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+ servings

Italian Maritozzi

4.45 from 9 votes
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Bake: 18 minutes
Servings: 12 Buns

Ingredients

Dough

  • 265 g AP Flour 2 cups + 2 tbsp
  • 250 g Bread Flour 2 cups
  • tsp Instant yeast
  • 50 g Granulated sugar ¼ cup
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Fiori di Sicilia
  • 2 large Eggs room temperature
  • 1 cup Whole or 2% milk warm ~95°F
  • ¼ cup Neutral oil Vegetable/Canola
  • Zest of 1 medium orange

Egg Wash

  • 1 large Egg
  • 1 tbsp Whole or 2% milk

Whipped Cream Filling

  • 2 cups Heavy whipping cream cold
  • ½ cup Powdered sugar
  • ½ tsp Vanilla
  • pinch salt

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in bowl of stand mixer with dough hook attached. Knead dough on low until smooth. Dough will still be sticky.
  • Place dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and allow to rise for about 1 hour or when dough has doubled in size.
  • Remove dough from bowl and use a knife or bench cutter to cut into 12 equal size pieces. When I weighed my dough each piece was about 80g. Weighing is not necessary if you don't mind the buns not being exactly uniform in size.
  • Shape each piece of dough into a ball. Fold and pinch together the sides to create tension. Place the seam side down and gently cup hand over dough, and move hand in a circular motion until dough has formed a ball.
  • Place all dough balls onto a lined baking sheet and cover. Let rise for about 1 hour until they have puffed up.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together egg and milk.
  • When buns have risen, brush with egg wash before placing in oven.
  • Bake for 15-18 minutes on center rack. Buns will be a deep golden color when ready.
  • Place baked buns on a wire cooling rack to cool.
  • While buns are cooling, pour cream, vanilla, powdered sugar and pinch of salt into bowl and whisk until medium-stiff peaks form. Chill whipped cream.
  • After buns have come to room temperature, slice down the middle but not all the way through the bun. You want to be able to open them to fill but not split apart (sort of like a hot dog bun).
  • Fill the buns with whipped cream. I find using a piping bag easiest but it is not necessary. After it is filled, run a knife or offset spatula over the top of the bun to smooth out the whipped cream, leaving it flush with the surface of the bread.
  • Sprinkle the tops lightly with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Any type of orange is fine. I have used both naval oranges and blood oranges and both were great.
  • If you do not have fiori di sicilia I would substitute 1/2 tsp of orange or lemon extract and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. However, the fiori di sicilia has a really wonderfully unique taste that I would recommend purchasing. I use it in lots of things in lieu of vanilla for a really bright citrusy vanilla test. 
  • I personally prefer to only fill buns I plan on eating fairly soon. Filled buns need to be stored in the refrigerator which will most likely dry out the bread slightly. Non filled buns should be stored in an airtight container.
  • In addition to the whipped cream, these are also great if you add jam and/or berries with it. I have layered in lemon curd and topped with raspberries as well which was equally delicious.