Baked Pastry Rings with Fennel (Naples)

Appetizers

Ingredients

Compressed yeast - 1 1/2 cakes

Lukewarm water - 1 cup

All purpose flour - 3 cups

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Fennel seeds - 2 1/2 tsps

Prepare a dough with the yeast, water, flour and salt. It should be rather soft.

Divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll into small "sausages" about 1/2 inch thick. Shape each sausage into a ring, closing the ends firmly together.

Arrange them on a floured baking sheet and leave to rise in a warm place for about 2 hours.

Sprinkle the rings with fennel seeds and bake in a moderate oven (375F) for about 1 hour. They must be crisp.

Makes 24 rings