Lievitino:
- 15 gr fresh yeast ( 5gr if baking powder)
- 50 gr lukewarm milk
- 30 gr sugar
- 30 gr white flour
Dough:
- 1 egg
- 100 gr sugar
- 125 gr sunflower oil
- 200 gr lukewarm milk
- 250 gr white flour
- 250 gr Risciola Type 1 or Majorca
- the peal of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the lievitino: in a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk, add sugar and flour and mix. Cover with cling film and leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
For the dough: in a large bowl, mix all the ingredients but not the flour yet. Add the lievitino and mix using a fork. Once it all looks smooth, start adding the flour little by little. Keep on using the fork until the dough becomes more compact.
Then, knead your dough on the counter. Add some flour if it’s too sticky (do not exaggerate otherwise you will lose the final soft consistency). Work your dough until it becomes smooth, homogeneous and not too sticky (about 10 minutes of kneading). Make a ball out of it, set it in a large clean bowl with some flour at the bottom, cover it with cling film and a clean kitchen towel and let rise for about 2/2,5 hours at room temperature (it needs to double its volume). Once ready, take the dough out of the bowl and work it a little bit on the counter.
Divide it in 12 little pieces and shape them into balls.
Prepare your oven tray covered with some baking paper and put the maritozzi on top of it in three lines. Let them rise, covered by a kitchen towel, for another 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven at 180 °C (no ventilation). After 30 minutes, put the oven tray in the oven and bake the maritozzi for about 25 minutes.
Once they are out of the oven, sprinkle them with some water and add some sugar on top. Let them cool down for 15 minutes and enjoy!
Tips:
- You can add raisins or chocolate drops in the dough
- Enjoy them plain or add your favourite jam!
