Piscia Lietu
In America they call them pretzels and in most of Italy they
call them Taralli, but for some of us Calabrese Italians, we call them Piscia
Lietu (Piscia letto)! It translates to “pee the bed” but they’re far from such
a bad experience. They are first blanched briefly in boiling salted water and
laid on a clean bed sheet to dry, hence the nickname. After that, they’re baked
directly on the grates in the oven until they’re brown and crunchy.
Traditionally, (black) anise seeds are added for flavor, but you could make
them plain, with granulated garlic, or with some ground hot red pepper to make
them spicy. Any way to make them or any way you call them, they’re a
traditional treat you’ll love…Buon Appetito!
3 cups Warm
Water (90° - 110°)
20 grams Instant Dry Yeast
1 cup Extra
Virgin Olive Oil
14 grams Salt
2 ½ lbs. Flour
A
Sprinkle of Anise Seeds (black if you have them)
Dissolve
the yeast in the water.
Mix all
the rest of the ingredients together to form a smooth dough. Knead the dough
for a few minutes until silky and smooth. Place into an oiled bowl and allow to
rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour to 1 hour and a half).
Preheat
the oven to 350°.
Turn the
dough onto a floured surface. Cut off pieces of dough and roll into a rope
about ½ inch in diameter. Cut the rope into about 6” pieces. Take each 6" piece of dough and form them into circles and pinch the ends together to fasten them. Once all the dough
has been rolled and cut. Drop the taralli into simmering salted water. Once
they float allow to cook for about 1 minute, turn them over, and cook about
another 1 minute. Lay them onto a surface covered with a clean table cloth or
bed sheet (you just peed the bed!).
Once all
the taralli have pisciatta il letto, very carefully lay them onto the grates of
the oven. When you’ve filled up the oven, push the grate in close the door, and
allow to cook until golden. You may need to turn them over half way through
depending on your oven. Repeat until all the taralli are baked.
They keep very well for a couple of
weeks in an airtight container, or if you’re really Italian, a basket on the
table.
