The puccia salentina is nothing more than a loaf the size of 20-30 cm and belongs to the gastronomic tradition of central-southern Apulia. Specifically, it is a typical preparation from the Salento area and the province of Taranto.

It takes the form of a kind of large sandwich, and its most popular variant is the leccese which can be stuffed with poor ingredients from the local cuisine. In the Taranto area, on the other hand, we find a fast-food version of the puccia, and as in the Foggia area, a pizza-like dough is used, to which hamburgers, french fries, salad, cheese, tomatoes, and more are added.

Curiosities about puccia salentina

Puccia is a kind of round-shaped sandwich, not very high, which on the outside has a thin crispy crust. On the inside, however, it is rather hollow as it contains little crumb and can be stuffed with cold cuts, cheese, vegetables and meat.

Walking through the streets of Salento and the streets of the province of Taranto, it is very easy to come across an all-Apulian version of fast-food: the pucceria. In these small establishments it is possible to taste the flavor of the original puccia, baked in a wood-fired oven. The most common variety is the Leccese variety, born in the 1970s in Trepuzzi thanks to carpenter and pastry chef Giovanni Caccetta, who was inspired by his aunts who made bread at home.

He invented this type by making balls of dough, flattening them and putting them in a wood-fired oven. The result was a very puffy sandwich with no crumbs, so it was perfect for stuffing with anything. Today among the most popular versions we have the "puccia cu lle ulie", that is, the puccia with black olives that represented the poor peasants' lunch and was prepared for the day of the Immaculate Conception. So let's find out how to cook this Apulian delicacy.

Salento puccia recipe

Ingredients for 18 pucce

1 kg of 0 flour

600 g of lukewarm water

Dry brewer's yeast 5 g

10 g malt

100 g extra virgin olive oil

15 g of salt

To prepare the pucce salentine you need to start by sifting the flour in the planetary mixer. Then add the dehydrated yeast and malt and start mixing with the leaf whisk. Pour in a drizzle of oil and add the lukewarm water in a trickle. Knead the dough for a few minutes at medium speed.

When the mixture has compacted, also add the halls. Knead for a couple more minutes and replace the leaf with the dough hook. Turn the planetary mixer on again and continue kneading for 10 to 15 minutes, until the dough is smooth and homogeneous. Once the dough is stiffened, move it to an oiled work surface, knead it barely with your hands and then move it to a fairly large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave rise In oven turned off and light on for 2-3 hours.

After this time has elapsed, transfer the loaf to a pastry board and with your hands make a kind of loaf, from which you will have to make 18 balls 90 g each. Take each ball and roll it over your hand to give it a spherical shape. Roll out the balls with a rolling pin to make disks 20 cm in diameter.

Place them gently on a drip pan covered with baking paper. Place in a static oven preheated to 250°C for 15 minutes. When the pucce are cooked, take them out of the oven and serve them still warm with the filling of your choice.