Neapolitan Sfogliatelle

Instructions

Make the Filling

1. Cook semolina base: In a large pot, add water, salt, and sugar. Bring to a simmer. Sift the semolina over the simmering water and stir. Cook until smooth and thick (about 2 minutes).
2. Add ricotta: Reduce heat to low (mixture will bubble and splatter if not). Add ricotta and continue cooking for about 3 more minutes on low heat.
3. Finish filling: Add egg yolks, citron (if using), cinnamon, vanilla, and orange zest. Stir until combined and heat for another minute or two.
4. Cool: Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until needed. The filling will thicken more as it cools.

Make the Dough

5. Mix dough: Place flour and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix water and honey. Add honey water slowly to the salt-flour mixture. Mix with your hands to form a dough—it will be stiff and dry.
6. Rest dough: Cover the dough with a tea towel or bowl and let rest for 30 minutes. This makes kneading easier.
7. Divide and knead: Cut the dough into 6 pieces. Run each piece through the largest setting of your pasta machine about 8 to 10 times, folding the dough after each pass. Each piece should be smooth before moving on.
8. Chill: Cover dough pieces with slightly damp towel or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours before the next step.

Form the Dough Cylinder

9. Roll super thin: Run each piece through the pasta machine on consecutively smaller settings until the dough is very thin (about 1mm). Go to the smallest setting when using high-gluten flour, or setting "6" when using bread flour.
10. Prepare fat: Whip the butter with the shortening until combined.
11. Grease first sheet: Lay the first rolled sheet flat on a long work surface (5-6 feet is ideal). Paint/grease the top of the dough sheet by smearing a thin layer of the butter-shortening mixture all over it.
12. Roll tightly: Begin to roll it up into a cigar/cylinder shape by tightly rolling it starting from the short end. Gently stretch the width (aim for about 9 to 10 inches in width) and pull tightly as you roll to ensure there are no gaps.
13. Add remaining sheets: Repeat with each remaining piece of dough, greasing and adding to the roll to make one large roll. You will end up with a cylinder that is about 8 to 9 inches long.
14. Chill cylinder: Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm (or freeze for up to 1 month).

Shape and Bake

15. Preheat oven: Heat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
16. Slice: Slice the dough log into ½-inch slices. You should have about 16 to 18 slices. Trim off the pointy ends.
17. Flatten: On a clean work surface, flatten each slice by gently pressing from the center outwards, in all directions. You should end up with a circle that is about 4 to 5 inches wide.
18. Form cone: Take each circle and form a small cone by pressing your thumbs in the center and up around all the sides. Gently slide the layers away from each other to create the shell shape.
19. Fill: Place filling in a pastry bag with a 1-inch round tip, or simply spoon it into the cone. Fill the cone to the top. The filling should be thick enough not to ooze out—no need to seal.
20. Bake: Place filled pastries on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 360°F and continue baking until deep gold color (a total of about 25 minutes). You may baste once or twice with remaining grease during baking if desired.
21. Serve: Serve warm, dusted with powdered sugar. To reheat later, place in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes.