Taralli are a typical product of Italy’s culinary tradition. To be more precise, they originate from Apulia (or Puglia, in Italian) a region in Southern Italy, in “the heel” of Italy’s boot-shaped geography. Taralli are typically small, round and crunchy… bakery products; I have a hard time defining them, but I think I’ll stick with calling them a snack!
After all, they do work wonders as a snack – whether it’s paired up with a glass of wine, in a cheese platter or simply on their own, they are always mouth-wateringly delicious!
As a bonus point, Taralli can last several days if kept in a sealed container, which makes it easy to make a larger batch of them to enjoy throughout the week!
There are all manners of shapes and flavors of Taralli, so today we’ll start with making some classic ones with – optionally – some fennel seeds!

As a recipe, Taralli are quite simple: all you will need is some flour, semolina, salt, white wine, olive oil and – optionally – fennel seeds. I personally love Taralli with fennel seeds, so I strongly recommend trying this variant out! As a small note, with the scale of 1 from the selector above, you can make approximately 30 pieces.

Make the dough

To start, pour the wine in a glass or measuring cup and dissolve the salt in it. Then, put the flour, semolina, olive oil and the salty wine in a bowl and start mixing!

If you want to keep your hands clean, I recommend to start mixing the ingredients with a fork! Once the wine and oil have been absorbed by flour, you can start kneading by hand. Thanks to the oil that is in the dough, this shouldn’t be very sticky, so just keep going until you have a more-or-less smooth ball. At this point, you can optionally add into the mix the fennel seeds! If you do, also knead a little bit longer so the seed evenly distribute throughout the dough. Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth and let it rest for about 30 minutes. There is no yeast here so this is not going to rise, but it helps making it easier to work with later!

Shaping and baking the Taralli

Things get easier and easier from here on out! Line up a sheet pan with some baking paper and set the dough on a cutting board. Pinch off a piece of dough and roll it on your cutting board into a chunky little rope. Cut it into smaller bits, then twist and shape each one into the classic Taralli rings. Set the Taralli on the sheet pan and repeat the process until you run out of dough! This process can take a little bit because you pretty much have to make them one by one, but this can also be something fun for other family members or kids to try!

Baking time!

Preheat your oven (static, not ventilated) to 220C (430F) and put them in! The Taralli will be ready when they’re brown on the outside, on all sides, and feel hard/crunchy to the touch! Baking should take 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven, but if it’s your first time making this recipe just keep an eye on them and let the Taralli tell you when they’re ready! If they’re cooking too fast on one side and not the other, flipping mid-baking is also an option.

Once they’re ready and out of the oven, let them cool down for a little bit and enjoy!

Try out more recipes!

Want to try out more recipes from the Mediterrean cuisine? Pick one from below!

Classic Taralli

Taralli are a typical product of Italy’s culinary tradition. To be more precise, they originate from Apulia (or Puglia, in Italian) a region in Southern Italy, in “the heel” of Italy’s boot-shaped geography. Taralli are typically small, round and crunchy… bakery products; I have a hard time defining them, but I think I’ll stick with…

Pesto Genovese

Pesto Genovese – a staple of italian cuisine – is a very quick and easy recipe that won’t disappoint!