ITALY: I love these little buns! They are both sweet and savory, and when served with cheese, make for a hearty teatime snack (although in Italy, it’s more common to have them with coffee or a sweet wine). They were traditionally made for Giovedi Santo (Holy Thursday), but are now sold in Florentine bakeries all year long. In the middle ages, the rosemary was thought to ward off evil spirts, and the grapes and flour represent the Holy Communion.

The video instruction is in Italian, so I’ve listed the ingredients below. I decided not to coat them with the syrup, as I found they don’t really need to added sweetener, and it makes them difficult to handle.

When ready, bake at 350 degrees.

BIGA LIEVITINO

• 7g/2tsp yeast (video shows fresh yeast, so I’ve converted to granular yeast)
• 4g (1 tsp brown sugar)
• 100g warm water
• 100 all purpose flour (that is our equivalent to 0 flour)

RAISINS

• 150g raisins
• 50g vin santo (Italian dessert wine. Sweet sherry, or any sweet white wine will do)
• 200g water

ROSEMARY

• 5g rosemary (3-4 sprigs)
• 90g extra-virgin olive oil

DOUGH – (you can mix and knead in a stand mixer all at once – even the raisins.)

• lievitino
• 50g brown sugar (I used just 25g)
• 150g water
• 400g all purpose flour
• 10 gr of salt
• rosemary olive oil

TOPPINGS

• 1 egg, to brush tops before baking
• 75g sugar + 75g water for tops after baking