Black Pepper & Fennel Taralli
By: Patricia Turo
Published: Saturday, August 7, 2010 - 6:12am

Ingredients




Dry Ingredients
8 cups flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 ounce dry yeast (1 package is ¼ ounce or 7 g)
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, crushed by hand
3 tablespoons fennel seed, whole
Wet Ingredients
1 egg
3/4 cup warm water
1 cup oil
12 ounces can beer
Egg Wash
1 egg
2 tablespoons water

Preparation

1 DOUGH 2 In a small bowl add the warm water and dry yeast. Let it rest in a warm place for 15 minutes until it foams. In a separate large bowl, add all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle and add the egg. Gradually add oil, the yeast mixture and beer alternating with the flour mixture until the dough is formed. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead the dough until it is smooth and workable. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rest on the counter for at least one hour. 3 ASSEMBLY 4 Form the dough into a cylinder about 1/2″ thick, and cut them into pieces about 6″ long. Take each 6” long piece of dough and bring the ends together to form an oval shape. Press the ends together with your thumb. Brush the taralli with the egg wash and place them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. 5 BAKE 6 Bake for 20 minutes at 375º F. They should be lightly brown on the top. 7 NOTE: They will last about 1 month stored in a paper bag or a metal container. Do not put them in a humid place.

About


Taralli are similar to a bisquit. It is not sweet and can be made with black pepper, red pepper flakes, fennel seed and anise seed. They are eaten by Italians of all ages and most often dunked in wine. They area a national biscotti in Italy.

Comments:
Cathy Kowall

I made these from your recipe and they were a big hit.  Everyone wants me to make them again ..they went very fast!  All my friends want some now! LOL...I haven't had these since I was a little girl and my moms friend from Italy made them!
Thanks for sharing! :)