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1
Combine the semolina rimacinata and salt in a bowl. Add the warm water gradually and work the mixture to a firm, smooth dough. Continue kneading until the surface is cohesive and no dry flour remains. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces and cover with a cloth. The dough is ready when it is smooth, slightly elastic, and holds its shape without sticking.
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2
Working one piece at a time, roll each portion as thinly and evenly as possible — 1 to 2 mm — into a disc of 40 to 50 cm in diameter. A pasta machine at its thinnest setting is the domestic approximation of the traditional sfoglia. This is where the dish lives or dies: uneven thickness means uneven puffing — thin zones will balloon while thick zones stay flat, and the disc will not split cleanly. The sheet is ready when it is uniformly translucent and offers almost no resistance to the rolling pin.
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3
Heat the oven to 280–300 °C with a baking stone or heavy steel on the highest rack. Slide one disc onto the hot surface and close the oven immediately — do not open during this phase. Bake for 2 to 3 minutes. The disc is ready when it has puffed into a single hollow pillow, fully inflated across its entire surface.
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4
Remove the puffed disc from the oven immediately and split it horizontally into two sheets while it is still hot. The steam pressure creates a natural plane of separation; once the disc cools, the two layers adhere and resist splitting. The two sheets are ready when each is an even, separate skin — pale, soft, and yielding at this stage.
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5
Return both sheets to the oven, rough side up, and bake for a further 4 to 5 minutes until completely dry, crisp, and pale golden. Transfer to a wire rack and cool fully. The sheets are ready when each snaps cleanly and sharply under finger pressure — any bend or flex means the drying phase is incomplete and the bread will not keep.