Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer with dough hook
• •Large clean work surface for stretching dough
• •Rolling pin
• •Sharp chef's knife
• •Medium saucepan
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Parchment-lined baking sheets

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, water, salt, and honey. Mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms, then increase to medium and knead for 10 minutes. The dough should be very smooth, elastic, and quite stiff. It will resist you. This is correct. Wrap tightly in plastic and rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.

   The dough must be stiff enough to stretch without tearing. If it feels slack or sticky, you have added too much water. There is no remedy but to begin again.
2. 2

   Prepare the filling

   While the dough rests, make the filling. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the semolina in a thin stream, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is very thick and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Let cool for 10 minutes.

3. 3

   Complete the filling

   Beat the egg yolks into the cooled semolina one at a time. Fold in the drained ricotta until smooth, then add the candied orange peel, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. The filling should be thick enough to hold its shape. Transfer to a bowl, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and refrigerate until completely cold, at least 2 hours.

   The ricotta must be drained overnight in a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Wet ricotta makes wet filling, and wet filling destroys crisp pastry.
4. 4

   Stretch the dough

   Clear a large work surface and have the softened lard ready. Divide the dough into four pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll it into a rough rectangle, then begin stretching it with your hands. Work from the center outward, using the backs of your hands, letting the weight of the dough help stretch itself. The dough must become so thin you can see through it. This takes practice and patience. Do not rush.

   Traditional Neapolitan pastry makers stretch the dough over their forearms, spinning it like pizza dough. You may use a large pasta machine on its thinnest setting if your arms fail you, though the texture will differ slightly.
5. 5

   Laminate with lard

   Spread a very thin layer of softened lard over the entire surface of the stretched dough, using your hands or a pastry brush. The layer should be nearly translucent. Starting from one short end, roll the dough tightly into a log, keeping constant tension. The roll should be about 2 inches in diameter. Repeat with remaining dough pieces, placing each roll seam-side down. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

6. 6

   Shape the shells

   Using a sharp knife, slice the chilled log into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. You will see the spiral of layers clearly. Working quickly while the dough is cold, hold a round in both hands with your thumbs in the center. Push your thumbs outward and forward while cupping the edges with your fingers, creating a cone shape. The layers should fan out like a shell. The cone should be about 3 inches deep with thin walls. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

7. 7

   Fill the pastries

   Spoon about 2 tablespoons of cold filling into each shell, filling it to just below the rim. Do not overfill, or the filling will leak during baking. Press the edges gently to seal, pinching the top closed. The pastry should resemble a ridged clamshell. Refrigerate the filled pastries for 20 minutes before baking.

   Keep the filling and shaped shells cold at all times. If the lard melts, the layers will fuse and you will have lost the characteristic texture.
8. 8

   Bake until deeply golden

   Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Bake the sfogliatelle for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until deeply golden brown and the layers are visibly crisp. Underbaked sfogliatelle are a tragedy: pale, soft, and heavy. You want shattering crispness. Remove to a wire rack and dust generously with confectioners' sugar while still warm. Serve within hours.

Chef Tips

• •Lard is not optional. Butter melts at too low a temperature and does not create the same separation between layers. Leaf lard, rendered from the fat around pig kidneys, is the finest quality. Ask your butcher or render it yourself.
• •The dough-stretching takes practice. Your first attempts will likely tear. This is normal. The dough can be patched by overlapping torn edges, but a hole-free sheet produces superior pastry.
• •Sfogliatelle must be eaten the day they are baked, preferably within hours. They cannot be stored. They cannot be reheated successfully. This is why Neapolitan bakeries make them fresh throughout the day.
• •If you lack the confidence to stretch dough by hand, a pasta machine on its thinnest setting produces acceptable results. Purists will disapprove. I will not tell them if you do not.
• •The filling can be made with a combination of candied orange and candied citron for a more complex citrus flavor. Use what the nuns would have had: whatever grew in the garden.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. It stretches more easily when slightly chilled.
• •The filling must be made at least 2 hours ahead to chill completely. It can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
• •The laminated dough logs can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for 1 month. Slice while still very cold.
• •Shaped and filled sfogliatelle can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours before baking, but no longer. The filling will begin to soften the layers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)