Ciambella Romagnola al Vino Bianco

Emilia-Romagna — Romagna, province of Ravenna and Forlì-Cesena

Romagna's rustic ring cake — a simple yeasted or baking-powder-risen dough enriched with white wine, olive oil, anise seeds, and sugar, baked until golden with a cracked surface. Unlike northern Italian cakes, ciambella romagnola uses olive oil instead of butter and white wine as the liquid — both markers of the region's position where the olive oil south meets the butter north. The result is drier and more biscuit-like than a cake, intended for dunking in wine or coffee.

• Ring-shaped cake with olive oil and wine — the Southern European olive-oil-in-baking tradition producing a drier, less sweet cake than butter-based northern traditions → Bolo de mel (Madeiran honey cake) Portuguese
• Both use anise seeds as a principal aromatic in a ring-shaped yeasted dough, and both are associated with celebration and seasonal eating → Tsoureki (Easter bread) with anise Greek
• Ring-shaped enriched dough with citrus and anise for celebration — the Mediterranean ring-bread tradition across cultures → Rosca de Reyes (Three Kings bread) Spanish

Light wine acidity, anise perfume, olive oil nuttiness, dry crumb — a simple, honest cake that demands wine or coffee for completion