This one is dear to my heart. I can’t remember any special occasion spent with my family that did not include ciambelle. These fennel flavored bread donuts originate from Frosinone, the province where my mom is from. I will always have the image of sitting at the dinner table at my nonna’s house on Christmas Eve and having her pull them straight out of the oven and pass them around to everyone in a big bread basket.
Or the feeling of not being able to wait a second for them to cool down before breaking them open. They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and very very addictive. There’s a bit of technique involved, and there is no one more fit for the job to show you than my nonna Santina:
Ciambelle
Ciambelle (or ciamella) is a salty donut-shaped bread. They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a hint of fennel flavouring. This is an old recipe that comes from the region of Lazio. From what I could tell there are not many recipes in circulation today, so I am thrilled to have a recipe for these that I can share.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 250 g water warm
- 500 g flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp fennel depending on how much you like!
Instructions
- Mix together the warm water and yeast in a large bowl.
- Add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Then mix in the salt and fennel seeds.
- Knead the dough until soft and smooth.
- Place the dough back in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm area for about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, get a large pot of water boiling and preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Knead the dough for a couple minutes on your work surface.
- Cut the dough into 8 portions.
- Roll each portion to about 30 cm long. Lightly flatten each strip and holding one end twist the dough on itself.
- Bring the two ends together and press to seal into a donut shape.
- One at a time, place the donuts in boiling water. When they rise to the top remove and place on a cloth.
- Once each donut has been boiled, place them all in the oven right on the racks or on a piece of foil.
- Bake for 40 minutes until they are golden brown.