Taralli

Step 1

Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl together with the seasoning of your choice - I recommend using one to begin with. I went with toasted and crushed (in a pestle and mortar) fennel and dry garlic power.

Step 2

Add white wine and olive oil and mix everything together with a spoon, until scraggly dough forms.

Step 3

Empty your dough onto your work surface and knead for about 20 minutes, until the dough is uniform and elastic.

Step 4

Place the dough in a clean bowl and allow it to rest for 30 minutes under a damp kitchen towel.

Step 5

Take a quarter of the dough and form into a long snake, cut into into equal size pieces to make sure they all take the same amount in the oven. Mine were 9 g / 0.3 oz each, I used scales to ensure they are all the same size. Roll each piece into a long, thin snake. Fold the right end over the left to form a loop. Continue until you've used up all of the dough.

Step 6

Bring a pot of salted water to a gentle boil and prepare a baking tray with a metal rack on top or a regular tray lined with a clean kitchen towel.

Step 7

Give the water a gentle stir and place 10 taralli in the simmering water at one time. As soon as each tarallo comes up to the surface, fish it out with a slotted spoon and place on the prepared tray, prettier side up. Allow all of the taralli to drain and dry out completely before baking.

Step 8

Set the oven to 200° C / 390° F and bake cool taralli in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes - until golden brown. You may want to brush the taralli with some extra olive oil before baking for a nicer finish, but that's totally optional. Allow the taralli to cool off completely before getting stuck in - they get crispier as they cool.