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1
Combine the flour, salt, and black pepper in a wide bowl. Add the room-temperature strutto in pieces and rub it into the flour with the fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse, damp sand and no large pieces of fat remain — the fat must be fully distributed before any liquid is added.
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2
Add the lukewarm water gradually, stirring with a fork and then bringing the dough together by hand. Work the dough only until it is cohesive and smooth — this is where the dish lives or dies: stop the moment the dough holds together without sticking; further kneading develops gluten and produces a tough, bready tarallo rather than a crumbly, shattering one. If using almonds, fold them in at this point. Wrap the dough and rest it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes; it will firm slightly and handle cleanly.
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3
Heat the oven to 190 °C. Pinch off pieces of dough of approximately 20 g each. Roll each piece between the palms into a rope roughly 1 cm in diameter and 12 cm long, then join the ends to form a ring 5–6 cm in diameter, pressing the join firmly so it does not open during baking. Arrange on unlined baking sheets with space between each ring.
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4
Bake for 25–30 minutes, rotating the trays once at the halfway point, until the taralli are the colour of dark amber — a deep, even gold with no pale patches remaining. The colour is the only reliable indicator: pale taralli will have a soft centre and will not keep.
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5
Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Tap the base of one tarallo — the sound should be a dry, hollow knock throughout. Break one open: the interior must be uniformly crisp with no soft or doughy centre. Store in a tin; they will keep for several weeks.