Sfogliatella
intro
Crisp, flaky shell-shaped Neapolitan pastry layered with butter, filled with sweet citrus-kissed ricotta, an iconic Italian holiday bakery treat.
Ingredients
Steps
Mix the pastry dough
Combine 400g all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Pour in 180ml room-temperature water, mix on low speed for 8 minutes until a smooth, extremely stiff, non-tacky dough ball forms. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour to relax gluten.
Stretch and laminate dough
Unwrap the rested dough, cut into 4 equal portions. Flatten each portion and run through a pasta machine, starting on the widest setting and gradually reducing the roller gap until you produce 1mm-thick, translucent dough sheets roughly 30cm (12 inches) long. Spread 250g softened unsalted butter evenly over the entire surface of each sheet, stack the buttered sheets, then roll tightly into a uniform 5cm (2 inch) diameter log. Wrap the log in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours until completely firm.
Prepare the ricotta filling
While the dough chills, bring the remaining 240ml water to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in 100g semolina flour, reduce heat to low, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until a thick, smooth paste forms. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, and let cool to room temperature. Stir in 350g fully drained ricotta, 120g granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon orange zest, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until completely smooth. Chill until ready to use.
Cut and shape shells
Remove the chilled dough log from the fridge, trim the uneven ends, then cut the log into 1.5cm (0.6 inch) thick slices, making roughly 16 total slices. Working one slice at a time, use your thumbs to press into the center of each cut disc, stretching the thin layered dough outward from the center to form a 7cm (2.75 inch) wide cone-shaped shell, keeping the ridged layered edges intact.
Fill and seal pastries
Spoon 1 heaped tablespoon (about 25g) of the chilled ricotta filling into each formed dough cone. Gently press the open edges of the dough together to seal, crimping lightly to create the signature curved, shell-like sfogliatella shape. Arrange the filled pastries 5cm (2 inches) apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake until crisp and golden
Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) while the filled pastries rest for 15 minutes at room temperature. Bake for 25-28 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through, until the pastries are deep golden brown, with visible flaky crisp layers, and the filling is set. Remove from oven, let cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then dust lightly with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar before serving.
Tips
2.Keep the laminated dough log thoroughly chilled before slicing and shaping; if the butter softens to room temperature, the thin dough layers will stick together and fail to puff into distinct, flaky ridges during baking.
3.Avoid overfilling the pastry shells; using more than 25g (1 heaped tablespoon) of filling per shell will cause it to leak out during baking, burn on the tray, and break the pastry’s signature shell shape.
OMG, I’ve been chasing that perfect bakery sfogliatella taste since I tried one in Little Italy last summer, and this recipe DELIVERED! Yes, it’s time consuming and the lamination took me a couple tries to get right, but that flaky, crispy shell with that creamy ricotta filling? *Chef’s kiss* My whole family fought over the last one at Sunday dinner. 10/10 will be making again for our next potluck!
Full transparency: I’m a total newbie baker and I drastically underestimated how hard the lamination step was. My first two batches of dough turned into a buttery mess, but my third try actually came out looking like real sfogliatella! Tasted amazing even if my layers weren’t as perfect as the photos. Pro tip for other newbies: clear your whole afternoon for this, don’t try to squeeze it in between errands like I did the first time.
Made these for my office potluck yesterday and people were asking me for the recipe before they even finished their first bite! The orange zest in the filling is such a game changer, I never would have thought to add that but it cuts the richness of the ricotta so perfectly. Only note: make double the batch, they disappear FAST.
Wait, hold on—my nonna’s sfogliatella recipe uses semolina in the filling, and I didn’t see that here? I tried this version anyway for my book club and it was still SO good, but I missed that slightly grainy texture I grew up with. Did anyone else add semolina or tweak the filling at all?
Meal prepped these on Sunday for the week’s breakfast treats and they held up way better than I expected! I stored them in an airtight container and popped them in the toaster oven for 2 minutes each morning, and they were just as flaky as the day I baked them. My kids loved them so much they asked if we can have them every weekend from now on.
I’ve made croissants and laminated pastries a dozen times so I thought this would be a breeze, but wow that dough stretching step is no joke! My arm was sore by the time I got it thin enough to see through, but the payoff was unreal. The crunch on those layers is better than any sfogliatella I’ve bought at the fancy Italian bakery 20 minutes from my house. Worth every minute of effort.
Uh, quick question—my sfogliatella oozed a ton of butter out onto the baking sheet while they were in the oven? Did I do something wrong? They still tasted fine but there was so much melted butter everywhere, my smoke alarm went off halfway through baking lmao.
I had sfogliatella for the first time on a trip to Naples last year and I’ve been craving it ever since, so I was so excited to try this recipe! It took me almost 4 hours total (had to stop a couple times to let the dough rest longer because my kitchen was super warm) but when I took that first bite? I was immediately transported back to that little seaside cafe. The cinnamon and citrus balance is exactly what I remembered. 100% worth the time and effort.