Puccia: the Italian bread recipe from Apulia

Puccia is an Italian type of bread from Salento (Apulia). It’s basically a sandwich made from pizza dough…what’s not to love? It’s an easy recipe to make, especially when you’re cooking for a crowd. Diners can enjoy the Puccia with different fillings and it can be served as a light lunch or even dinner. It’s traditionally served stuffed with Italian cold cuts of meat, cheese, and fresh tomatoes. Add a few fresh greens, and you have a complete meal.

The dough takes some time to make, but it’s a great recipe to make ahead of time. Due to the long cold fermentation time, the bread is packed with complex flavors. Once baked, it’s crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. To make it, you will need yeast, all-purpose flour, semolina, and olive oil. Make a dough and leave it to ferment. Once the fermentation is done, you can form the dough into rolls and bake.

Tips

In some traditional Puccia recipes, olives are added to the bread. To include olives, chop the olives then fold them into the dough before fermentation.

Don’t forget to oil the bowl in which the dough ferments. If the bowl is not greased, the dough will stick to the sides.

For best results, the ingredients should be weighed instead of measured per cup.

Using a bench scraper will make it easier to handle and transfer the dough.

How To Store Puccia

Fresh Puccia is best enjoyed on the day it's made. If you want to store it for longer, you can freeze it. Allow the bread to cool completely, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.

How To Make Puccia

Pour the cold water into the small bowl and add the yeast. Mix with the spoon until dissolved.

In a large bowl, mix the flour with the semolina. Add the dissolved yeast.

Mix with the wooden spoon.

Add the salt.

Knead with a spoon until the dough comes off the sides of the bowl well.

Add the oil and continue to knead, sprinkling with very little flour until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl.

Turn the dough over on the counter and knead it dusting it with very little flour until it is smooth and elastic.

Close the dough on the counter with folds, using your hands, and the counter greased with extra virgin olive oil.

Let it stand for an hour in an oiled and covered bowl.

Leave the dough to stand in the fridge for about 20 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature for about an hour.

Cut out (portion) the dough into 4 loaves of (about 200-210 gr).

Transfer them to the baking tray covered with parchment paper and sprinkle with semolina and let them rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours or in any case until doubled in volume.

Bake in the middle of the oven at 250°C/482°F for about 12-15 minutes.

Fill the puccia with raw ham, rocket salad seasoned with olive oil, and cherry tomatoes.

Notes

It’s important to use yeast that is still active. To test this, mix 1 tsp of sugar and 2 tsp of yeast in ¼ cup of warm water. If you see bubbles and smell a yeasty aroma after about 10 minutes, the yeast is still good to use!