A delicious breakfast or afternoon snack, typical of Nothern Italy.
Ingredients
500 flour (200g Manitoba, 300g flour type “00” )
150g natural yeast, refreshed and doubled in volume
140g milk
90g sugar
3 eggs
55g butter
zest of a lemon (or an orange)
1/2tsp honey
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla powder
Filling:
Extra butter at room temperature (~100g) and sugar (~100g)
Tools
Dough mixer (not necessary)
Rolling pin
Spatula
Food brush
Container to host the first rising
Cake mold
Knife
Cling foil
Procedure
Mix the milk and the yeast into a foamy liquid. Add the flour and all the other ingredients progressively, until you have composed a soft dough. Fold a few times and leave it to rise at 26°C/79°F until doubled in volume. If your yeast is in good shape, this should take ~4h.
Spread a thin layer of flour or oil on the counter, so that the dough will not stick to it. Take the dough and gently work it on the previously treated counter. With a rolling pin, stretch it into a rectangle at least 25cm/10” tall, about 71cm/28” long and 1cm/0.3” thick.
Mix the extra butter and sugar, then homogeneously spread the mixture onto the rectangle with the spatula. Make sure you leave a couple centimeters of “naked” dough on one of the two long sides. Make a roll of the whole rectangle, starting from the long side opposite to the naked one. Cut into 7 equal smaller rolls (these are the roses!).
Grease the cake mold and place the roses in it, cut-side-up — six around the perimeter and one in the middle.
Set aside at 26°C/79°F for the second rising.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and bake for 45min.
Enjoy your Torta delle Rose!