- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 jumbo eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons anise seeds, finely crushed
- Special equipment: a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment
- Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 8- by 4- by 3-inch loaf pan.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
- Beat together eggs and sugar in bowl of mixer at high speed until tripled in volume and thick enough to form a ribbon that takes 2 seconds to dissolve when beater is lifted, 12 to 18 minutes.
- Sift flour mixture over egg mixture in 3 batches, folding in each batch. Gently stir in cooled butter and anise seeds. Immediately pour into loaf pan and smooth top. Bake until top is golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool loaf 5 minutes, then invert onto a cutting board and cool 30 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, increase oven temperature to 400°F.
- Trim ends of loaf and cut loaf crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Bake on a baking sheet until undersides are golden brown, about 7 minutes. Turn toasts over and bake until undersides are golden brown, about 5 minutes more.