These cornetti dolci are slightly sweet, light, and amazingly airy. They are wonderful filled with jam or dusted with powdered sugar, or both!
These cornetti are made with a laminated dough, similar to croissants. From what I understand, both cornetti and croissants have similar roots. Cornetti, besides being Italian and not French, typically tend to be slightly sweeter, have eggs in the dough, are a little fatter in the middle, and often are baked with fillings such as apricot jam, almond paste, or pastry cream.
This turned out to be a pretty easy recipe for one with laminated dough. I tried a new method for adding the butter for the laminated dough, which turned out to be amazingly effective. I didn't have any issues with the butter escaping while I rolled out the dough, nor did any of the butter escape into a pool on the baking sheet during baking. Instead, it was magically absorbed into the light and flakey layers.
What is Laminated Dough?
It's dough that is rolled out with a layer of fat, typically butter, in between. The dough is folded and rolled several times, creating multiple airy layers. Everytime you fold and roll the dough, the number of layers grows exponentially and the dough layers become thinner and thinner. It's a pastry technique that sounds complicated but can be learned with practice. Plus, your friends will be so impressed!
When the butter melts in the oven, it creates steam from the water in it, which separates the layers to create a flakey pastry. It's pretty magical. You need to try your hand at it!
Ingredients in These Cornetti:
Yeast: You can use instant or active dry yeast. If you use active dry, just let it "bloom" in the water before mixing in the rest of the ingredients.
Water: It should be warm.
Butter: You will need a stick of butter for the dough and a pound of butter for the butter block.
Sugar.
Eggs: Two eggs for the dough and one for an egg wash.
Flour: You will need half bread flour and half all-purpose flour. You will also need flour for dusting as well as to add to the butter layer.
Salt.
Procedure to Make These Cornetti:
You can make this dough by hand or with a stand mixer. The stand mixer just makes it a little easier, especially when mixing the butter layer.
First, make the dough. Combine the yeast and water and then beat in the stick of butter, the sugar, and the eggs until everything is combined.
Next, add the flours and salt and mix with the paddle attachment for about a minute and a half. Turn out the dough and briefly knead by hand. Then, let the dough rise until doubled.
After that, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it chill overnight. Be sure to wrap it securely because the dough will expand in the fridge and look like a big bouncy ball (see below).
To prepare the butter layer, beat cold butter with about a cup of flour and then wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill.
To enclose the butter, roll out the dough into a 20 by 12 inch rectangle and then dot 2/3 of it with 1/2 inch pieces of the butter (this is a new technique to me and it worked amazingly). Then, fold the dough over into thirds like a letter so that there is butter in between each layer. Roll out the dough again and fold it again. Repeat once more and then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.
After chilling, repeat the rolling and folding steps two more times and then wrap the dough and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, divide the dough in half and then roll each out to a long 26 by 8 inch strip and cut it into triangles. Roll up each triangle into a crescent shape and place them on parchment lined baking sheets and let them rise until doubled.
Finally, brush them with an egg wash and bake them for about 25 minutes.
Tips for Success:
It's important to keep the dough and the butter well chilled when working with it. A cold surface such as granite or marble is really helpful. It it begins to feel a bit warm, you can return it to the refrigerator to chill a bit.
Just before each rolling step, tap the dough with your rolling pin to lightly even out the butter and give the dough a chance to relax.
I like to use a marble rolling pin for making these, both because it is heavy and because it is cold.
Make Ahead: You can freeze this dough (or half of it for later) for up to ten days before shaping and baking.
More Italian Breads:
- Cornetti Dolci (Italian Croissants) from Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Focaccia Bread Art from Making Miracles
- No-Knead Green Chutney Focaccia from Cook with Renu
- No Knead Potato Focaccia from Sneha's Recipe
- Overnight Ciabatta from A Messy Kitchen
- Overnight Focaccia from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Sfincione Siciliano from Food Lust People Love
- Sourdough Cherry Tomato Focaccia from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
Cornetti Dolci (Italian Croissants)
These cornetti dolci are sweet, light, and amazingly airy. They are wonderful filled with jam or dusted with powdered sugar, or both!
Ingredients
- 5 teaspoons (15 grams) instant or active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups (360 grams) warm water
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon (75 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/3 cups (325 grams) unbleached all purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
- 2 1/3 cups (325 grams) bread flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons (12.5 grams) salt
- 1 pound (450 grams) unsalted butter, cold, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Keep cold.
- 1 scant cup (125 grams) unbleached all purpose flour
Instructions
- Add the yeast and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat in the butter, sugar, and eggs until mixed with the paddle attachment. Add the flours and salt and beat for about a minute or two, until combined. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and knead by hand for about a minute. The dough will be very sticky.
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl or dough rising bucket, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.
- While the dough is rising, mix the butter and flour in the stand mixer. Beat for about a minute on low with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed for 30 seconds, until smooth. Wrap and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to a 20 inch by 12 inch rectangle on a floured surface, with one shorter side nearest you.
- Break off 1/2 inch pieces of the butter block and dot them over 2/3 of the dough, leaving the top third without butter and leaving a one inch border.
- Fold the top third of the dough over the center third of the dough and then fold the bottom third over the center. Pinch the borders closed to enclose the butter.
- Lightly flour the top of the dough as well as the work surface and tap the top of the dough with the rolling pin. Roll the dough out again to a 20 inch by 12 inch rectangle and then fold the dough like a letter. Pinch the seams together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 45 minutes.
- Lightly flour the work surface again and place the chilled dough on top. Lightly flour the dough. Roll it out to a 20 inch by 12 inch rectangle again. Fold it into thirds again. Repeat one more time and then wrap the dough and refrigerate it overnight. Be sure the dough is securely wrapped.
- The next morning, divide the dough in half and roll each half into a 26 inch by 8 inch strip. Cut each strip into 9 or 10 triangles, with the wide part 5 inches wide.
- Starting with the wide part, lightly stretch the end to 6 inches and roll the dough into a crescent, lighly stretching as you roll. Do not pull on the pointy end or it might break off.
- Place the crescents, on parchment lined bakiing sheets (about 5 per sheet) and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 90 minutes to 2 hours. Heat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Mix the egg wash and brush it over the cornetti. Bake the rolls, one sheet at a time, for 6 minutes at 425 degrees F, and then 15 minutes at 375 degrees F. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
332Fat (grams)
24 gSat. Fat (grams)
15 gCarbs (grams)
26 gFiber (grams)
1 gNet carbs
25 gSugar (grams)
4 gProtein (grams)
4 gCholesterol (grams)
80 mgRecipe adapted from The Italian Baker by Carol Field. (2011).
They are beautiful and sound delicious. I need to put them on our baking list!
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