Zaeti, also written zaleti, bring fine maize flour into a small Venetian sweet. This home adaptation uses raisins and lemon, with a short chill to make the dough easier to shape. Published versions vary in flour balance and additions.
Recipe at a glance
Serves / makesAbout 20 biscuits
Prep20 minutes, plus 20 minutes chilling
Cook15–18 minutes
SkillEasy
Ingredients
- 150 g fine maize flour, suitable for baking
- 150 g plain wheat flour
- 120 g softened butter
- 90 g caster sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 80 g raisins
- Finely grated zest of 1 untreated lemon
- A pinch of salt
- 1–2 tablespoons milk only if needed to bring the dough together
Method
- Soak the raisins in warm water for 10 minutes, then drain and dry well. Heat the oven to 180°C conventional, or 160°C fan. Line a baking tray.
- Beat the butter and sugar until combined. Mix in the yolks, lemon zest and salt.
- Add both flours and the raisins. Bring together into a soft dough; add a small amount of milk only if it is too crumbly to hold. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.
- Divide into about 20 pieces. Shape into small flattened ovals or diamonds, around 1 cm thick, and leave space between them on the tray.
- Bake for about 15–18 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the bases are set. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then move to a rack.
The technique that matters
Use fine maize flour. Coarse polenta meal makes a grittier biscuit and changes the way the dough holds together.
Ingredient notes
Contains wheat, milk and egg. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. The lemon and raisin quantities can be adjusted in future batches.
Italy by Taste home adaptation, guided by published regional references. Not kitchen-tested for this edition.