To prepare the Neapolitan Taralli, first prepare the yeast; In a bowl, combine the water and dissolve the yeast, add the flour and sugar and mix vigorously until you obtain a creamy dough, cover and leave to rise for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, arrange the almonds on a baking sheet and bake them at 200° for about 5-8 minutes until they are lightly toasted, remove from the oven and leave to cool. When they are cold, chop them coarsely in a mixer or by hand, the important thing is that the pieces are not too small or too big.

When the yeast is ready, combine it in a bowl with all the other ingredients and start kneading. The taralli dough shouldn't be worked too much otherwise the result will be gummy, so as soon as the lard is perfectly melted the dough will be ready.

Pour the dough onto a work surface (without flour), divide into 50 gram pieces and work into balls. From each ball, make loaves about 20 cm long, twist two loaves together then close them obtaining the tarallo.

Continue forming the taralli and arrange them gradually on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. At this point you can decorate the surface with almonds (I prefer them in the dough). Cover with a cloth and leave to rise for about 2-3 hours, they won't rise much but you will notice that they have grown.

Once the time has elapsed, sprinkle the taralli with water and bake them in a preheated static oven at 180° for 50-55 minutes. I always remember that times and temperatures are indicative since not all ovens are the same.

When they are beautiful golden with a rustic look, take them out of the oven and let them cool down; your Taralli Neapolitans nzogna and pepper are ready, taste them still warm and you will smell what a scent.