Walking into the shop this morning, I saw that the fellas
were making our Sfogliatelle again and I couldn’t resist sharing some history
on these Napolean treats.
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| Getting hand-shaped around the Ricotta mixture |
For those of you who are yet to try these tasty little gems
(pronounced “s-voy-a-dell”), you’re missing out. The pastries are created around a base of
organic Ricotta cheese, in-house zested orange peel, sweetened wheat and cream,
using a dough similar to a puff pastry.
The process of making Sfogliatelle is incredibly time consuming; first,
a dough that the French call pâte
feuilletée (feuilletée, like
Sfogliatelle, means “many leaves” or “many layers”) is created by hand. The dough is then rolled out on a large
table, brushed with butter, and rolled up into a log which individual disc
portions are cut from. These discs are
then shaped by hand around the special Ricotta cheese mixture and baked.
Because our Sfogliatelle are so popular, Robert has to make
them daily to keep up with demand.
Apparently people have been craving them this week, though, because this
is the second assembly-line style production of them we’ve had in a week!
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| On the racks waiting for the oven |
There are a few different interpretations of the origins of
Sfogliatelle, but we happen to believe what Mr. Joe did, so we’ll tell you that
story here. Back in the 17th
century, a nun at the Carmelite convent of Santa Croce di Lucca in Naples had
leftover semolina that she had cooked in milk.
As it was a sin to throw away food, she started adding things to her
leftovers—cinnamon, Ricotta cheese and orange blossom water helped to thicken and
enrich the mixture, which she then wrapped in a dough that she made using
leftover bread dough and lard. The
original shape was supposed to resemble a nun’s wimple, though today people
frequently refer to the pastry as a “lobster tail,” “clam shell” or “eggplant.”
The resulting creation was hailed by
the Abbess of the convent as one of the most delicious things she had tasted,
so she determined that the treats should be shared with the outside world.
That being said, the nuns were forbidden to have contact
with the outside world; part of their covenant with God was to stay cloistered
at the Convent. It is said that the only
nuns who were allowed to have contact at the convent of Santa Croce di Lucca
were those who were family members of a rich prince who donated large sums to
the convent. The recipe for making
Sfogliatelle is supposed to have left the convent walls after one of these
visits and travelled up and down the coast of Italy, growing in popularity and
fame.
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| A completed tray of Sfogliatelle |
Many variations of the Sfogliatelle now exist—some are
smooth rather than having the many crunchy layers of the original recipe, some
are filled with a sweet custard instead of the Ricotta we favor, and most
recently, Italian chefs have begun using the Sfogliatelle shape and dough as a
vehicle for many other savory applications—but we like to stick to Giuseppe’s
original recipe from Naples and hold close to our traditional roots. Next time you’re in the mood for a pastry to
enjoy over your morning coffee, stop by and try one of our most popular treats! (Or, if you’re out of town, you can click
here to order some for shipping!)
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| Ready for shipping! |
We hope your week has been fulfilling and that your weekend
plans are filled with whatever it is you need to restore yourself. Thank you for being a part of our lives. We’re
thinking of you!
Termini Brothers Bakery
