Peeta ‘Mpigliata

Today Jake and I made Pitta ‘Mpigliata.

We started with making the filling which consisted of chopped walnuts, chopped dried cranberries, sugar, honey, and cinnamon.

Pitta ‘Mpigliata Filling

After mixing the filling together, we went on to make the dough. We combined flour, sugar, and baking powder in a stand mixer. We then slowly added 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of red cooking wine. After, we added one egg yolk and 1/4 cup of olive oil. We mixed it until the dough was no longer sticky.

Dough

We let it sit for about 25 minutes, then rolled it out on a floured surface, spread honey on the dough and sprinkled the filling on the dough.

We cut the dough into 3-4 inch rows

and rolled them into what was supposed to be roses but looked more like geraniums, put them on baking sheets and stuck them in the oven for 30 minutes.

We took them out, egg washed them, and stuck them back in for another 15 minutes. When we took them out, they had a nice golden brown to them.

We let them cool and cut into them. They were delicious.

The protein content of cake flour is about 8% which is very low for flour. This kept the amount of gluten that could be made at a smaller amount. It also allowed for a different, slightly doughier texture to the dough.

The olive oil prevented too much more gluten from being made after it was added and helped it gain the non-sticky texture we were gearing for.

The baking powder was what allowed the dough to rise. It was what made the dough puff and if it had been omitted, the dough would’ve been flat and the pitta ‘mpigliata would have been sad foods.