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Taralli or Tarallini Pugliesi are a delicious little snack from Puglia. Crunchy and crispy made with white wine, flour and olive oil. Add your favourite herbs and spices and serve them with drinks for an Italian aperitivo!
Taralli are the PERFECT snack to serve alongside your aperol spritz (or cocktail of choice). They’re small, crunchy and totally addictive, yup…you need some self-control around these things.
Traditionally from Puglia, you’ll find them in different shapes and sizes, technically these are tarallini (small taralli) and can be flavoured with fennel seeds, chilli flakes or herbs.
They’re really easy to make and keep for weeks so you can store them in jars and serve them for when the clock strike aperitivo time, enjoy!
Ingredients – what you need
See the photo below that shows you all the ingredients you need plus some important tips!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It- Flour – I use Italian 00 (double zero) flour but you can use all-purpose flour instead (plain flour UK). If measuring in cups and using AP flour you may need to add a little more wine if it seems too dry.
- White wine – use a dry white wine such as Verdeca (Puglian), Soave or Pinot Grigio.
- Olive oil – extra virgin olive oil will give you the best flavour!
- Salt – it’s important to season the Taralli with salt, don’t skip it or they’ll lack in flavour.
- Fennel seeds – this is an optional addition and my personal favourite. If you want you can add in pepperoncino (red pepper flakes/chilli flakes), rosemary, oregano, parmigiano, just choose your favourites!
Visual walk-through of the recipe
Put the flour, salt and fennel seeds in a large mixing bowl and mix until combined (photo 1).
Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the white wine and olive oil. Using a fork start incorporating the flour into the liquid until a rough dough forms (photos 2 & 3).
Knead the dough for around 10 minutes then wrap in plastic wrap (cling film UK). (photo 4).
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Pinch a small amount of dough (about 8g) and roll it into a small rope about 5-6 inches long and 1cm (1/2 inch thick) (photo 5 & 6).
Form a small bagel shape by folding one end over the other and lightly press the ends to join them. Repeat with the rest of the dough until you have formed all of the Taralli (photos 7 & 8).
Preheat the oven to 375F (190C) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
In batches, boil them in salted water until they float to the surface (about 10 seconds), remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a clean dish towel to drain for a few seconds (photos 9 & 10).
Once they are cool enough to touch, remove them to a lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and crispy (photos 11 & 12). Let cool, then serve.
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Flavour variations to try – Fennel seeds, red pepper flakes (chilli flakes), rosemary, oregano, black pepper, Parmigiano Reggiano. Use as much or as little as you like.
- Don’t use too much flour – when rolling the Taralli try to use as little flour as possible. The dough should be tacky but not stick to your hands.
- Use salt – salt is an important ingredient for flavouring the Taralli so don’t skip it!
Yes, you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment to make and knead the dough.
White wine is traditionally used so for authenticity and flavour I recommend using it. If you’re avoiding alcohol you can use cold water instead.
The Taralli will keep well in an air tight container for 3-4 weeks.
More Italian appetisers to try
- Fried Sausage Stuffed Olives – Delicious And Crispy
- Grissini – Italian Breadsticks
- Fried Sage Leaves with Anchovies
- Italian Farinata Chickpea Flatbread (La Cecina Toscana)
- Baked Ricotta with Thyme and Parmesan
If you’ve tried these Taralli Pugliesi or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest or sign up to our Newsletter to see more of our delicious food.
Step By Step Photos Above
Most of our recipes come with step by step photos, helpful tips and tricks to make it perfectly first time and even video!
Taralli Pugliesi
Ingredients
- 2 cups Italian 00 flour, (290g) can also use all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup dry white wine, (140ml) cold
- 1/4 cup olive oil, (60ml)
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes plus extra for boiling
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds, (optional)
Instructions
- Put the flour, salt and fennel seeds in a large mixing bowl and mix until combined.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the white wine and olive oil. Using a fork start incorporating the flour into the liquid until a rough dough forms.
- Knead the dough for around 10 minutes then wrap in plastic wrap (cling film UK).
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Pinch a small amount of dough (about 8g) and roll it into a small rope about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick and 5-6 inches long.
- Form a small bagel shape by folding one end over the other and lightly press the ends to join them. Repeat with the rest of the dough until you have formed all of the Taralli.
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃) fan and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- In batches, boil them in salted water until they float to the surface (about 5-10 seconds), remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a clean dish towel to drain for a few seconds.
- Once they are cool enough to touch remove them to a lined baking tray and bake them for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
- Let them cool completely, then serve.
Video
Notes
- Flavour variations to try – Fennel seeds, red pepper flakes (chilli flakes), rosemary, oregano, black pepper, Parmigiano Reggiano. Use as much or as little as you like.
- Don’t use too much flour – when rolling the Taralli try to use as little flour as possible. The dough should be tacky but not stick to your hands.
- Use salt – salt is an important ingredient for flavouring the Taralli so don’t skip it!
- Storage – the taralli will keep well in an airtight container for 3-4 weeks.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe made a beautiful dough and it was mindless fun forming them into 85 taralli. Boiled them… all good. Baked for 37 minutes at 375. Alas, they were not crispy. Tough and undercooked. What went wrong? I do not know.
Not as good as the real thing!
I actually still have some in my freezer that I bought on my recent trip to Puglia and I love, Love, LOVE the ones from Italy. They are crumbly and crunchy, with a light salty flavor. Mine came out undercooked, a little rubbery, and didn’t have that flour-dust flavor of the fresh ones from Italy. Did I boil them too long? Knead the dough for too long? Not bake long enough? Maybe it’s the 00 flour they use in Italy?
Hi David, I’m sorry to hear this didn’t work out for you. I made this recipe today to try and figure out what is going wrong, and I’ve since made a few amendments and clarifications to the recipe. My taralli were really crispy and crumbly.
I clarified that I tested the recipe with a fan (convection) oven at 190C/375F. I’m wondering if some could have cooked these using a static oven at the same temp. I’ll be testing these at a lower static temperature this week and will add notes.
I made my taralli slightly bigger but not by much and have updated the recipe to show that.
I boiled the taralli for only around 10 seconds, which is how long it took for them to float, instead of 20-30 seconds, so I have updated the recipe. Mine only needed around 25-30 minutes at 190C.
It’s so important to me that our recipes work out, so I hope that these amendments have made a difference!
I love this recipe, thank you for sharing. I made the taralli a couple of times. Will need to perfect them, as I do something wrong and mine get quite hard when baked, after boiled until floating. Taste is great, just quite hard.
If anyone can offer advice, really appreciate it
Rosie