On the ground floor of historic Hinchcliff House is Grana — an all-day bakery and eatery serving our Allpress Espresso Blend for lunch through to late dine-in evenings. The building has served multiple purposes in its 140-year life but is now a four-storey fine-dining experience.
We caught up with Head Pastry Chef Jonny Pisanelli to find out exactly what goes into their iconic sfogliatella pastry. Having spent years searching for the perfect pastry accompaniment to espresso, we’re feeling confident that Jonny’s recipe is the sweet treat you've been looking for too.
Dough Ingredients
500g strong flour
10g salt
10g honey
210g water
500g strutto(lard)
Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix until a smooth dough has formed. Wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough out as thin as possible (a pasta machine works wonders if you’ve got one). If the dough starts sticking to itself, dust it with flour.
Once as thin as possible, roll the dough up on a rolling pin. Spread lard all over the dough and roll up as thin as you can, creating a nice log of laminated dough.
Slide the rolling pin out, wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Filling Ingredients
750g water
15g salt
225g semolina
300g caster
500g ricotta
2 eggs
200g candied citron peel
Pinch cinnamon
Bring water and salt to a boil.
Slowly sprinkle semolina into the boiling water, whisking constantly. Once all sprinkled in, continue to cook for a minute or two, to evaporate as much of the water as possible.
Cool for 10 minutes before placing into mixing bowl with a paddle. Mix on medium speed while adding caster, ricotta and finally eggs. Make sure each addition is incorporated before the next. Finish the filling by adding the cinnamon and candied citron. Place in a bowl, wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
Take the log out of the fridge and cut into 1-1.5cm pieces. Using some lard, spread all over the slice, and using your thumbs sliding outwards, create a shell. Fill the shell with your ricotta/semolina custard and close afterward. Repeat with the remaining filling and slices of sfogliatelle.
Pre heat oven to 220c. Place the sfogliatelle on a tray lined with baking paper and spread them evenly with enough space between. Don’t overcrowd as this will bake them unevenly. Bake for 20-25mins at 220c until nice and golden.
Sprinkle with pure icing sugar once slightly cooled.
Best eaten warm or on the day.
