Brioche dough

Brioche dough

  • Ingredients

    • 1 kg of medium-strength flour w240-280
    • 100 g of butter
    • 100 g of sugar
    • 20 g of honey
    • 15 g of salt
    • 1 yolk + 1 whole egg, about 65 g
    • Vanilla
    • Grated zest of 1 lemon or 1 orange
    • 30 g of yeast
    • About 450 g of water
  • Difficulty Level:
  • Ready in about 2 hours

Procedure

FOR CREAM BOMBLONI, SICILIAN CARTOCCI (MACALLÈ) AND TRECCINE

 

CREAM BOMBLONI

In the mixer, add 400 g of water, all the flour, sugar, honey, eggs, grated zest, vanilla, and fresh yeast. Mix at speed 3 for about 5 minutes, until the dough begins to gain structure. After the first 5 minutes, gradually add the salt and remaining water in a thin stream, increasing the speed to 8/10 for another 5 minutes. Finally, incorporate all the softened butter, allowing it to absorb and complete the dough.

 

Place the bombolone dough in a previously greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until the volume has doubled.

 

After the time has passed, knead the dough for a few minutes, dust with flour, and roll it out with a rolling pin to obtain a sheet at least 1.5-2 cm thick.

 

To shape the cream bomboloni, use a round cutter to form discs of 8 cm in diameter. If you don’t have a cutter, a glass works perfectly.

 

Place the discs on a baking sheet, knead the remaining dough again, and make more discs; with this amount, you should get about 12/13.

 

Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap, then cover them with another baking sheet; this way, they will flatten. Let them rise for about half an hour or until doubled in size.

 

In a deep pan, pour in the frying oil and turn on the heat. Wait until the oil is hot (the ideal temperature is 170°).

 

Prepare a plate with sugar and start frying. Turn them a couple of times until they are nicely golden; they will visibly puff up. Drain and place them on absorbent paper, and while still warm, coat them in sugar.

 

They can be served this way or filled with cream.

 

SICILIAN CARTOCCI (MACALLÈ)

Cartocci, also known as macallè, are soft fried brioche pastries similar in shape to cannoli and cialdoni.

As requested as these other delicacies of Sicilian pastry, cartocci are also filled with ricotta cream enriched with chocolate chips. Sold by every bar, pastry shop, and bakery in Sicily, they are mainly consumed at breakfast.

 

Ingredients for Ricotta Cream

  • 400 g of sheep ricotta
  • 180 g of granulated sugar
  • 100 g of chocolate chips
  • 1/2 packet of vanillin

 

Procedure for Ricotta Cream

Put the sheep ricotta in a colander to drain and place it in the refrigerator until it loses the whey. Then, sift it through a fine mesh colander, pressing the ricotta with a ladle and spatula to eliminate all lumps and obtain a soft cream. Add the sugar and mix well with a ladle until you achieve a creamy consistency. Do not add the chocolate chips now; only add them at the end, or they will melt into the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

 

For the Cartocci Pastry

In the mixer, add 400 g of water, all the flour, sugar, honey, eggs, grated zest, vanilla, and fresh yeast. Mix at speed 3 for about 5 minutes, until the dough begins to gain structure. After the first 5 minutes, add the salt and remaining water in a thin stream, increasing the speed to 8/10 for another 5 minutes. Finally, incorporate all the softened butter, allowing it to absorb and complete the dough.

 

Place the cartocci dough in a previously greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until the volume has doubled.

 

Now take a baking tray that will hold the fried cartocci, cover it with a sheet of baking paper, and brush the baking paper with oil. Take a traditional cannolo tube or empty cannoli tubes, grease them with butter or seed oil.

 

After the rising time, divide the dough into pieces of about 60 g each and shape each piece into a 30 cm long rope. Take the rope and wrap it around the cannolo tube, overlapping the ends to secure the dough (you can use a cannolo tube or one with straight cuts), trying to make at least three turns. When twisting the rope around the tube, do not pull the dough; gently wrap it around the tube, leaving about half a cm of space at both ends; during the rising phase, the cartoccio will fill that space. Place the cartocci on the tray lined with baking paper and brushed with oil. Cover the cartocci with plastic wrap and let them rise again for about 1 hour.

 

After this time, the cartocci will have increased in volume. Now proceed with frying. Place seed oil in a tall pot with a diameter of 22 cm and heat it (about 1.5 liters of oil will be needed); it is important that the oil temperature does not exceed 170°; otherwise, they risk being raw inside. Fry the cartocci, immersing them in the pot with tongs and turning them often, removing them when they are browned but not burnt. Each cartoccio will need about 6-7 minutes of cooking.

 

Completing the Sicilian Cartocci

Place them on a sheet of absorbent paper to remove excess oil and let them cool slightly. Remove the tubes by gently twisting them, and while still warm, roll them in granulated sugar so that the sugar sticks to the outside of the cartoccio.

 

Take the pastry cream filling; alternatively, fill with ricotta cream and chocolate chips. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a smooth or star-shaped nozzle and fill the cartocci. Your fried cartocci are now ready to be enjoyed.