Show your dedication to your loved ones and pastries by making these maritozzo, or almost husbands. Recipe from Bake Street.
Prep time: 24 hours
Cooking time: 14 minutes
Makes: 10-12 maritozzi
Ingredients
For the dough:
450g strong white bread flour
50g rice flour
90g sugar
30g honey
2 eggs
60g unsalted butter
3g dry yeast
1 orange for zesting
40g sunflower oil
Brush:
135g sugar
Whipped cream:
500g double cream
90g icing sugar
A drop of Vanilla extract
1. Yeastie boys
To a small bowl, add 200g strong white flour, 3g yeast and 200g water.
Mix until it is silky smooth, then cover and leave for an hour or two until doubled in size and bubbly like a foam party in the 90s.
2. Dough Dough Dooouuugghh
To a large bowl, add 250g strong white flour, 50g rice flour, 90g sugar and the zest of one orange. Whisk it all together. Add in the yeast mixture and knead this together.
Add one whole egg and one egg yolk (save the egg white for later! you will need it) and a pinch of salt. Knead again.
Mix in 30g honey. And knead until the dough is light and springy (around 8 minutes).
Add in 30g butter at room temperature and knead until its absorbed, then knead in the other 30g of butter
Gradually add 40ml sunflower oil and mix until combined. It should be an oily, soft dough by the time you have finished with it.
3. Fermentation station
Leave the dough in a covered bowl to double in size. (For best results, leave to double in size, then fold over, then refrigerate for 14 hours – this was too much waiting for us though… if you do refrigerate you will have to leave it for 2 hours to reach room temperature again.)
4. A shapely husband
Split your dough into 80g dough balls and set to the side covered with clingfilm or a tea towel for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, shape the maritozzi into elongated circles (as you see in the picture). Lay out on a tray with grease proof paper with plenty of space in between them. Cover for a further hour or so, until doubled in size.
Once doubled in size, brush with your reserved egg white and place in the oven for 14 minutes.
5. Honey you’ve barely touched your glaze
Whilst the maritozzi are cooking, create your glaze. In a small saucepan, heat 135g sugar and 100g water. Boil until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Once the maritozzi are cooked, brush them with the simple syrup.
6. It’s a cream meme
Whisk 500g cream until it has almost formed soft peaks and then gradually pour in 90g icing sugar, beating continuously. Once all of the icing sugar is combined, add a dash of vanilla extract and whisk one final time.
7. Marriage assembly
Once your buns have cooled, cut your buns in half length ways, being careful not to cut through the bottom. Add a healthy dollop of cream to each and smooth over the top for the ideal Italian maritozzo.
Dink and sink!
Food for Thought
Lizzy says: “I cannot recall how I came across these, but I was so delighted by the name and the concept that I just knew they had to be gasped. However, this was a really involved recipe that took a lot of skill and patience. I was quite proud with how mine turned out and they made a nice mid-morning snack. I would not make them again though and probably also wouldn’t buy one at a shop (although since making these both Kate and I have been haunted by them – first seeing them in Nero and then in Italy at Christmas when our mum bought herself one). For me its a 5/10 “
Kate says: “I think you can tell from the cover photo that I overdid my Maritozzi a little, what you can’t see is the bottom where they were overdone a LOT (as in, they kind of snapped when I cut them, not soft at all). I did like these especially the lightness of the cream, but they did not match up with the hopetaste I had in my head. They look pretty impressive though and I think with a bit of practice I could make these really well. However, I would probably just go and buy one from the shop rather than make again 5/10“
5/10 Gasps
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