Ciambella Grandmother's Pastry Ring

Put the butter in a saucepan and melt it without getting it too hot. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, melted butter, cream of tartar, bicarbonate, a tiny pinch of salt, grated lemon peel, and the lukewarm milk. Add 1 whole egg and the white of the second egg. Add the yolk of the second egg, less 1 teaspoonful of it, which you will set aside for painting the ring later. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients, then turn them out onto a work surface and knead the mixture for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape the dough into a large sausage roll about 2 inches thick, and make it into a ring. Pinch the ends together to close the ring. Brush the surface with the teaspoonful of yolk you have set aside and 1 teaspoon water, and score with a few shallow diagonal cuts. Smear the baking sheet with butter, sprinkle it with flour, then turn it over and give it a rap on the counter to shake off excess flour. Put the ring in its center and place the sheet in the upper level of the preheated oven. Bake for 35 minutes, it should rise to nearly double its original size. Transfer to a cooling rack. When cold, wrap in foil or store in a tin biscuit box, but do not refrigerate. It tastes best served the following day. Recipe courtesy of Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan Published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House Inc.