Sfogliatella Riccia (Neapolitan Shell Pastry)

Instructions

1. Make the dough the day before: mix the bread flour, 210 ml water, honey and 8 g salt in a stand mixer with the dough hook on low until it comes together, then knead until very firm, smooth and dry, about 10 minutes. It should be much stiffer than bread dough. Wrap and rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Flatten one piece and pass it through a pasta machine on the widest setting, folding and re-rolling a few times until smooth, then roll it through each narrower setting down to the second-thinnest, making a long strip about 5 inches (12 cm) wide. Repeat with the rest, keeping the strips covered.
3. Lay the first strip on a long clean counter and brush it lightly with the very soft lard. Gently stretch it sideways with your fingertips until it is almost see-through and about 8 inches (20 cm) wide, then brush with a little more lard. Starting at a short end, roll it up into a tight cylinder.
4. Overlap the next strip slightly onto the end of the first, brush and stretch it with lard the same way, and keep rolling so the log grows, adding all 4 strips. You should have a tight log about 8 inches (20 cm) long and 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) across. Rub the outside with the remaining lard, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
5. Make the filling the same day as the dough: bring the 300 ml water and pinch of salt to a boil, whisk in the semolina in a thin stream and cook, stirring, until very thick and pulling from the pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Spread on a plate, cover the surface with plastic and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
6. Press the whole-milk ricotta through a fine sieve into a bowl. Break up the cold semolina and beat it into the ricotta with the granulated sugar until smooth, then mix in the egg yolk, candied orange peel, ground cinnamon and vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate, about 1 hour.
7. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Trim the ragged ends of the log, then cut it into 16 slices about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) thick.
8. Shape each slice: hold it in both hands and, working from the center outward with your thumbs, push the layers gently forward and out so the disc becomes a cone with a pocket inside, the layers fanning like a shell. Fill each cone with about 2 tbsp (50 g) filling and press the open edges together lightly. Set 8 on each baking sheet.
9. Bake until deep golden brown and the ridges are crisp and crackling, 25 to 30 minutes, swapping the sheets halfway through. Cool for 10 minutes, dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.