Taralli Pugliesi; Ain’t I the Italian Babe!

I'm a baking Bread Baking Babe this month!

First – I had / could get all the ingredients.

Second – they were so cute

Third – how could I pass up a chance to be Italian!

These wonderful little gems are brought to you courtesy of Ilva, of Lucullian Delights is our host kitchen this month.  Visit her blog for gorgeous photos, the proper recipe and the story behind these tasty treats.

Now I have to confess…

As usual, I decided to make them, skimmed the recipe, noted that I had all the ingredients, and promptly put it out of my mind.

As I was standing in the open doorway one morning, at 3 am, temperature just below freezing (that's -2C, 28F), in my robe, watching my old dog pee, for the second time since we went to bed…..

It occurred to me that I was going to have a difficult time finding a pan big enough to boil 25 inch circles of dough.

And why would anyone want them that big anyway?!?!

Went back to bed and promptly forgot about it again.

Last Sunday, with a pot of Italian Meatball Soup bubbling away on the cook top, I finally printed out and read the actual recipe.

My first quick perusal got one thing right: I had quickly calculated how long it would take me (usually grossly underestimated) and worked backward from dinner to get my starting time.

I got one thing wrong, thankfully.  Apparently I did a math reversal, and, instead of seeing 10cm and thinking 2.5 inches I thought 25 inches. 

Those little decimal points can be so tricky, sometimes….

Trust me, 2 1/2 inches is much more reasonable.

I cut the recipe in half, as we are only two.

Taralli Pugliesi…

Adapted from Anna Maria Gostti Della Salda's monumental food bible Le ricette regionali italiane.

500gr (1.1lbs) all purpose flour
100gr (3.5oz) olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
30gr (1oz) fennel seeds
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
sea salt

Proof the yeast in 2 tbs warm water (45C, 110F).
Whisk egg, olive oil and yeast water together.
Add flour, fennel seeds and salt, stir well to combine, then tip out onto a board or counter.  Lightly knead the dough, adding small amounts of warm water until you have a firm but pliable dough.
Let it rest a minute wile you line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cut off a smallish chunk of dough and, using both hands, roll into strips that are about as thick as your little finger, then cut into 10-12cm/ 2-2,5 in lengths.  Pinch the ends together to make a circle.
Put the taralli on the parchment paper, cover with a towel and let them rest about 20 minutes.
Bring a pot of water to boil.
When the Taralli are well rested, drop 3 or 4 at a time into the simmering water.  When they surface, lift them out with a slotted spoon and lay them on a rack for a minute or two.
Put them back on the parchment paper lined baking sheets and bake 200C (400F) for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove, sprinkle with sea salt and eat.

I loved these.

And I loved them the next day…. Crispy, slightly chewy, with the taste of fennel and olive oil.

They were very moorish…..

Check out the rest of the Babes for their Taralli (And I'll do the recap tomorrow)

 The Bread Baking Babes

Bake My Day – Karen

blog from OUR kitchen – Elizabeth

Canela and Comino – Gretchen

Cookie Baker Lynn – Lynn

Feeding My Enthusiasms – Elle

Grain Doe – Gorel

I Like To Cook – Sara

Living in the Kitchen with Puppies – Natashya

Living on bread and water – Monique

Lucullian Delights – Ilva

My Kitchen In Half Cups – Tanna

Notitie Van Lien – Lien

Paulchens FoodBlog – Astrid

The Sour Dough – Breadchick Mary

Wild Yeast – Susan

 Ah, it's fun to be back in the panties again…..