panini quadrifoglio / four-leaf clover rolls

waiting for the rolls to cool

Do you remember the delivery of mail catalogs that was an almost daily occurrence until not too long ago? Annoying as sometimes was, I realize that, as an adult immigrant to the US, I would have not learned about certain brands had I not received their catalogs.

King Arthur Flour's¹ catalog keeps arriving in my mail box and I like to leaf through it because it showcases a few recipes and they have been inspirational more than once: The recipe for four-leaf clover rolls is the most recent example (and this is a previous one).

The display of this recipe had to do with St. Patrick's Day, but, as usual, things I see need to ferment in my brain for a bit before I act upon them. Then, I need to test the recipe at least a couple of times before I decide whether to talk about it on my blog.

nestling in the ramekin

The photo in the catalog showed the rolls nesting in the ramekins in which they were baked: it caught my attention. I read the instructions and they seemed pretty straightforward to execute, so I did it and loved the result.

Then I did it again and again enjoyed the rolls, so now I am inviting you to try them. For once, I made only a couple of minor changes to the list of ingredients, besides halving the quantities and making therefore four rolls. I used:

• 120 g King Arthur Flour unbleached all-purpose flour (this is the flour I generally use for bread baking)
• 55 g King Arthur Flour white whole-wheat flour, instead of Irish-style wholemeal flour, because I had the former but not the latter — this substitution is also suggested in the tips box
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 g honey (miele), i.e., half the amount
• 14 g soft unsalted butter the first time, then the second time 10 g olive oil, and I liked the flavor better
•  123 g lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 28 g toasted pecans rather than walnuts, because I happened to have a nice batch of toasted pecans for this recipe
• 35 g currants
• no glossy finish (which in any case is optional)

One nice thing about the recipes on the King Arthur Flour's website is that you can view the list of ingredients in volume, ounces or grams. I always choose the latter options, especially when I need to perform division on the quantities.

and then it's tasting time!

Whether you make the full amount or half, follow the directions on the recipe page and you'll be rewarded with pretty rolls that are a pleasure to pry open along the seams. A dose of sweetness and a bit of crunchiness come together in the rolls which are perfect to nibble by themselves and to accompany your dinner.

cleaning up after baking

In this photo, the usual chaos around my kitchen sink (lavello) includes the four ramekins in which the four-leaf clover rolls had baked.

¹ Disclaimer: I neither have nor had any business relationship with this company. This is not an advertisement, but simply a description of the brand I use.

I am sending my cute rolls to Panissimo a biweekly event created recently by Barbara of Bread & Companatico and Sandra of indovina chi viene a cena?

This post contains the roundup of the event, English version, and this one the Italian version.

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And I am also contributing it to the April edition of Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Roxana of Roxana's Homebaking.

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The bottom photo is my contribution to edition #80 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar

The photo was shot in color and then converted to black and white.

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

panini quadrifoglio

or launch the panini quadrifoglio audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

Irish bread, white whole-wheat flour, pecan, currants

Comments

[Lynne]

Total YUM! Your rolls look perfect and delicious! I love your kitchen series of black and white photos!

[kathy bechtel]

How very cute in the lovely ramekins! Definitely going to have to try these :)

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Lynne. I have a weak spot for bread with dried fruit.

I recommend them, Kathy.

[Roxana]

I love KAF and their flours. These little four leaf clover are so cute! Love that you baked them in ramekins instead of the regular muffin pan.
Thanks for submitting them to this month #bakeyourownbread

[bellini]

These rolls sound delicious Simona. I will be back in the States mid May and always pick up King Arthur flour when I am there.

[Sally]

Now that I see your photos, I want to make these rolls, too. I have put a hold on baking for a while, it is definitely time to get back to it. Thanks for the inspiration, Simona! (I also love any bread with dried fruit in it!)

[A Canadian Foodie]

Mom used to make this shape, but with a dinner roll recipe. It was quite the holiday tradition - but, that has gone by the wayside... and though I loved them as a child, I have no intention on making them as an adult. They were very labour intensive when doing a big batch!
:)
V

[Simona Carini]

Glad you like my contribution, Roxana. It's a pleasure to participate.

Ciao Val. Glad to read you are also a KAF's customer.

Ciao Sally. You are welcome! This is a nice project to get back into baking.

Hi Valerie. I can imagine that baking a big batch would indeed be labor intensive.

[Bread & Companatico]

so pretty! I would love one now, warmed up and with a slash of butter, perfect accompaniment to my tea. thank you sooooo much for your participation, which is deeply appreciated. I agree, that is a nice website, full of good ideas for baking bread. and your kitchen looks so much cleaner than mine after making some bread :)

[sandra]

Simona: non ho parole, grazie per questi quadrifogli portafortuna!!!!
inseriti con orgoglioo nel post!!
baci
Sandra

[lucia]

Ribes e noci...questi panini devono essere molto particolari!
Ciao
Buon We
lucia

[Paz]

Looks like it's perfect for St. Patrick's Day or any other day.

[Simona Carini]

Grazie, Barbara. I must admit that my kitchen can get more chaotic than that in particular when I make cheese. But chaos is not always photogenic.

Piacere mio, Sandra.

Lucia, sono eleganti e rustici allo stesso tempo: un ottimo connubio. E perdonami, una nota sarebbe stata utile: currant e' un tipo di uva secca dagli acini piu' piccoli di quella che si chiama raisins (vedi foto qui.

Ciao Paz. When it comes to good food, any day is the right day, I agree.