Egg and Artichoke Ring Cake

Mix the 0 flour with 1/2 cup of water and the sourdough starter; let this pre-mixture (biga) rise, covered, in the fridge for 12 hours. Trim the artichokes and place them in a saucepan with 1/2 cup of wine, 1/2 cup of water, a clove of garlic, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons of oil. Bring it to a boil, cover, and stew for 20 minutes, then strain the artichokes.

Hard-boil 4 eggs, peel them, and blend them together with the chopped prosciutto to obtain a cream. Blend the cold artichokes with the ricotta, salt, pepper, and a tablespoon oil; then filter this cream through a sieve. Keep both creams in the refrigerator, covered in plastic wrap. Add the Manitoba or bread flour, the semolina, the malt powder, 1 egg, the milk, the lard, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt to the biga. Knead to obtain a smooth and elastic ball of dough; let it rise for another 30 minutes. Roll it out into a rectangle (about 23.5” x 15.5”) about 1/8 inch thick. Brush it with water. Place the two creams in two pastry bags and pipe the longer side of the rectangle with the prosciutto and egg cream in a rope shape. Close the dough over the filling, trim it, gently seal the edges, and form it into a ring along the inside edge of a 10-inch round baking dish greased with oil; you won’t be able to close the ring, so prepare another rope of dough in the same way, cut it down to size, and add it in to fill the gap.

Prepare a second smaller ring in the same way with the artichoke and ricotta cream. Place it in the baking dish slightly spaced out from the first. Create a final ring with the remaining egg and prosciutto cream and place it in the baking dish, as well.

Fill the center space with a little dough rosette, brush everything with oil, and let it rise for 45 minutes. Bake this cake at 385°F for about 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven and brush it with an emulsion of water, oil, and salt to give it some shine. Let it cool, then serve,