Biscotto di mezz’agosto

Ingredients (for one ciambella)
350 g of Soft wheat flour type 1
150 g of Type 0 Manitoba flour
100 g of sugar
15 g of brewer’s yeast
4 eggs
60 g of extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons anise seeds
140 g of sweet red wine (alternatively, a sweet white wine)
1 pinch of salt
Milk and/or egg yolk for brushing

Procedure
Half an hour before you begin, soak the anise seeds in the wine and set them aside.
After half an hour, form a well in the center of the flours in a bowl or stand mixer and add the crumbled yeast to the center. Add the beaten eggs, sugar, and sweet wine along with the anise seeds, then knead, gradually adding the oil, and, toward the end of kneading, the salt. If the dough is too sticky, lightly grease your hands with oil to make it easier to work with. Once you have a smooth, elastic dough, place it in an oiled, covered bowl and let it rise for one or two hours, until it doubles in size. Once the rising time is up, shape it into a ring. At this point, place the ring on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or greased with oil, and let it rise for at least two hours or until doubled in size in a draft-free place (such as an oven with the heat off but the light on). Once it has risen, brush it with a little milk or a beaten egg yolk (or an egg yolk beaten with a little water or milk) and bake it in a preheated conventional oven at 180°C for 40 minutes.

Note
If desired, you can glaze this ciambella, right after taking it out of the oven, with a syrup made by boiling 50 g of sugar and 50 g of water for a few minutes, and decorate it with powdered sugar once it has cooled.

In collaboration with Vaniglia Cooking