Calabrese Taralli
Calabrese Taralli are very different from those made in other regions of Italy. In some parts of Italy these crunchy breadsticks go alongside some good Vin Santo, but I love mine dunked. Growing up an immigrant in a Calabrese/Sicilian home we ate these for breakfast. We dunked them in milk with coffee and we were so lucky to have a nonna who baked every day.
Recently, we kind of had a family feud Taralli baking day. That’s when I decide to call my mom and get the official recipe. Of course there were no measurements; and so, I gambled and was lucky. Growing up I made these thousands of times along my nonna, but you know, she used a handful of this and a glass of that. In fact, mom said to me you know, use a small glass of oil. I had to think, she meant the small Italian wine glasses. I love the black Anise seeds, but searched high and low for them in Italy last year and couldn’t find them. You can find green Anise seeds or use fennel, but today, I opted out.
It’s hard to probably pinpoint the origin of these well-loved breadsticks. I think they stem from the cucina povera. They probably had leftover bread dough and decide to get creative. That’s why you can have savoury or sweet taralli, but of course the recipe changes a bit. In the North they use white wine, but down south we like to drink our wine from a cup. LOL Either way enjoy!!
Here is a sweet taralli/ginetti we make for Easter: https://recipesatmytable.com/nonnas-easter-ginetti/
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup oil ( Canola, vegetable or a light olive oil will do)
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp Anise seeds or fennel (optional)
Process
Mix the 1 cup water, 2 tsp yeast and and 1 tsp sugar. Along side I whisk the egg with the 1/2 a cup oil and then add the cold water.
Pulse the flour and the salt.
Add the oil, water and egg mixture first and pulse. Follow with the yeast mixture.
Turn the dough onto a counter and knead. I added about 1/4 cup flour. I kneaded the dough for about 5 minutes.
It was smooth and not sticky.
I cut the dough into four pieces and then each piece into 8.
We rolled the smaller pieces into ropes. I cut each piece of Dough into 12 inch ropes and joined the two ends by pinching them. This should form a ring. the thinner the rope, the crispier the bread stick.
I laid out a table cloth and put the ropes on top.
Don’t overcrowd the ropes in the boiling water. Two minutes are enough. Take them out with a slotted spoon and place on a pan with parchment paper or a cooling rack and then lay them out back on the table-cloth.
Into a 375 F oven they go for 8 minutes on each side.
Out of the oven and ready for some dunking.
Calabrese Taralli
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup oil Canola, vegetable or a light olive oil will do
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp Anise seeds or fennel optional
- Makes 32 breadsticks
Instructions
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Mix the 1 cup of water, 2 tsp yeast and 1 tsp sugar. Let it get foamy. In another bowl whisk the egg and the 1/2 cup of oil. To this add the cold water.
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In a mixer pulse the flour and salt. Now add the oil, water, and egg mixture first and then follow with the yeast mixture. Add the Anise seeds if you choose now. Knead with the dough hook for about 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and not sticky. Keep an extra 1/4 cup of flour handy if needed here.
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Cover with a tea towel and let dough rest for about 30 minutes.
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Place the dough on a floured counter and knead for one minute.
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Cut the dough into quarters. Roll each quarter into a log and cut each log into 8 pieces.
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Roll each piece of dough into 12 inch ropes and join the two ends by pinching. This should form a ring. The thinner the rope the crispier the bread stick. Put breadsticks on a table cloth.
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Set a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Drop the trail into the water and do not overcrowd the pan. Put in about 4 taralli at a time. When they come to the top, remove with a slotted spoon.
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Place on a cooling rack or a pan covered with parchment paper to drain. Then they can go back onto the tablecloth.
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Set your oven to F 375 and place the breadsticks directly onto the oven rack for about 15 to 20 minutes. I like them golden brown. Keep an eye on them
We are from Cleto Calabria , living in Sault Ste Marie Ontario Canada. This is how we make ours as well. We grew up wrongly calling them biscotti, because of our Calabrese slang . We like them more on the crunchy side than soft. If they accidentally come out soft, we just heat in oven until they become harder. And yes, anise seeds are a must for us. Breakfast of champions or great with salami and cheese as a snack. Great to read fellow calabrese posts.
Love to read such comments Cam. I think you know my husband John from Korah. Hope you had great holidays and Happy New Year!!
hi Renata. my grandmother was from Maida, Calabria she made them all the time but her taralli were soft and chewy not like breadsticks at all. more like a bagel any suggestions? BTW she would make two shaped like “B” and one like a “T” for her grandsons Bob Bucky and Thom now I’m getting emotional
I love when the recipes bring back family memories. Your grandmother’s taralli were probably amazing too. Each region has its own recipes. My mom would make them soft and chewy too. All you have to do is alter the recipe and add less flour. Wishing you and your family a wonderful time of the year. Buon Natale!!!
I just came across your recipe for taralli. My mother was calabrese and my father was from Crispiano. We grew up eating taralli every Easter. My mother would make them like bagels and clip the edges so that they resembled the crown of thorns and they were very peppery. Her recipe called for 6 eggs. They were wonderful and addictive. This Easter my granddaughter wants to learn how to make them so I thought I would try your recipe but with black pepper instead of anise seed. Thank you for sharing. I love your recipes.
Hi Terrie,
So glad this works for you and you are making family memories. Wishing you and your family a wonderful and joyful Easter.
Renata
We are from Cosenza Calabria Italy. My mother and mother in law made them all the time(no measurement). I like your recipe, just added more flour. Do you put them in a cold water bath after you boil them? I think they used to. The ones they made came shiny and smooth.
I am glad you like this. My nonna never put them in a cold water bath. As I often say, there are many ways to modify our recipes and each region had their own special touches. Thanks for your suggestion, I will try it.
I’ve never made taralli before but was determined to learn. Your recipe is great and I love the crispy texture. I’ve made them a couple of times already. I am lucky enough to have a good supply of anice seeds we bought from Italy a long time ago and they are still perfect. Only thing I do different is I bake them on cookie sheets, so they bake for longer.
I am so glad you like the recipe. My mom and I worked it out a few times to get the measurements just right. My mom continues to make hers in a large bin with no measurements. LOL I like that you tried a cookie sheet. My mom says they baked them on the oven racks so that the air flowed all around the taralli. Also, they did not have many cooking pans etc.
This was my fourth and last attempt at making these!! Your recipe is the exact texture I was looking…very close to the Italian bakery here which are very good but quite expensive. Beautiful dough to work with. I used my dough hook for the kneeling and fennel seeds for flavour.
Thank you….
Thanks Judy. It makes me so happy when my recipes bring joy to others. It took me a while to figure out the quantities with my mom. Enjoy!!
I do not have a pulsates can I do this by hand ? I have Italian background
Hi Mary. Yes, I often do it by hand. I use the stand mixer or blender when I want to cut time. We always did it by hand with my nonna. Enjoy!!
Hi – my dad is from Calabria and made these often. They were not sweet, so I don’t think he used sugar and never used anise seed. They were chewy and somewhat dry. My question is can I eliminate the sugar in your recipe and still accomplish the same results or does the yeast need it?
Yes the bit of sugar is to help the yeast. Different areas of Calabria make them in different ways. It is very common all over Italy to have one recipe name and many ways of making it. I always enjoy reading about the different ways things are made.
Hi Renata,
My parents were born in Esca and my mom made taralli now I am carrying the tradition. Ours didn’t have eggs or sugar it was more for dipping in coffee. My siblings and family members love them . The recipe is so easy didn’t you ever hear of this kind. 2 cups of water and 1 cup of olive oil you work the dough as almost to a bread dough . You put the anise with the oil and water and it works into the dough. I usually travel to Italy in the summer and me and my husband go almost like hunting to see who has the seeds. In America it’s like goal for the Calabrese people lol
Thanks Kay. Loved talking to you through email. I love all the diversity even within our own region.
Each recipe is special and meaningful to us. I am going to try your taralli in the fall. It is too
hot to make them now. Stay in touch Paesana.
My best friend got me some for Christmas 2020…gonna finally make a batch of taralli with it this weekend . It’s not even my favorite flavor (black pepper for life!) but it just doesn’t feel right not to make some with it. 🙂
Lucky girl. It is very hard to find, even in Italy. Next time I am there, I am going to go
and pick some. Let me know how they turn out. Thanks.
Grew up with all sorts of Tarralis. My kids and grandkids love them!! I have many recipes..love them all!! Most are savory but I also have sweet ones that my Mom iced.
Taralli are very versatile. There are many ways to make them. Glad that you can pass these recipes on to family and friends. I love the sweet ones too; I make them at Easter.
Enjoy your time in the kitchen!!!
Hi, Next weekend I will be doing some that I will serve with the Italian wedding soup. We are doing a take-out with the family since we can’t meet. Anxious so see how it will turn out.
Oh that sounds wonderful. Let me know how it goes. I am sure your family will enjoy!!
Hi Renata,
I love taralli !!! My family and relatives, including my two sisters are from the province of Frosinone, region of Lazio, taralli was not something they knew about. My childhood friend’s mom many years ago tried to show my mom, but when mom tried making them on her own, they did not turn out smooth and perfect (but they were so good anyway) she never tried it again. I grew up with friends from Calabria and married one too, so I didn’t have to learn how to make them, they were always available. (BTW… I’ve been to Leamington many times when growing up, my parents had friends and distant relatives there. I have wonderful memories of everyone and everything there)…
I wish I would have paid more attention in the kitchen growing up, now all I have left is my mom’s little black hand written recipe book, and in it has the recipe my friend’s mom gave her on taralli, and a few other Calabrese recipes.
I am fortunate to still have my 95 year old mother-in-law who is helping me along, but no measurements, she goes by eye and feel. When I saw your recipe with photos…I just couldn’t believe how close to what she was telling me, but yours has “measurements”🙏. No more guessing. Your recipe was my fourth attempt, they turned out perfect! I will try again to make them thinner next time to see if they turn out crunchy, these were soft and chewy. I prefer crunchy but my family likes them soft.
Thank you, you restored my confidence.
Rina
Rina, this makes me so happy. There are many recipes that I am still trying to work out the quantities. I think being in the kitchen cooking gives me an insight into my ancestors. The simple ingredients they used,
the love of making the recipes and the pleasure watching their families eat was all a part of their Italian kitchen. Thanks for sharing your story. Your family is lucky to have you. Enjoy the time in your kitchen and
perfecting those taralli!!
A couple of questions:
a) recipe says cut dough ball into 4 and then each piece into 8. So total number produced is 32?
b) how long would you recommend that each piece be rolled out to and thinkness?
c) thoughts on adding a bit more that a tsp of anise seeds.
Thank you!
Hi Jennifer.
a) Yes you get 32 breadsticks. You can double this recipe.
b) The length and the thickness depends on your taste. If you want a fatter one more suitable for dunking then make smaller ropes. If you want
to eat them crunchy with wine or a cocktail, then make longer thinner ropes. My fat one are about 1/2 inch thick and the thin ones are 1/4 inch
thick.
c) I like the anise seeds to be sparse, but adjust to your taste.
I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂
Hi Renata
My mom(I’m Calabrese)
always used to make taralli , should have paid more attention when she was making them. Do these come out crunchy or soft? . Ours were soft
Thanks
Hi Nina, I love connecting with more people from Calabria. These are medium crunchy. If you want them softer, make them shorter and fatter. I like to dunk the soft ones and I make the crunchy ones to eat with wine. LOL
Nice meeting you and let me know if you have any other questions.
Should the dough be lfeft to rise?
Mom just covers it with a towel and lets it stand for 5 minutes. No need to rise for breadsticks.
They turned out awesome thanks!
Aww that makes me smile. Glad you enjoyed the recipe and the product. Thanks so much!!
Is there a “print recipe function” for this recipe.
Sorry Anne. You can copy and paste it into a word document and then print . The recipe box was giving me issues. I apologize.
Renata, can you use quick rise yeast for this recipe?
When I was a little girl, my nonna would use the blocks of yeast. Now we all use the instant yeast and works just fine.
Just finished making your recipe for taralli. My granddaughter had a blast making them. We put 2 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper and the “bite” was just right. Yesterday we made bread and tomorrow we will make zeppole for breakfast. Thank you again!
Hi Renata, thank you for your suggestions. My cousin asked for your taralli recipe but she lives in Italy…can you tell me the ingredients in grams…it’s a bit difficult for me to change measurements from cups to grams. Also, what flour should she use, the 0 flour in Italy. Thank you again and look forward to your response.
Each cup is about 200 grams. My mom always uses all purpose flour. I use 00 flour for pasta and pizza. I have never tried it for breadsticks. I hope this helps.
Hi, I made your taralli with fennel recipe today but I thought the dough came out too moist to handle….maybe I should have put more flour into the recipe….I made the taralli smaller than you made and when I boiled them in the pot of boiling water, they did not go to the bottom but stayed on the top of the water. When I took them out and put them on a clean towel, they stuck to the towel and I wasn’t really happy how they baked in the oven. Any suggestions, of what I did wrong…
Hi Rosalie,
Make sure that your measurements are precise. It is all in the kneading. Maybe try using a stand mixer to knead the dough. I used an extra 1/4 cup of flour
when I kneaded by hand. I also use cotton table cloth. Next time you can try using a baking rack to dry them. When you boil them don’t overcrowd the pot, and they don’t stay down
for long. If you find the ropes hard, try making sticks until you get the hang of it. I don’t think you did anything wrong, sometimes, it just takes practice. Let me know if you
have any other questions. 🙂