Torcettini are smaller versions of Torcetti (meaning small twists), and these pear/ teardrop shaped twists are made of a dough of flour, yeast and butter which are shaped and then rolled in sugar before being baked. These biscuits are synonymous with the town of Saint Vincent in Valle d'Aosta, a small mountainous region in North-Western Italy, even though they’re well known throughout the Piedmont region as well.
The origin of these biscuits is believed to
be from Grissini (breadsticks) which were made from the leftover scraps of
bread dough. According to one story, a Grissini baker had some leftover butter
which he needed to use up. Inspiration struck and he decided to add the butter
to the last batch of his Grissini dough for the day. To be able to
differentiate this lot of “breadsticks”, he rolled them in sugar and shaped
them into loops, and the Torcetti was born. Torcetti/ Torchettini taste even
better when they’re flavoured with lime/ lemon zest or anise.
These biscuits are crunchy, not very sweet
and pair very well with cold milk, hot chocolate, tea/ coffee or wine. They are
delicious served warm and equally good cold, and keep very well if stored in airtight
containers. Apparently, Queen Margaret, the wife of King Umberto I of Savoy loved
these biscuits so much during her stay in Valle d'Aosta, that she gave her
servants enough provisions to bake an abundant supply for her consumption.
Aparna chose these cookies for our group We Knead to Bake. Provided us with detailed recipe and photos.. We all had fun baking these. Check out Aparna's post and other bloggers in our group here
Aparna chose these cookies for our group We Knead to Bake. Provided us with detailed recipe and photos.. We all had fun baking these. Check out Aparna's post and other bloggers in our group here
Torcettini di Saint Vincent
(Adpated from A Baker’s Tour by Nick
Malgieri)
Ingredients
Warm water, about 110F 1/2 cup
Active dry yeast 11/4 tsp
All purpose flour
Salt 1/4 tsp
Lime/ lemon zest (replace with orange
zest for the chocolate version)
Unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces 40gm
Unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces 40gm
Sugar for rolling the cookies
Cocoa Powder 2 tbsp (for chocolate version)
Cocoa Powder 2 tbsp (for chocolate version)
Method of Preparation
1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, in a
small bowl and keep aside. If you are using Instant Yeast, add directly to flour.
2. Put the flour and the salt in the food processor bowl (or a largish regular bowl if kneading by hand) and pulse a couple of times to mix.
3. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the butter is well mixed and the flour-butter mixture looks powdery.
4. If making chocolate Torcetti, remove 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and add the 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder mentioned in the recipe. Don’t add the lemon zest/ anise. Use orange zest and maybe add 1/ 2 tsp instant coffee powder with the flour.
5. Add the yeast-water mixture and pulse till it all comes together as a ball. Do not over process or knead. Place the ball of dough in a oiled bowl, turning it so it is well coated with the oil. Cover the bowl, and let the dough rise quite a bit.
6. This dough does not really double in volume, but it should look “puffy” after about an hour or so. When you pinch off a bit from the top you can see the interior looking a bit like honeycomb. Press down the dough and deflate it, wrap it in cling warp and refrigerate it for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.
7. When ready to make the cookies, take the dough out and lightly roll it out into an approximately 6” square. If the dough feels sticky, scatter a little sugar on it.
8. Using a pizza wheel cut the dough into four strips of equal width. Cut each strip into 6 equal pieces, by cutting across, making a total of 24 pieces. The measurements are not very critical in this part because this just makes it easier to have 24 equal sized bits of dough, as compared to pinching of bits of the dough.
9. Roll each piece into a pencil thick “rope” about 5” long. Sprinkle a little sugar on your work surface and roll the “rope” in it so the sugar crusts the dough uniformly. Form the “rope” into a loop crossing it over before the ends.
10. Place the Torcettini on parchment lined baking sheets, leaving 1 1/2" between them. Leave them for about 20 minutes or so till they rise/ puff up slightly. Don’t worry, they will not “puff up” much.
11. Bake them at 160C (325F) for about 25 minutes till they’re a nice golden brown. Cool the cookies completely, on a rack. Store them in an air-tight container at room temperature. This recipe makes 24 biscuits.
Other Breads baked as part of the group - We Knead to Bake
January : Whole Grain Pull Apart Bread with tomato-onion chutney spread
February : Classic Croissants
March : Muffin Rolls (Hokkaido Milk Bread) With Tangzhong
Hot Cross Buns - Easter Recipe - Tangzhong Method
2. Put the flour and the salt in the food processor bowl (or a largish regular bowl if kneading by hand) and pulse a couple of times to mix.
3. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the butter is well mixed and the flour-butter mixture looks powdery.
4. If making chocolate Torcetti, remove 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and add the 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder mentioned in the recipe. Don’t add the lemon zest/ anise. Use orange zest and maybe add 1/ 2 tsp instant coffee powder with the flour.
5. Add the yeast-water mixture and pulse till it all comes together as a ball. Do not over process or knead. Place the ball of dough in a oiled bowl, turning it so it is well coated with the oil. Cover the bowl, and let the dough rise quite a bit.
6. This dough does not really double in volume, but it should look “puffy” after about an hour or so. When you pinch off a bit from the top you can see the interior looking a bit like honeycomb. Press down the dough and deflate it, wrap it in cling warp and refrigerate it for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.
7. When ready to make the cookies, take the dough out and lightly roll it out into an approximately 6” square. If the dough feels sticky, scatter a little sugar on it.
8. Using a pizza wheel cut the dough into four strips of equal width. Cut each strip into 6 equal pieces, by cutting across, making a total of 24 pieces. The measurements are not very critical in this part because this just makes it easier to have 24 equal sized bits of dough, as compared to pinching of bits of the dough.
9. Roll each piece into a pencil thick “rope” about 5” long. Sprinkle a little sugar on your work surface and roll the “rope” in it so the sugar crusts the dough uniformly. Form the “rope” into a loop crossing it over before the ends.
10. Place the Torcettini on parchment lined baking sheets, leaving 1 1/2" between them. Leave them for about 20 minutes or so till they rise/ puff up slightly. Don’t worry, they will not “puff up” much.
11. Bake them at 160C (325F) for about 25 minutes till they’re a nice golden brown. Cool the cookies completely, on a rack. Store them in an air-tight container at room temperature. This recipe makes 24 biscuits.
January : Whole Grain Pull Apart Bread with tomato-onion chutney spread
February : Classic Croissants
March : Muffin Rolls (Hokkaido Milk Bread) With Tangzhong
Hot Cross Buns - Easter Recipe - Tangzhong Method
Rosh take my advice and get neel to roll some chocolate ones of these too and he ll love you more than ever. But i so regret not making these esp. after looking at your cookies. Envious!
ReplyDeleteSuper Rosh, loving ur stepwise pics..You have done beautifully.
ReplyDelete