WILD FENNEL TARALLI

An aperitif that everyone can agree on

Difficulty low
Preparation 20 minutes
Cooking 20 minutes
Doses for Two baking trays
Suitable for Vegetarians

Aperitivo has become an essential ritual for most people, and sometimes it's even nice to host one at home with a few friends. It's an informal way to entertain friends, less demanding than planning a dinner party, and more fun than a simple snack.

Making it requires just a few simple steps and a thoughtful consideration of what we want to offer our guests. These taralli are simple, but they always appeal to everyone, especially since we can use just one dough to create a wide variety of flavors: from wild fennel, like the one I propose, to parmesan, sesame seeds, chili pepper for those with a more intense palate, and olives for those who prefer bolder flavors. They can be paired with cheese, cured meats, or mustards.

Ingredients

260 g of Gentil Rosso soft wheat flour
100 g of warm water
50 g of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of barley malt
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of wild fennel seeds
12 g of brewer's yeast
10 g of salt

PROCEDURE

Pour the warm water into a small bowl, add a spoonful of barley malt, and dissolve the brewer's yeast in it (photo 1). Separately, in a large bowl, add the flour, oil, Parmesan cheese, salt, and fennel seeds and begin kneading the dough (photo 2).

Then pour the liquid containing the yeast into the bowl with the flour.

Transfer your dough to a pastry board and knead it for about 10 minutes (photo 3). Let the dough rest covered with a clean cloth.

Once your dough has doubled in volume, begin shaping your taralli. Take a small amount of dough and form it into ropes about 10 cm long, thinner at the ends, and fold them over to form a circle (photos 4-5). Be careful not to leave too little space inside them, as they will rise again. Once you've used all the dough, let your taralli rise again for another 20 minutes (photo 6).