Accompanied by a cup of coffee, the cornetto is an ideal Italian breakfast. This little dessert, whose shape resembles a crescent half-moon, will be the perfect addition to your morning meal. 

If you’re in Rome, this is the perfect occasion to explore the city and taste some Italian food at the same time. During our Rome Bike Tour, you can do both! And after tasting them, you may be inspired to try to bake your own cornetti.

A typical Italian breakfast: Cornetto and Caffè

Read on and follow these 9 easy steps.

Ingredients for about 12-16 cornetti:

• 12 oz. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1.7 oz. sugar
• 5.4 oz. milk
• .5 oz. fresh yeast
• 9 oz. butter
• 1 egg

Cornetto

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, and sugar, and form a fountain in the middle. Bring the milk to room temperature, melt the yeast into the milk and a spoon of flour, then let it sit until some bubbles appear on the surface. Pour the milk in the bowl and mix until you form a soft dough. 
2. Transfer the dough onto a surface lightly dusted with flour, and knead it for 5 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Put it onto another surface dusted with flour, cover it, and let it sit in a warm space for about one hour.
3. Put the butter between two wrapping papers, stretch it out with a rolling pin, and form a rectangle of 20 x 20 cm. Put the butter into the refrigerator for later. When the dough has risen, transfer it onto a working surface dusted with flour, and form a rectangular of 40 x 12 cm. 
4. Lay the butter on the inferior part of the dough and fold the other half in order to wrap the butter completely. Seal the borders using your fingers. Rotate the dough and gently stretch it out into a rectangular shape. 
5. Eliminate the remaining flour and fold it into 3 identical parts. Wrap it, and then put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
   

   Homemade Cornetti

6. Take it out of the refrigerator and do the same as above for a total of 3 times. 
7. Cut the dough into two parts. Work each part with a rolling pin and obtain rectangulars of 22 x 36 cm each. Then cut the dough and form triangles. 
8. Starting from the larger side, roll the triangles until you obtain half-moons. Transfer the cornetti onto a baking tray and paint them with an egg slightly beaten. Cover them with wrapping papers and let them sit for a night in the fridge. 
9. The next morning, take them out and let them rise for about 45 minutes. Once risen, preheat the oven at 200°. Paint them again with an egg and bake the cornetti for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy delicious Italian food? Join our Wine and Cheese Tasting Tour on your next visit to Rome!