Taralli de Pane

This is not a recipe I normally make in the summer (it not only requires oven baking, but boiling on the stove), but I had a request for it, so I'll post it now rather than wait until fall/winter when I generally make these.  They are great served with cheese, or just as a take-along snack.

The recipe is from my Aunt Anna, my mom's eldest sister, born in 1906. She was a no-nonsense, hard-working woman who cooked and baked by instinct rather than formula. For years, I begged her for the recipe to these Italian bread rings, but she always insisted that they were "a lot of work" to make. Eventually, when she was in her mid-80s, Aunt Anna (with a twinkle in her eye) confessed that there wasn't any "recipe." If I wanted to learn how to make them, I'd have to spend a day with her in the kitchen and watch her. So, notebook in hand, I did.

For starters, she didn't make a "batch" of taralli (and in her Italian dialect, she pronounced them "tarral"...roll the R and stop at the L); she made enough to fill a large paper grocery bag. And she didn't measure ingredients. Her demo started with "5 pounds of flour, plus a few scoops more, some yeast, a little glass of wine, about this much oil..."). I scribbled fast as she spoke, mixed and kneaded.  I wrote parenthetical notes to myself suggesting "a little oil" implied about six ounces. The process took several hours, but it was wonderful to spend the day with her in that familiar kitchen of my childhood that always smelled great.

Once I had a rough recipe on paper, I had to cut it down to a reasonable batch size. Then I had to tweak the amount of each ingredient until the consistency, texture and taste were exactly as we all remembered Aunt Anna's taralli to be. There was some trial and error with ingredients, temperature, baking time, etc.), and I used my family as taste testers. Their conclusions went from, "No way. They taste nothing like hers," to "I think you've got it!"

Lastly, I had to adapt the recipe to the modern conveniences I enjoy in my kitchen-- mainly stand mixer and convection oven.

I've tasted commercial varieties of taralli de pane (and those made by Italian friends and family), but none come close to Aunt Anna's. These, although not exactly like hers, are quite authentic. Conclusion: special aunts and recipes can be imitated, but never replaced.

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour

3/4 cup (coarse) semolina flour

1/2 teaspoon yeast

2 tablespoons fennel seed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 cups water

Additional oil for water boil.

Attach dough hook to stand mixer. If you don't have a dough hook, the paddle you use for cookies will probably work fine. If you don't have a stand mixer, hand-kneading worked fine for my aunt.

Combine flours, yeast, fennel seed, olive oil and wine in the bowl of a stand mixer. Dissolve salt in water and add all at once to bowl. Mix until a ball forms.

Take about 2 tablespoons of dough, roll it into a small ball, and then into a rope. I do this on a wooden board. For crispier taralli, make the ropes narrower in diameter.

Form into shape below (which is sort of a sideways/upside-down awareness ribbon shape), and pinch to seal intersection of rope ends so it stays fixed.

Repeat with remaining dough and let rest uncovered on a lightly floured surface for about an hour.

While taralli are resting and drying out a bit, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add about 2 tablespoons of oil (vegetable oil is fine) to the water. Boil the taralli in small batches until they float to the surface.

Remove and let dry on a cookie rack over a towel-lined baking sheet. Let them sit for about 2 hours. While they are drying, preheat the oven to 325°F.

Place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes (or until golden).

Cool completely and then store in a paper bag. This recipe makes 2-3 dozen taralli.

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

Vanilla Cake Layer

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 eggs at room temperature 

1/2 cup milk 

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.  

Grease and flour a 9-inch round baking pan (or just spray it with the "baking" variety of vegetable cooking spray).  

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a larger mixing bowl (I use a stand mixer), cream together butter, sugar and vanilla until blended.  Add eggs one at a time.  When the texture is smooth, add milk.  Add dry ingredients slowly, and blend until all ingredients are mixed in well (don't forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl). Pour into pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until cake tester indicates it's done.  I use a convection oven, so the baking time may vary in your oven.

After the cake cools about 5 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack, let it cool completely, and then cut out a circle (I use the trifle bowl as a template) and place the layer in the bottom of the trifle bowl.  

Cheesecake Layer

1 12-ounce tub of whipped cream cheese

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 generous teaspoon vanilla

Mix all together well and spread over the cake layer.

Strawberry Layer

Wash, hull, and slice strawberries, and layer them over the cream cheese mixture. Again, use as many or as few as you'd like.  I don't add sugar to the berry layer, but if you like things on the sweeter side, add a tablespoon of granulated sugar to the berries before you layer them on.

Whipped Cream Layer

1/2 pint fresh heavy cream (I don't use ultra-pasteurized)

1-2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar (again, add more or less to your taste)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whip together on high speed with electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  Don't over beat, or you will end up with butter!  Layer whipped cream over strawberries.

Add more strawberries to top layer and garnish with fresh mint.

Personal Preference:  I use as many organic ingredients as possible (butter, eggs, milk, strawberries).

Shortcut:  If you don't want to make the cake layer from scratch, I recommend Dr. Oetker Organics Vanilla Cake Mix. You can find it in the Nature's Marketplace section of Wegmans.   The only problem with using a mix is that you will end up with an extra layer of cake.  My homemade recipe is for exactly one 9-inch layer.