Use your hands to mix the flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper, and the fennel seeds into the ground beef in a large bowl. Cook the beef in a sauté pan over medium heat until no pink is visible and break it up as it cooks. Remove the cooked beef from the heat, strain off all the fat, and set it aside for now.

Heat the oil in a large (3-quart) saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook them slowly until the onion begins to turn translucent, but do not let the garlic brown; 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomato, Parmesan cheese, basil, sugar, dried oregano, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the saucepan. Raise the heat to medium and when the sauce begins to bubble, stir in the ground beef. Reduce the heat so that the sauce simmers, and let it cook for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thicker.

Cook the pasta by boiling 5 quarts of water in a large pot. Add the pasta and cook for 16 minutes.

Preheat your broiler to high.

Strain the pasta and pour half of it into a 9x13-inch baking pan or casserole dish.

Spoon half of the sauce over the pasta. Try to distribute it evenly over the top of the pasta so that every bite gets sauce.

Spread the remaining pasta over the top of the sauce, then spoon the remaining sauce evenly over the top of the pasta.

Spread 2 to 2 1/2 cups of shredded cheese over the sauce. Use enough to cover the sauce.

Broil the pasta on the middle rack for 2 to 4 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned on top. Spin the dish around if you need to get a more even browning.