Apulian panzerotti are one of the best things among fried leavened products, at least for me.
A very famous street food in Puglia… as tradition dictates, I made them fried, but they can also be baked.
For the dough, I used semolina flour and type “0” flour; after cooking, we’ll get panzerotti that are soft inside and with a really delicious crust on the outside.
Panzerotti, in slightly modified versions and recipes, are also found in use in other regions of Italy.
The filling changes depending on the area, of course, but the classic Apulian ones are with tomato, mozzarella, and basil.
I didn’t make them too large, but I must say that the size was perfect for me.
The trick is, once filled, to seal them well, then trim them with a cutter and make the final closure with a fork, so as not to have surprises during frying.
In the photos, you’ll find all the steps, only the filling photo is missing because I got lost during the preparation between one step and another, but the seasoning in the bowl can be seen well as I made it.
If you make this recipe, or others present on my blog, feel free to send me a photo of your recipe. If you like, I will put it on my FB page with your name.
About 275 kcal for each panzerotto
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 20 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Puglia
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients to Make Apulian Panzerotti
- 21.16 oz remilled durum wheat semolina
- 14.11 oz type 0 flour
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 0.35 oz fresh yeast
- 4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 0.63 oz salt
- 1 tsp salt
- 10.58 oz mozzarella (drained)
- 7.05 oz chopped tomatoes (passed through a food mill)
- 1 tsp dried oregano (or basil)
- to taste salt
- 1 qt sunflower oil
Tools
- 1 Frying Pan pan
Preparation of Apulian Panzerotti
In the mixer, add the milk, fresh yeast, semolina flour, and start working with the dough hook.
Slowly add the water and continue working for a couple of minutes….
….then turn off and add type “0” flour, restart the machine and work for a few minutes until the ingredients are absorbed.
Once kneaded, add the oil and salt and complete the dough, working for a few more minutes.
Transfer the dough into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 3 hours.
Once risen, transfer the dough to a work surface and form a ball.
Divide into 20 equal balls, each weighing about 2.8 oz.
Let them rise for an hour covered.
Meanwhile, prepare the passed tomatoes in a bowl and season with oil, salt, and oregano or basil, and mix well, keeping it aside.
The crumbled mozzarella in another bowl, if the mozzarella is watery put it to drain in a sieve to remove water.
Add the tomatoes to the mozzarella and mix everything well, so that it’s ready for filling.
Just before working the balls to create the panzerotti, put the frying oil in a large pan and heat it.
When the balls are ready to work, roll out each ball to make small pizzas, on each pizza put a good spoonful of the previously prepared filling, fold it and form a large dumpling, seal well with fingers, then trim with the cutter and seal well with a fork.
As soon as the frying oil is ready, cook the panzerotti for a couple of minutes on each side, then drain them on absorbent paper.
Try to prepare the panzerotti as you are ready to fry them, so they won’t release moisture and we avoid oil splashes during cooking due to the panzerotto potentially breaking.
