Tarallini--Wine Crackers From Your Kitchen!

An ambitious undertaking? Not at all! You can make your own crispy, savory specialty crackers with very little fuss, especially if you have a friend who will join you to form the Tarallini--that's the time consuming part! My dear sister-friend from Canada was here for a visit and we had lots of catching up to do, so we chatted as we rolled.

These are little Italian crackers that are rolled into shape, boiled briefly, dried, and then baked.

Tips: I perused and tested several recipes, and the one thing I found for sure: some recipes suggested a shorter drying time, but drying overnight produced a much crisper cracker after baking. We also began making the crackers very small, but the medium size, with a nice hole in the middle are the most pleasing to me.

You can flavor the Tarallini to your own taste. I added one-half cup Parmesan Cheese to each recipe, along with rosemary, and smoked paprika. The possibilities are endless.

Finally, the amount of flour and water needed changes, but it's very easy to determine by the consistency of the dough, and then adjust as you go.

Tarallini

2 cups all purpose flour, or more

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 T sea salt

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. minced dried rosemary

1 tsp. yeast

3 1/2 oz. extra virgin olive oil

3 1/2 oz. white wine

5 oz. water, more or less

In the bowl of a standing mixer, add all your dry ingredients, and whisk to combine.

With dough hook in place, slowly pour in olive oil and wine while mixing on low speed. Stop and scrape down dough.

Add water slowly with mixer on low speed, and when dough comes together into a nice ball, isn't wet, but soft and elastic, you're done! Don't worry if you have to add a little extra flour to find you right texture.

Remove dough, shape into a log, cover with saran wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Cut about an inch off log, roll into long 'snake', cut into 4-5 inch lengths, roll each length around your finger and press to connect. Repeat with all dough.

Have a large pot of water boiling on stove, and add a handful of dough rings to boiling water. Let them cook just a couple of minutes. They will float to the top.

Remove with a skimmer, and dry on counter covered with dish towels or cloths overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place parchment paper on sheet pan. Add dried Tarallini to pan, and bake each pan for about 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden.

Enjoy with wine, cheese and fresh fruit.

Bon Appetito!