We are planning to visit Puglia in the South of Italy this fall. As a little teaser I already worked out a recipe that I would like to share with you: Taralli Pugliesi, which are typical crackers for the region. They are crispy, crumbly, and taste of white wine, olive oil and fresh herbs. The dough is quick and easy to make, and it is a great way to use your sourdough discard. The crackers don’t need any added yeast or baking powder and can be stored for a long time.
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What are Taralli Tradizionali?
Taralli Tradizionali are a traditional snack from the Puglia region in southern Italy. The little curls or rings are known for their smooth, glossy surface and their crisp and crumbly texture. Taralli are made of flour, wine and olive oil and are classically seasoned with fennel seeds or dried herbs. In the area around Rome there is a similar pastry – same shape, but sweet: Ciambelline al Vino.
What to serve along with Taralli?
Taralli are the perfect snack for in between and the ideal accompaniment to Italian antipasti, like cheese, toppings, olives or pickled vegetables. You can also eat the crackers with hummus or other dips.
How to store Taralli correctly
In order for Taralli to last and stay fresh and crisp for as long as possible, you should store them in an airtight container. This prevents the condensation of water. I like to store the crackers in a large glass jar, but a plastic or metal container is also fine. Before closing the container, the Taralli need to have cooled down completely.
You will need these ingredients for the Italian crackers with sourdough discard
- Wheat flour (all-purpose or Tipo 00): both types of flour are finely ground and contain a lot of gluten, making the dough elastic and giving it structure. All-purpose flour can be used for a large variety of baked goods, while the Italian category Tipo 00 is mostly used for Pizza and Pasta, is more finely ground and creates a silky dough.
- Olive oil isn’t just for the typical, slightly fruity aroma, but also influences the texture of Taralli. It makes for a smooth dough and a golden crust after baking.
- White wine adds a fruity, sour note and helps to loosen up the dough. It makes the crackers brittle, with a light crumb. Don’t worry about the alcohol – it evaporates completely when baking, so that only the taste of wine remains.
- Sourdough starter or discard: it makes the Taralli nice and light and adds a slightly sour aroma. You can use fresh starter or your leftovers after feeding it.
- Salt for flavor.
- Dried herbs and seasoning, such as rosemary, oregano, thyme or, traditionally, fennel seed.
This is how Taralli Pugliesi are made
First the dough is thoroughly kneaded and allowed to rest at room temperature for a good half an hour. Then it is cut into small pieces that are rolled into thin strips and shaped into small rings.
Before baking, the Taralli are cooked in water, similar to bagels. As soon as they rise to the surface, they are removed from the water, dripped off and then baked in the oven. This process creates a glossy surface and crispy texture.
More Italian recipes with sourdough
- Sourdough Grissini – Recipe for Crispy Italian Breadsticks
- Crunchy Sourdough Biscotti
- Italian Wine Cookies with Sourdough – Ciambelline al Vino
- Four easy ciabatta recipes with sourdough
- Italian focaccia with sourdough
Helpful tools – My recommendations
✨ The links with an star* are affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and buy something, I get a small commission and you support my work (thanks for that 🧡). This does not change the price for you. You can find more information on privacy policy here.✨
- A grain mill* for freshly ground wholemeal flour.
- A Danish Whisk* – especially if you don’t use a kitchen machine. This allows you to mix your ingredients without the whole dough sticking to the spoon.
- A kitchen scale*.
- You can use a stainless steel dough knife* to cut your dough pieces or shape your loaves.
- Baking steel* or baking stone to make your bread, rolls and pizza nice and crispy.
- When baking bread in a Dutch oven*, you can do without baking steel and a steam tray because the cast iron pot has the perfect climate.
- A cooling rack* or bread, rolls and waffles.
- A stainless steel kettle* with different temperature settings for soaked ingredients.
You can find more product recommendations here.
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Sourdough Grissini – Recipe for Crispy Italian Breadsticks
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Easy Seedy Sourdough Spelt Crispbread
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Italian Taralli Pugliesi Crackers – Recipe with Sourdough Discard
Ingredients
- 450 g all-purpose wheat flour or Tipo 00
- 120 g olive oil
- 150 g white wine
- 100 g sourdough starter
- 12 g salt
- dried herbs
Instructions
- Knead the flour, sourdough, olive oil, wine, salt and herbs into a smooth dough.
- Place the dough into an airtight container and let it rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Divide the dough into four equal parts, each quarter again into four, and again, so that you have 64 small dough pieces. Roll these into thin strips with the palms of your hands and connect and firmly press the ends together into small rings.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
- Bring water in a large pot to simmer, but not boil. Add the rings of dough into the water.
- When the rings rise to the water’s surface, you can scoop them up with a skimmer and let them drip off on a towel.
- Place the Taralli onto a baking tray and bake them for 30 to 35 minutes until crispy. Let the crackers cool down completely on a grid before packing them away in an airtight container.
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