Soft, golden-brown cornetti with delicate buttery layers and a modest spoonful of apricot jam. Fill some and leave the rest plain: that way, you can really taste the airy yeasted dough on its own.
A cornetto is an Italian breakfast pastry made from yeasted dough, rolled into thin layers and shaped into a crescent. The name refers to its curved shape. Recipes vary: some are richer or sweeter than others, and fillings differ too. Apricot jam is a simple option here; leaving some plain gives you a good comparison with the dough’s soft, mildly sweet flavor.
Cornetti are often compared with croissants, but they don’t have to be the same. A cornetto is generally softer and more bread-like, while a French croissant is known for its pronounced flaky, crisp texture and higher butter content. In this recipe, yeast and a short kneading time make a supple dough; the butter is then added in thin layers. This creates a light layering without making the pastry as crisp and fragile as a classic croissant.
The most important practical consideration is temperature. The dough should be cool enough to roll out neatly, but not so firm that it cracks. The butter should be spreadable and stay cool: butter that is too hard breaks into pieces, while butter that is too soft leaks out of the dough. Take time to chill the dough again between folds. If you see butter appearing on the surface, put the dough back in the refrigerator first. A ruler helps you cut the final triangles to roughly the same size, so they bake evenly.
Apricot jam adds a fruity, slightly tart contrast to the sweet dough. Use smooth jam or stir chunky jam briefly to loosen it, so it’s easy to portion. Don’t spoon too much onto the wide end of a triangle: jam squeezed out as you roll can caramelize on the baking sheet. Not keen on apricot? Another firm, smooth jam works too, as long as you use a thin layer. Leave a few cornetti unfilled, as in this recipe, or bake them all plain and serve jam on the side.
Serve them for breakfast or with coffee; they’re best on the day they’re made, when the crust is still lightly crisp and the inside is soft. Let leftovers cool completely and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a day. Warm them briefly in an oven at 160 °C to freshen up the outside. A microwave will soften the layers instead. You can also freeze cooled cornetti and warm them briefly in the oven after thawing.
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the lukewarm milk and egg and knead until a cohesive dough forms. Knead in the softened butter and continue kneading for 8–10 minutes, until the dough is supple. Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 60 minutes.
Flatten the dough, cover it again and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to about 25 x 45 cm. Spread half of the cool, spreadable butter thinly over two thirds of the dough, leaving about 2 cm clear around the edges.
Fold the unbuttered third over the middle, then fold the final third over it, like a letter. Gently pinch the edges closed. Turn the dough a quarter turn, roll it out again to about 25 x 45 cm and spread the remaining butter over two thirds. Fold it into thirds again. Wrap the dough and chill for 30 minutes.
After chilling, roll the dough out again to about 25 x 45 cm and fold it into thirds once more, without adding any butter. Wrap the dough and chill for 30 minutes. Then roll it out into a rectangle about 36 x 18 cm. Cut it into four rectangles about 9 x 18 cm and cut each rectangle in half diagonally. You now have eight long triangles.
Spoon a small teaspoon of apricot jam onto the wide end of four triangles. Roll each triangle from the wide end toward the point, keeping the point tucked underneath the dough. Roll up the remaining four triangles in the same way, without filling. Gently curve the ends toward each other to make crescents and place them with space between them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Cover loosely and leave to rise for 1½–2 hours in a draft-free place, until the cornetti look visibly airy. Preheat the oven to 190 °C (conventional). Mix the beaten egg with the tablespoon of milk and carefully brush the cornetti.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 17–20 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving.
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