PUGLIAN ROASTRY today's recipe

Puccia Salento with olives, a delicious mixture for a traditional dish

A delicious combination to nibble on even on the street, Salento puccia is characterized as one of the traditional Apulian dishes, one of those revived (and envied) in different parts of the world. In this recipe I propose the delicious Salento puccia with olives, where delicious Apulian olives are inserted into the dough. The name "puccia" derives from the Latin "buccellatum", a term used to indicate the bread used by the Roman army, with a recipe very similar to the pucce that are prepared today.

These small loaves of bread with a diameter of approximately 20-30 centimeters are in fact characteristic of the culinary tradition of central-southern Puglia, especially of Salento and Tarantino. There is also a variant of Foggiano which is made with the same pizza dough. The important thing to best enjoy this dish is to choose the seasoning, whether with meat, fish, mozzarella, rocket, cherry tomatoes or other ingredients, the rule is one and only: exaggerate.

INGREDIENTS FOR PUCCIA SALENTINA WITH OLIVES

• 250 g of potatoes
• 350 g of 00 flour
• 300 g of durum wheat semolina
• 50 ml of extra virgin olive oil
• 400 ml of water
• 20 g of fine salt
• 200 g of black olives

PREPARATION

To prepare the Salento puccia with olives, start by preparing the yeast. Using a large bowl, pour in the 00 flour and the durum wheat flour. Add the yeast and malt, add warm water little by little, letting the dough absorb it. Continue kneading with your hands until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture which you will give the shape of a small sphere. Cover everything with transparent cling film and leave to rise in the oven with the light on or at a constant temperature of 28°-30° for about 5-6 hours. The dough can also rise in the oven with the light turned off for an hour and then transferred to the refrigerator for a whole night or 12 hours. Once the necessary time has passed, the mixture will have doubled in volume, after which pour it into the bowl of the mixer.

Leave the potatoes to boil in a pan with plenty of water for about 30-40 minutes. When the potatoes are boiled, peel them, mash them and transfer them to the bowl of the mixer. Add 00 flour, sifted semolina and olives. Add the oil, knead at low speed and add the warm water slowly so that it absorbs into the mixture, add the salt using a dough hook and knead at medium speed until the dough comes together.

Transfer it to an already oiled work surface and knead the dough, giving it a spherical shape. Transfer everything to a large, lightly oiled bowl, covering with cling film. Let it rise once again until the dough has doubled in volume. Once you have achieved this result, obtain 18 pieces of dough of 90 g each, forming spheres.

Dip the spheres in durum wheat flour and then transfer them to the oven, on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Arrange the pucce well spaced from each other and leave to rise for about an hour. Place in the oven and cook in a preheated static oven at 230° for about 40 minutes. Once cooked, take them out of the oven and let them cool, after they have cooled you can proceed with the filling of your Salento puccia with olives.