Italian Pretzels Recipes

CACIO E PEPE TARALLI (SAVORY ITALIAN PRETZELS)

Steps:

• Combine flour, pepper, and salt in a mixing bowl, and stir with a spoon to combine. Pour in wine and olive oil. Mix until dough starts to come together. Knead by hand until dough is smooth and slightly elastic, about 3 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Unwrap dough and cut into 4 pieces. Roll each piece out with your palms into ropes about 10 to 12 inches long. Cut each rope into 3 pieces; roll each piece to a length of 5 or 6 inches. Twist the ends a few times and press them together to form a ring, twisting as needed to fully seal the ends.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat (such as SILPAT®).
• Bring a pan of water (at least 3 inches) to a boil. Drop in 4 rings of dough at a time. Boil until rings float to the top, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a towel-lined plate. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
• Sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over each ring; flip and grate more cheese on the other side. Flip back to the first side and apply one last grating of cheese, or until rings are thoroughly coated.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden and crunchy, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet onto a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

ITALIAN TARALLI

Steps:

• In the stand up mixer add the flour, salt, olive oil and half the wine start to knead with the dough hook on speed #2, add the remaining wine and the fennel seeds, knead for 7-10 minutes until smooth and compact.
• Move the dough to a flat surface and knead to form a compact dough ball. Roll small pieces of dough into a 5 inch / 12 cm long rope. Place one end slightly over the other to form a knot. Place the knots on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I made 32 taralli.
• Boil water in a large pot, once it is boiling add ¼ teaspoon of salt. Add the taralli 5-6 at a time (depending on the size of your pot) and boil, remove once they float and not before. Remove with a sieve and place on a clean cotton tea towel. Continue until all the taralli have been boiled.
• Leave the taralli to dry for at least 4-5 hours, you can even leave them overnight, turn them over after half the time has passed.
• Pre-heat oven to 375F (190C).
• Place the dried taralli on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Turn off the oven, open the door half way and leave for 10 minutes.
• Move to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

ZESTY ITALIAN SEASONED PRETZELS

Steps:

• Place the pretzels in a large resealable ziplock bag. Mix together the seasonings with the oil and butter and pour over the pretzels. Shake the bag to coat all the pretzels.
• Let the pretzels sit for 15 minutes and then shake the bag and flip it over to the other side. Let it sit another 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. After 30 minutes of marinating the pretzels, spread the pretzels evenly on a large cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 30-45 minutes, stirring halfway through the baking time. You'll know the pretzels are done when no more oil seems to appear on the pretzels and they look well dried.
• Let cool. Store in an airtight container.

SEASONED PRETZELS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°F (93°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
• Break the pretzels into pieces. Place them in a large zipped-top bag or in a large bowl. Add the oil and the spices. Shake/stir together very well. Sometimes I shake or it, let it sit for a minute, and shake or stir it again. You want every piece coated very well. If you find there aren't enough spices coating the pretzels, add more spices to your taste.
• Spread the pretzels onto the prepared baking sheet. If they don't all fit in a single layer, use two sheets. Bake for 50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
• Pretzels stay fresh covered tightly at room temperature for 3 weeks. They won't last that long!

ITALIAN PRETZELS

Steps:

• Put pretzels in a microwave safe bowl.
• Combine butter and spaghetti sauce mix.
• Pour over pretzels and toss.
• Microwave on high 2-3 minutes or until toasted.
• Stir every 30 seconds.
• Immediately sprinkle with cheese and toss.
• Cool.

ITALIAN PRETZELS

Steps:

• Place pretzels in a microwave-safe bowl. Combine butter and spaghetti sauce mix; pour over pretzels and toss to coat evenly. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes or until pretzels are toasted, stirring every 30 seconds. Immediately sprinkle with cheese; toss to coat. Cool.

TARALLI ITALIAN PRETZELS

Steps:

• 1. Dissolve yeast in water. Sift flour, salt and pepper onto mixing board.
• 2. Make a well in the center and add yeast, wine and oil. Blend together and gradually incorporate into flour. Knead for 10 minutes, the dough will be stiff.
• 3. Place in oil coated bowl, turn to coat, cover with towel and let rise until doubled in bulk.
• 4. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
• 5. Break off small pieces of dough and roll into ropes about 6 inches long. Form a ring and pinch edges together.
• 6. Fill a large saucepan half full of water; bring to a boil. Drop taralli into water and boil for 1 minute. Remove from water, letting both sides dry on a sheet of parchment paper.
• 7. Brush with olive oil and bake 350 degrees on parchment paper lined cookie sheets, turning a few times during baking until light to medium golden brown and crisp. 12-15 minutes. Let pretzels cool and store in an air tight container.