Fennel & Sea Salt Taralli

Salty, crunchy, fragrant and addictive. These fennel and sea salt Taralli are the perfect bite-sized snack to have with your afternoon espresso.

These are one of Italy’s most popular snacks for a reason. Taralli are made using Italian tipo “00” flour, extra-virgin olive oil, dry white wine, fragrant fennel seeds and sea salt. They are the perfect amount of salty, flaky crunch in every bite. While time consuming, Taralli last for up to a month on the counter so the effort is totally worth the time. In my version, the Taralli are bite-sized and rolled into a circle but you can play around with shapes, sizes and flavours to your liking.

Step 1

Prepare your Ingredients.

1 teaspoon sugar. This small amount of sugar is to feed the yeast. The flavour will not impact the final result.

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast. The yeast will feed off the sugar and serve as the leavening agent in the dough.

3/4 cup lukewarm water. The water should be no colder than your own body temperature. The water will activate the yeast at the right temperature.

7 cups "00" flour. Tipo “00” or doppio zero flour is the finest milled flour in Italy. The texture of the flour is like baby powder and will make the Taralli super flaky and delicate. Get yours here.

2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt. If you can, use an Italian sea salt to stay on theme, but any good quality sea salt will do well.

2 tablespoons fennel seeds, heaping. Make sure the fennel seeds are fresh and fragrant, as they are the main flavour in the Taralli. You can also toast the seeds lightly in a frying pan first if you want a more prominent flavour.

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. This step in optional, but I really like the flavour of freshly cracked pepper in these Taralli. If you can’t get your hands on freshly ground pepper, omit it from the recipe.

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, good quality. Olive oil will be the star ingredient here. You will want a very good quality EVOO, like this. The strong flavour of the olive oil adds so much to final product, you won’t want to skip this.

1 cup dry white wine. The white wine adds lots of flavour to the Taralli, so make sure it is a wine you enjoy drinking. You wont want anything too sweet, so try to get your hands on a dry white.

Step 2

Whisk together the yeast, sugar and water. The small amount of sugar will not impact the flavour, rather serve as food for the yeast. The water should be no colder than your body temperature. The yeast will activate and become frothy within 5-10 minutes, it is then ready to use.

Step 3

Combine the flour, fennel seeds, salt and pepper in the bowl of a stand mixer. I highly suggest using a stand mixer for this recipe, you can alternatively knead it by hand with lots of effort.

Step 4

Once the yeast is active, pour it over the flour with the olive oil and white wine. Use the dough hook to stir it together quickly before fitting it to the stand mixer.

Step 5

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes on a medium speed. The dough should be smooth, supple and elastic. Scrape the dough from the mixer onto an un-floured surface and gently knead into a smooth ball.

As you can see, a stand mixer is a must-have for recipes like this. If you are in the market for one, this is the one I use.

Step 6

Cover the dough with plastic and a tea towel for 1 hour to rest. This step will relax the gluten and make the dough easier to work with. The dough will only rise slightly, do not expect it to double.

Step 7

Flatten the dough ball slightly into an even disk, cut it into 8 equal sections. Use a knife or pastry scraper easily do this. Do not add extra flour.

Step 8

Work with one section at a time. Keep the remaining dough covered to keep it from drying out.

Roll the section in to one even 18” log.

Cut the log into 16 equal pieces by halving again and again until you have 16.

Step 9

Roll each little piece of dough into a rope about 8” long.

Step 10

Wrap the rope around your three middle fingers, overlapping the ends by an inch. Roll the ends together with your hands to stick them.

I make my taralli small, it is my personal preference to have bite-sized rather than breadsticks. Feel free to play around with the size, but note that the rope shouldn’t be more than 1/4” thick.

Step 11

Repeat with the remaining dough sections until you have made all 128 Taralli. It sounds like a lot, but once you get the hang of it, it goes really quickly. Involve the family if need be!

While you are rolling the remaining taralli, start a large pot of water to boil and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 12

Salt the water with a large pinch of sea salt.

Simmer 8 - 10 Taralli at a time, gently moving them so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

Simmer them for 30 seconds or until the float to the surface of the water.

Step 13

Using a slotted spoon, remove the taralli from the water and place onto the prepared baking sheets. They don’t need much room between them, but the taralli should not be overlapping.

Step 14

Bake the taralli at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 10 - 15 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

I like my taralli to be crispy and crunchy, so I tend to bake them longer. If you like yours softer, bake for 10 minutes.

Serve!

Once they are baked to a perfect texture, let the taralli cool completely before transferring to a basket lined with a cloth. The taralli will keep for up to one month.

Enjoy these fragrant, crispy delights with tea or coffee, anytime of day!

I give these to my toddler when she is teething and she is OBSESSED with them.