Lucina’s Spice Horns

For those who have read Bread and Burglary, a kind of roll from Lucina’s homeland called spice horns plays a big role in the story. When I was figuring out what she would bake that would make Nico homesick (and interested), I did some research into various kinds of rolls. I based Lucina’s homeland very roughly on northern Italy (mostly in terms of geographical location and therefore climate, foods, etc.). I found mention of a kind of roll called a cornetto, which is like a croissant, but less flaky and more bread-like. I also learned that during the 1400s through 1600s or so, spices like cinnamon were more readily available in areas around Italian seaports like Venice than they might have been in the rest of Europe because that was where they first came from Asia before they were transported elsewhere. So, I decided she would make something like a cornetto with spices (“cornetto” apparently means “little horn”).

I sometimes make this cinnamon star bread for Christmas breakfast, and since it has layers of dough and cinnamon, I thought it might make a good basis for making my own spice horns (that’s a really good recipe and makes an impressive-looking loaf, if you want to try it). This is how I adapted this recipe to make spice horns. It’s not an “authentic” recipe, as it uses ingredients that wouldn’t be available to Lucina, and I’m actually not entirely sure how she’d bake these in a wood-fired brick oven. Let’s just say this is an adaptation of what she might have made that gets a similar result. I’m not hard-core enough to try to bake something like this using a starter, honey, and locally milled flour. I’m giving both volume measurements and weights, but I have never made this by volume, only weight.

Lucina’s Spice Horns

120 grams (1 cup) flour
23 grams (1/4 cup) instant potato flakes (for instant mashed potatoes, unflavored)
14 grams (2 tablespoons) nonfat dry milk
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup plus 3-4 tablespoons lukewarm water

Sift the flour, potato flakes, and dry milk. You may have to really force the flakes through the sifter or mesh strainer to break them up into a kind of fine flour. Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients, then add in the butter, cut in small pieces. Add the vanilla and 1/4 cup of water and stir. Add enough additional water to wet all the dry ingredients and make a soft dough. Knead until the dough is smooth (about 5 minutes), then place in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise about 60 minutes, until it’s nearly doubled in size (it doesn’t seem to get as big as a lot of bread dough and will remain dense instead of being the kind of dough you have to punch down).

Divide the dough into four equal pieces and shape them into balls. Cover the balls and let them rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Mix 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon, a dash of ground cloves, and a dash of ground nutmeg (you can adjust the spices to taste)
In a separate bowl, beat one egg

On a greased or floured surface (I had best results using a smooth flexible cutting board sprayed with cooking spray), roll out one of the balls into a very thin circle. Think pie crust. I got it to about a 10-inch diameter. Place the circle of dough on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper (I highly recommend parchment. The filling oozes out and creates burnt sugar, which you might never get off a baking sheet. I don’t even use a silicon baking mat for this). Brush beaten egg over the circle, then sprinkle about a third of the sugar and spice mixture evenly over the circle. Roll out another circle, place it on top of the previous one, brush with egg and sprinkle with sugar/spice, repeat the dough circle, egg, and sugar/spice. Roll out the last circle and put it on top. Leave this one plain. You won’t use all the egg (you’ll need some of it later), and you may not need all of the sugar/spice mixture. Use your rolling pin to flatten out the stack as much as you can.

Cut the circle into 8 wedges. Roll up each wedge from the wide end and spread them out on the parchment-covered baking sheet. Cover, and let rise about 45 minutes, or until they look puffy.

Toward the end of the rising time, heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the top of the rolls with beaten egg. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

I find that these keep pretty well for several days. If you still have any left after that, you can freeze them.