Ingredients
2 teaspoons quick rise dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 cups flour
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/3 cup Tenderflake [lard], melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon anise seeds, lightly roasted
For topping
2 egg whites, beaten
Directions
Proof yeast in 1/2 cup warm water and 1/2 teaspoon sugar.
Lightly roast the anise seeds.
Using a mortar and pestle, pound the anise seeds a little (the pounding will help release the flavor, but this is an optional step).
Mix the salt, the black pepper, and the anise seeds with 2 cups flour.
Mix the seasoned flour with the proofed yeast and Marsala wine, and work into a soft malleable dough (if the dough is too sticky, add a touch more flour, if the dough is too hard add a touch more water). Knead the dough for about 8 minutes.
Shape the dough into a ball.
Place the ball of dough in a container. Cover and let it rest for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
On a floured wooden board shape the ball of dough into a long log.
Cut off a small piece of dough and shape into a tarallini log -- about 5 inches long and 1/2 inch wide.
Shape the thin log into a half bow and pinch the ends together.
Place the tarallini on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Brush the tops of the tarallini with beaten egg white.
Bake in a preheated 350 F degrees oven until the tarallini are golden brown -- about 20 minutes.
Notes
Image: Valentin Serov: A la fenetre, 1886. |
