Nonna Elda Cooks

Today we are making Ciambelle Ciociare, a kind of peasant bread or bread donuts that is traditional in the Ciociare region of Italy. We are making it for one of Nonna’s granddaughter’s weddings. This will accompany a full Italian cookie sweets table but these ciambelle are not sweet, they are anise flavoured and they are eaten with the main meal.

Ciambelle Ciociare, pronounced like “chamella” is a chewy traditional bread that is eaten by Ciociarese families. They are usually made into these large donut shaped breads but can also be made into little knots the size of your palm that Italian families give to babies who are teething (I do not recommend doing this for legal reasons, please consult your family doctor about what the current appropriate teething foods are for babies, I’m simply saying that’s what we do traditionally.)

This recipe is a lot of work you need to start in the morning and it will take you a few hours however the yield is a lot! You can feed the neighbourhood with these. Fortunately they freeze really well.

@nonna.elda.cooks

You can find the full recipe on Nonna’s website! #Italianrecipes #bread #ciambelle #torontotok #authenticrecipes #passingonknowledge #italianweddings #weddingrecipe #food #cooking #baking #Nonna #nonnaeldacooks

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Nonna Elda Cooks Ciambelle Ciociare

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servings: 45

prepping time: 3-4 hours

Bake time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

5 kilo all purpose flour (I do not know how much that is in an American measurement)

2 tbsp yeast mixed with two cups warm water

5 tbsp salt 1 cup anise seeds

2 eggs

6 cups warm water to start dough, then more water

Directions

Note: I highly recommend watching our video of Nonna making these before beginning, the twisting part has a bit of a trick to it.

1. Warm water on stove, add 2 cups warm water to 2 tbsp yeast let sit until frothy about 15 min.
2. Rinse your anise seeds
3. Add your ingredients and begin to mix in a very large bowl.
4. You will need to add more warm water as you work the dough, lift the dough and add the water to the bottom of the dough.
5. Keep working the dough until it is smooth and your hands are clean.
6. Cover the dough in the bowl with a dry heavy cloth, and place in a warm oven to let rise for about an hour.
7. Remove the dough from the oven and remove table cloth. Place a sheet of plastic on top to keep it moist while you’re working.
8. Cut a handful of the dough and roll it out into a long snake, then press down and twist to make it twisty, Make a circle shape.
9. Leave on tablecloth to let rise again and continue making circles.
10. You can also make little knots instead of the big twisty circles.
11. When you are done, go back to the first ones that have risen and pull the circle out to be bigger.
12. In a big pot of boiling water, add about a quarter cup of canola oil.
13. Put the ciambella in and boil one at a time until they rise, after they rise flip and let cook another minute. Let dry for a moment on a tablecloth. Bake at 420 until golden