Spaccatini Rolls | Little Cleft Rolls

Spaccatini rolls are lean crusty Italian buns that have a split down the middle. While the only ingredients are flour, water, salt, and yeast, they are totally flavorful from the overnight rise. 

These spaccatini rolls are wonderful with a salad, soup, or a pasta dish, just as I imagine they might be enjoyed in Italy. 

According to The Italian Baker by Carol Fields, these Spaccatini rolls originated from Lugano, Switzerland. These rolls have a little split down the center that you form by pressing down on the dough with the handle of a wooden spoon or a dowel. 

They kind of look like little tushies, don't they? 

The Biga: 

These rolls have a soft crumb and a thin chewy crust. To develop a wonderful flavor, you make these by beginning with a good amount of biga, which is a starter made from flour, water, and yeast that you make the day (or two) before and allow to rest. 

Biga is often found in recipes for Italian breads, and the method was developed to give strength to Italian flours that were perceived to be weaker. It also brings out the flavor of the wheat. 

It will definitely grow and become all bubbly with well-developed strength. 

A biga is different than a poolish (which is a French-style starter) because it has a higher ratio of flour to water (60 percent hydration), while the poolish typically is 100 percent hydration by weight. 

A biga is different than a sourdough starter in that you don't have to maintain it. You just make it, let it ferment from 12 to 24 hours, and then use it. In addition, a sourdough starter does not contain any commercial yeast, while a biga contains a tiny bit (about one percent). 

The final dough for these spaccatini rolls contains a fairly high percentage of biga, 75 percent. 

Procedure for Making Spaccatini Rolls:

The day before you make the rolls, make the biga. Combine all of the ingredients (flour, water, yeast) in a two-quart or larger bowl and stir them pretty vigorously with a spoon, your hand, or a Danish dough whisk. I usually start with a dough whisk and then finish with my hand. 

Cover the bowl and let the biga rest for 12 to 24 hours. It will likely triple in size. 

The next day, mix the biga with water and yeast in a stand mixer or by hand, and then add the salt and flour and knead by hand or machine for about five minutes. 

After that, cover the dough and let it rise until doubled. This should take about 1 to 2 hours. 

Once the dough has risen, divide it into 16 pieces, form them into balls, and then press the centers all the way down with a thin dowel, chopstick, or spoon handle. Proof the rolls, split side down, for about an hour, until almost doubled. 

Flip the rolls over and reemphasize the split. I used the end of a wooden spatula and gently pressed it into the split. Bake the rolls in an oven set up for steam for 20 to 25 minutes. You can also spray the oven interior with a water mist right after placing the rolls in the oven. 

The rolls fit on two baking sheets. I baked these one sheet at a time but you can bake them both at the same time. 

These rolls are crispy on the outside, and soft and airy on the inside. They make great dinner rolls and sandwich rolls. We used these for barbecued pork sandwiches....

And hamburgers on the grill...

Doesn't this make you excited about summer cookouts? Are you hungry yet?

Tips for Success:

Don't add any extra flour to the dough if you can help it. The dough will be tacky, and possibly slightly sticky, but will still be easy to handle. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale that tares and measures in grams and then measure the biga and flour directly into your mixing bowl. 

Also, when you proof the rolls upside down, you can either proof them on a floured surface or an oiled surface. I've done it either way and they both work. I do recommend flouring the tool you use to put the split in the rolls. 

Finally, these rolls, after baking, can be individually wrapped in plastic and placed in a freezer bag to freeze for later. Just thaw and reheat in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes for fresh rolls!

This week, the Sunday Funday group is sharing recipes for barbecue and cookout side dishes. Be sure to check out everyone's recipes:

• 45 Minute Hamburger Buns from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Avocado Salad with Fresh Herb Dressing from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Carrot Apple Salad from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Quinoa Salad with Fennel & Garbanzo Beans from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Spaccatini Rolls from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Spinach Madeline Stuffed Potatoes from Food Lust People Love
• Sweet and Tangy Cucumber Salad from Palatable Pastime
• Sweet Potato and Fennel Fronds Salad from Cook with Renu

Updated post, first published in June, 2013 and revamped with new photos and information in May, 2023. 

Spaccatini Rolls

Yield: 16 rolls

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 35 MinCook time: 25 MinInactive time: 12 HourTotal time: 13 Hour

A Spaccatini is a plain lean bun that has a split down the middle. While the only ingredients are flour, water, salt, and yeast, they are very flavorful from the overnight rise.

Ingredients

For the Biga

• 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 260 grams (1 cup plus 4 teaspoons) room temperature filtered or bottled water
• 330 grams (2 1/3 cups) unbleached all purpose flour

For the Final Dough

• 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 120 grams (1/2 cup) warm (90 to 110 degrees F) water
• All of the biga
• 250 grams (a little less than 2 cups) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

To Prepare the Biga

1. Place the yeast in a medium/large bowl and add the water.
2. Add the flour and stir with a dough whisk, large spoon, or your hand for about four minutes.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit room temperature overnight (up to 24 hours). If you are not using it after 24 hours, refrigerate it until you are ready to make the rolls.

To Make the Rolls

1. Add the yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer and add the warm water. Stir.
2. Add the biga and squish it into the water with your fingers until it is in smaller pieces.
3. Add the flour and salt and mix with a dough whisk or the paddle attachment of your mixer until the ingredients come together.
4. Switch to the dough hook and knead on second speed for about 5 minutes, until you have a smooth dough.
5. Place the dough into an oiled bowl or dough rising bucket, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise until doubled, one to two hours.
6. Place the dough onto your work surface and divide it into 16 equal pieces.
7. Form the pieces into balls and then press the floured handle of a wooden spoon (I used a chopstick) into the rolls to form the cleft.
8. Place the rolls, cleft side down, onto two parchment lined and then floured or oiled baking sheets (8 per baking sheet).
9. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. and set it up with a steam pan.
10. Once they have risen (about an hour), flip them over, and re-press back into the cleft to reemphasize it.
11. About 5 minutes before baking, add two cups of ice to the steam pan in the oven.
12. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, spraying the oven with water a few times during the first ten minutes.
13. Cool the rolls on a wire rack.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

134.39

Fat (grams)

0.4 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.06 g

Carbs (grams)

27.97 g

Fiber (grams)

1.18 g

Net carbs

26.79 g

Sugar (grams)

0.1 g

Protein (grams)

4.05 g

Cholesterol (grams)

0 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2013/06/spaccatini-little-cleft-rolls.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

rolls, spaccatini, biga

bread

Italian

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Recipe adapted from The Italian Baker: The Classic Tastes of the Italian Countryside. There's also a similar version with a slightly different twist in The Book of Buns: Over 50 Brilliant Bakes from Around the World. 

Both books belong in your cookbook library if you are a bread baking enthusiast like I am. 

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