Taralli: savory Italian doughnuts with only 4 ingredients
Para 6 0.2 €/pers. 440 kcal/100g.
- 500g of ordinary wheat flour, preferably low strength flour
- 150 ml of dry white wine
- 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g of fine salt
- Put the dry white wine and salt in a large bowl and stir until the salt dissolves. Add the extra virgin olive oil and whisk for a few seconds with a fork; you don't need to get a perfect emulsion.
- Add the 500g of flour and mix until all the ingredients are combined. Transfer the dough to the work surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth, compact, and free of any dry bits. Do not add water or yeast to the dough.
- We form a ball, return it to the bowl, and cover it to prevent it from drying out. We let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature; it doesn't need to rise, just become easier to stretch.
- We divide the dough into about 50 portions of approximately 15g each, keeping the unused portions covered. We roll each portion on the work surface until we obtain ropes 13–15 cm long and about 1 cm thick.
- We joined the two ends of each cord, pressed them together, and sealed them well to create a loop about 5 cm in diameter. We didn't simply overlap the join, as it could open in water.
- Place the formed taralli on a clean tray or board, without piling them up, and cover the dough waiting its turn. Try to make sure they are all a similar size so they dry and bake at the same rate.
- Bring plenty of unsalted water to a boil in a wide pot. The water is used solely for cooking; it is not a fifth ingredient in the dough. While it's heating, prepare a slotted spoon and spread a clean cloth on a flat surface.
- We add a few rings at a time, making sure they don't overlap. We maintain a gentle boil and, when they rise to the surface, we remove them with a slotted spoon. Blanching usually lasts between 30 and 60 seconds per batch.
- We laid the rings flat on the cloth in a single layer, without rubbing or flattening them, and let them dry for 30 minutes. They should lose any surface water before being placed in the oven; if the cloth is too wet, we carefully moved them to a dry area.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F), using the top and bottom heating elements. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and arrange the blanched taralli on them, about 25 per tray, leaving a small space between them.
- Bake both trays for 35–40 minutes, switching their rack positions and rotating them halfway through, until the rings are evenly golden brown and have a dry surface. If your oven doesn't accommodate two trays, bake them in two batches, allowing for a longer total baking time.
- We remove the tray and transfer the taralli to a wire rack. We wait about 20 minutes, until they are completely cool, before tasting or storing them. The inside finishes setting as they cool.
In Apulia, in southern Italy, taralli are eaten by the handful as an aperitif. Their ring shape is reminiscent of doughnuts, but they are neither sweet nor fried: they are small, savory bites with a firm surface and a crispy interior. The white wine is incorporated into the dough along with the oil and flour; it is not a beverage added when serving.
Because they're meant to be snacked on, they're similar to Valencian breadsticks or sunflower seed bread, although here we're not looking for a breadstick or an airy crumb. The rings are made with four ingredients, without yeast, and are briefly submerged in boiling water before going into the oven. This double baking helps achieve their characteristic texture.
Italian focaccia also uses oil in the dough, but it's prepared to be tender and fluffy; these taralli go in the opposite direction. It's best to make them small and of uniform thickness, because the dough needs to lose moisture during baking. The quantities given yield approximately 50 taralli, enough for a good-sized bowl of appetizers.
