Rosetta Romana

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Kitchen scale for precision
• •Rosetta stamp or wooden spoon handle
• •Baking stone or heavy inverted baking sheet
• •Metal roasting pan for steam
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the dough

   In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the room temperature water and let it sit for five minutes until slightly foamy. Pour the yeast mixture and olive oil into the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy mass forms, then turn out onto a clean work surface. The dough will be sticky. This is correct.

2. 2

   Knead until smooth

   Knead the dough for 10 to 12 minutes. At first it will stick to everything, including your hands and the counter. Resist the urge to add flour. Continue kneading, slapping the dough against the surface and folding it over itself. Gradually, the dough will become smooth, elastic, and only slightly tacky. When you can stretch a small piece thin enough to see light through without it tearing, you are done.

   The windowpane test tells you when gluten is properly developed. Tear off a small piece and stretch it gently between your fingers. If it stretches into a translucent membrane, proceed. If it tears immediately, knead five minutes more.
3. 3

   First rise

   Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let it rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The timing depends on the warmth of your kitchen. Watch the dough, not the clock.

4. 4

   Divide the dough

   Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Press it gently to deflate without punching out all the air. Divide into 12 equal pieces, approximately 70g each. A scale ensures uniformity. Roll each piece into a tight ball by cupping your hand over it and moving in a circular motion against the work surface. The surface tension creates a smooth, taut exterior.

5. 5

   Shape the rosette

   Dust each ball lightly with rice flour or semolina. For the traditional shape, you need a rosetta stamp, a wooden tool with five radiating ridges. Press the stamp firmly into the center of each ball, pushing down almost to the work surface. The dough should spread into a star pattern with a deeply indented center. Without a stamp, use the handle of a wooden spoon: press it horizontally across the center of the ball, then rotate 60 degrees and press again, creating six segments. Push a knuckle firmly into the very center.

   The center must be pressed deeply. During baking, this indentation causes the dough to pull away from itself, creating the characteristic hollow interior. If you are timid with the stamp, you will have ordinary rolls.
6. 6

   Second rise

   Place the shaped rosette on parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving three inches between each roll. They will spread. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let rise until puffy but not fully doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour. The rolls should spring back slowly when gently pressed. If they spring back immediately, they need more time. If the indentation remains, they have overproofed.

7. 7

   Prepare the oven

   Place a baking stone or inverted baking sheet on the middle rack of your oven. Put an empty metal roasting pan on the bottom rack. Heat the oven to 230°C (450°F) for at least 30 minutes. The oven must be thoroughly hot. A weak oven produces sad bread.

8. 8

   Bake with steam

   Working quickly, slide the parchment with the rolls onto the hot stone. Immediately pour one cup of hot water into the roasting pan below and close the oven door. The steam explosion is essential for crust development. Bake for 8 minutes with steam, then carefully remove the roasting pan to allow the crust to crisp. Continue baking until the rolls are deeply golden, the star pattern is defined, and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped, 8 to 10 minutes more.

   The initial burst of steam keeps the crust flexible long enough for the rolls to expand fully before the surface sets. Without steam, the crust forms too early and the rosette cannot achieve its proper lightness.
9. 9

   Cool and serve

   Transfer the rosette to a wire rack immediately. They must cool on a rack, not a solid surface, or the trapped steam will soften the crust. Let them rest at least 15 minutes before eating. The interior needs time to set. When you break one open, you should see thin walls of bread surrounding a hollow center. The crust should shatter. The crumb should be pale and slightly chewy. This is a rosetta.

Chef Tips

• •A rosetta stamp costs little and lasts forever. Seek one out from Italian baking suppliers. The traditional wooden stamps have been made the same way for a century. You cannot achieve the same precision with improvised tools, though you can come close.
• •These rolls stale within hours. This is not a defect but their nature. Bake them the morning you intend to eat them. Roman bakers work through the night so the rosette are still warm when Romans walk to the bar for their morning coffee.
• •The dough hydration matters. Too dry and the interior will be dense. Too wet and the rolls will spread flat and refuse to hold their shape. Weigh your ingredients. Volume measurements are approximations; weight is truth.
• •If your rosette emerge solid rather than hollow, you have either shaped them too gently or let them overproof. The deep impression must remain visible before baking. Next time, press harder and watch the dough more carefully.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made the evening before and refrigerated overnight after the first rise. The cold fermentation deepens flavor. Remove from refrigerator, divide, and shape. Allow 1 1/2 hours for the shaped rolls to proof at room temperature before baking.
• •Baked rosette freeze adequately for one month. Reheat from frozen in a 200°C (400°F) oven for 5 minutes to restore the crust. They will not be as good as fresh, but they will be acceptable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 65g)