Do you want a Pitta me?: Pitta ‘Mpigliata Week!

Moving into sweets, this week we made pitta ‘mpigliata! – or as I call them, Italian cinnamon rolls! This is the perfect sweet treat to make for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day – after all, who wouldn’t want to be presented with a bouquet of roses? An edible bouquet at that!

Ingredients:

To make the delicious dough, you will need:

• 1/2 pound (about 2-1/4 cups) of cake flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk (save the whites so you can whip them into an egg wash for a later step!)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder

And the ingredients for the sweet stuffing requires the following:

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 zested lemon peel
• 1 cup of finely chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup of chopped raisins or craisins (dried cranberries)

Now that you have all the ingredients, let’s start by making the stuffing.

Steps to make the stuffing:

1. If your nuts or dried fruit weren’t pre-chopped, make sure to chop them
2. Zest the lemon
3. In a bowl, mix all the stuffing ingredients together. Add extra cinnamon or sugar to taste if you would like.
4. Once all the ingredients have been finely incorporated, set the mixture aside and begin making the dough

The Dough-lightful Process:

1. Attach the dough hook to your mixer
2. In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, and baking powder
3. Slowly add the water, and then the wine a little at a time as the stand mixer is running at a low/low medium speed.
4. Gradually add the egg yolk and then the olive oil. Beat the egg whites lightly and set aside for use as a wash during baking.
5. Continue kneading for a few minutes. When done, the dough should be smooth and elastic, like so:
   
   Do not exceed 10 minutes of kneading. The dough may end up too tough that way! Check to make sure the dough is not sticky.
6. Place your dough in a bowl (make sure to cover it so it doesn’t lose moisture!) and allow it to rest for a few minutes.

How to Roll the ‘Roses’:

1. Prepare your garden! Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray
2. Place your dough onto a clean, lightly floured countertop and roll it out using a rolling pin. The dough only needs to be ⅛ of an inch thick and it needs to be rolled into a rectangular shape.
    
3. Once you have your thin rectangle of dough, drizzle additional honey on the dough and smear it around with the back of a spoon that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Sprinkle the filling all over the sheet of dough.
    
5. Using a fluted cutting wheel, slice the rectangle into 3-4 inch wide strips that are ~12 inches long



6. For each strip, fold the long edge of the dough over to trap the stuffing inside, as if you are tucking the stuffing in for bed (now the strip of dough will be ~2 inches wide).
7. Roll the stuffed strip (not too tight) into a coil, then place on its side on the baking sheet and peel back the dough a bit to show the filling. Place the roses next to one another on the baking sheet.

 

Baking your Bouquet:

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
   2. Once at this temperature, bake the rolls for 25 minutes
   3. Brush the pastry with the egg wash we made before
   4. Bake the pastry for an additional 15 minutes (40 minutes baketime total) and viola! A dazzling and delicious bouquet!

Our video review! The password is cinnamonroll!

Questions!:

We’ve been asked the following questions by one of our viewers:

1) What is the protein content of cake flour and why is that significant to this recipe?

Cake flour is approximately 7-8% protein, the least of the flours, and the fact that it has a low protein content makes it the perfect flour to use to make cakes, muffins, pancakes, as it produces a tender crumb.

2) A basic bread recipe involves mixing flour with water. The pitta ‘mpigliata contains ¼ cup of olive oil! But the oil is added shortly after the water and before kneading the dough. What is the chemical effect of this addition of oil to the recipe?

This recipe had a limited gluten formation, as olive oil inhibits the formation of gluten, but there was still gluten present as we added water and flour BEFORE the olive oil! The addition of the olive oil made the dough shiny and elastic not sticky, and the olive oil kept the layers of the roll separate. You could tell when the rolls came out of the oven that the layers were separate and distinct, thus allowing the beautiful rose shape, and this is because of the olive oil. Who knew!

3) What is the chemical effect of baking powder on this recipe? What would you expect to be the outcome if the baking powder were omitted?

The baking powder is used as an agent to rise the pastry instead of yeast. If there were no baking powder, we’d have a sad, flat, un-risen pastry! And for this recipe we want our roses to bloom, not fall flat!