta machine.
I like to fold the dough to help develop it and pass through the thrid setting then vold and pass through thte zero setting
Keep the dough covered with a damp towel when you are not actively working with it.
Pass each piece through the machine a few times until it becomes smoother. Once each segment is smooth, overlap the ends slightly and press them together to join them into one long sheet.
After the dough has smoothed out, fold it up and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Place the wrapped dough in a plastic bag, remove as much air as possible, and seal.
Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or overnight before continuing with the rolling and shaping process.

Roll the Dough Thin (Sheeting the Dough)

Important: Read through the sheeting instructions completely before you begin. The dough gets very long as it becomes thinner, so knowing how you’ll handle, roll, and feed it through the machine ahead of time will make the process much easier.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit covered with a damp towel at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes, or until it is pliable enough to roll without cracking.
Set the pasta machine to setting 1 and pass the dough through. Continue rolling the dough one setting at a time, working from setting 1 through setting 9 on a Marcato Atlas machine. The final sheet should be approximately 0.5 mm thick. If using another pasta machine, use the setting that produces a sheet about 0.5 mm thick rather than relying on the setting number.

Use a Rolling Pin to Manage the Dough (Sheeting the Dough)

As the sheet becomes longer, managing it becomes much easier with a rolling pin. After passing the dough through setting 1, loosely roll the sheet around the rolling pin, dusting very lightly with flour only if needed to prevent sticking.
For each subsequent pass, position the rolling pin above the pasta machine with the end of the dough hanging down from the top of the pin. Carefully feed the dough into the rollers while allowing the rolling pin to unwind. After each pass, roll the sheet back onto the pin and repeat with the next setting.
Tip: A rolling pin with a barrel that spins independently of the handles makes this considerably easier because the dough can unwind smoothly while you hold the handles stationary.
I also strongly recommend using a motorized pasta machine for this step. The sheet becomes extremely long, and having both hands free to guide and support it makes the process much easier.

Grease and Roll

After the final pass, roll the finished sheet onto the rolling pin. To create a simple stand, rest each handle of the rolling pin on a small bag of flour. This keeps the barrel elevated so it can spin freely without compressing the dough.
Beginning at one end, unroll a small section of dough and lightly but thoroughly coat it with lard, making sure to reach all the way to the edges. As you work, gently stretch the dough widthwise to make the sheet slightly wider and thinner.
Roll the greased dough into a very tight cylinder, continuing to unroll, stretch, grease, and tightly roll the dough a little at a time. Keeping this roll tight is important for creating the characteristic thin, distinct layers of the sfogliatelle.
Once all the dough has been rolled, coat the entire cylinder generously with lard, including the ends. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Slice and Shape

Remove the chilled roll from the refrigerator. Trim away any uneven ends, then use a serrated bread knife to cut the cylinder into 12 to 14 even slices.
Generously grease both sides of each slice with lard and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
To shape each sfogliatella, hold a slice with the spiral facing you. Using your thumbs, gently press the center outward while gradually sliding the concentric layers past one another. Rotate the dough as you work so the layers open evenly rather than separating in one spot.
Continue gently pushing and stretching until the disk becomes an elongated, cone-shaped shell with a hollow center. Do not flatten or mash the layers together; you want them to remain distinct so they can separate and fan out during baking.

Fill and Bake the Pastries

Preheat the oven to 430 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Fill each shell generously with the chilled, firm filling, being careful not to overfill. Gently bring the open edges together around the filling. They do not need to be tightly sealed.
Arrange the pastries on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 430°F until deeply golden brown and crisp, about 20 to 25 minutes (begin checking pastries at 15 minutes).
Serve warm and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

Storage/Make Ahead

The rolled dough cylinder can be chilled for 2 days or frozen for 1 month.
Filling can be stored for 1 day in refrigerator.
Filled and unbaked sfogliatelle can be stored for 1 month frozen or 1 day ahead under refrigeration.

To Reheat

Place sfogliatelle in a 350-degree oven for about 10 min.

Video

Notes

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 rounds of running the dough through the pasta machine).
Use a rolling pin to gather the dough as it comes off of the pasta machine during the thinning stage.
Make sure the filling is thick like a paste; the thickness is needed to prevent flat pastries.

Nutrition