Sicilian Mafalde — the original grandma’s recipe for the sesame-seed bread that is part of the great family of Sicilian cuisine and grandmother’s recipes, like the famous Sicilian semolina bread or the equally famous Cucciddatu semolina bread, not to mention the well-known Sicilian sesame breadsticks.
The Mafalda is a typical Sicilian bread, its origin argued between Palermo and Catania, but made and eaten throughout Sicily. Made with re-milled durum wheat semolina and sesame seeds, it can take many shapes, but in practice “mafalda” specifically refers to the roll with the famous serpentine or accordion shape. This bread is soft inside with a golden, crunchy crust — one of the region’s most famous bakery products — and often marks the meals of many Sicilians, especially people from Palermo and Catania. It is made using traditional methods and may have Arabic origins, given the use of ‘giuggiulena’ — which are simply sesame seeds — seeds that give the mafalda its characteristic flavor and aroma and are used in other Sicilian recipes such as cubaita, reginella cookies and sesame breadsticks. The most likely version of this bread’s story claims it was made in the 1800s and that a master baker from Catania dedicated it, in the early 1900s, to Mafalda of Savoy. But aside from history and traditions, there is one thing you absolutely must know about the mafalda: it must be eaten hot and with mortadella — “picchì a mafadda ‘cca muttadella, costa picca e sapi bella”! (Sicilian: “The mafalda with mortadella costs little and tastes great!”). There isn’t a Sicilian who doesn’t eat mafalde: fresh from the oven, hot and fragrant, they are an explosion of flavor, aromas and goodness! Today I’ll tell you how to make the Sicilian mafalda and how to get its characteristic shape — are you ready? Let’s go to the kitchen: you’ll see, you’ll love this delicious bread at the first bite. Before we start, if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here) and if you take a look at the special section dedicated to Homemade bread recipes you’ll find many more tasty bread ideas.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: about 2.2 lb
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients to make Sicilian mafalde
- 3 1/8 cups Re-milled durum wheat semolina (or type 0 (all-purpose) flour)
- 1 cup Water (warm (about 1 cup + 2 tsp))
- 1 2/3 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Sugar (or honey)
- 3 tbsp + 1 tsp tbsp Milk (warm)
- 1 cup Sesame seeds (white or yellow)
- 3 tbsp + 1 tsp tbsp Extra virgin olive oil (or seed oil or lard)
- 1 tsp Dry baker's yeast (or 12 g fresh)
Tools
- Bowl
- Baking sheet
- Oven
How to make Sicilian mafalde
Preparation of the Sicilian mafalde
Put the flour in a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the just-warm milk and pour it over the flour together with the sugar.
Mix, add almost all the water, combine and then add the salt, oil and the rest of the liquid. Knead in the bowl and once all the ingredients are incorporated, turn the dough out onto the work surface and knead vigorously.
Once you have a smooth, elastic and homogeneous ball — this will take about ten minutes — place it in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and keep it in a warm place to rise until doubled. This can take about 2 to 3 hours.
When the dough has doubled, deflate it, turn it out onto the work surface and divide it into pieces of about 150 g each (or slightly less).
From each piece, pull out ropes about 60 cm long — approximately 24 inches — thinner in the upper half and thicker at the edges. Then give them the classic serpentine or accordion shape and fold the final part of the rope back over itself. Look at the photo to clarify the idea: you will notice that the top part of the small mafalda is thinner than the bottom part and that a section of the rope rests on the center.
Brush with water and place on the sesame seeds so that they adhere well to the outer surface.
Arrange each small mafalda on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise again in a warm place for about 40 minutes, or in any case until doubled.
When doubled, preheat the oven to 392°F and bake in conventional (static) mode for 20–25 minutes or until perfectly golden. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly and enjoy.
You can also knead the mafalde using a stand mixer.
Mafalde keep like any fresh bread: crisp and crunchy for the first 12 hours, then they gradually lose crunchiness. The next day they will be like a typical 24-hour-old loaf.
You can freeze the mafalde once cold and thaw them as needed, but as everyone knows, fresh bread is always something special.
Notes
Note: the original mafalde recipe calls for semolina flour, but you can substitute with type 0 (all-purpose) flour, adjusting the amount of water. Traditional Sicilian mafalde are made with lard, but you can replace it with olive oil for a more intense, rustic flavor or with sunflower seed oil for a milder taste.
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