Puccia Salentina
Puccia Salentina is a traditional round Apulian flatbread studded with black olives, baked at high heat, split open, and stuffed with local fillings.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 480 kcal
Equipment
- •Baking stone or heavy baking tray
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Dough scraper
- •Baking parchment
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- fat
- 16 g
- carbs
- 68 g
- fibre
- 4 g
- protein
- 16 g
- calories
- 480 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Dissolve the fresh yeast in lukewarm water inside a large mixing bowl.
- 2
Add the semola rimacinata, bread flour, extra virgin olive oil, and salt, stirring until a shaggy dough forms.
- 3
Knead the dough vigorously on a lightly floured work surface for ten minutes until smooth, elastic, and supple.
- 4
Gently fold in the chopped black olives until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- 5
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and prove for two hours until doubled.
- 6
Divide the dough into four equal portions and shape each gently into a smooth, round ball.
- 7
Flatten each ball with your fingers into a round disc roughly one centimetre thick on a semolina-dusted surface.
- 8
Cover the discs and rest for thirty minutes until slightly puffy.
- 9
Preheat the oven and a heavy baking stone or baking tray to 240 degrees C.
- 10
Bake the breads on the hot stone for ten to twelve minutes until puffed, golden, and hollow-sounding.
- 11
Cool slightly, slice open horizontally, and fill generously with sliced caciocavallo, fresh tomatoes, oregano, and olive oil.
Chef's tips
Baking at high heat on a preheated stone is essential to produce the steam burst that puffs the bread. Pat the olives thoroughly dry before folding them into the dough so excess brine does not make the dough sticky. Handle the shaped dough gently before baking to avoid deflating the air pockets.
Ingredient substitutions
- semola rimacinata di grano duro → fine durum wheat flour, or substitute entirely with strong bread flour though the crumb texture will be softer
- caciocavallo cheese → mild provolone, scamorza, or fresh mozzarella
- Cellina di Nardò olives → any small, flavourful cured black olives such as Gaeta or Kalamata
Storage
Store unfilled baked puccia in a paper bag at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze for one month.
Reheating
Warm whole breads in an oven preheated to 180 degrees C for five minutes before splitting and filling.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Baking at too low a temperature, which prevents the dough from puffing up into a hollow pocket.
- •Adding overly wet olives, which breaks down dough gluten and creates soggy pockets.
- •Rolling the dough with a rolling pin instead of pressing gently with fingers, which destroys internal bubbles.
Serving suggestions
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