The Pettole (Lucanian Recipe) are said to have been born by chance, and often that’s how the best recipes come about. My mother-in-law usually prepared them during the Christmas period when the whole family gathered, and we cooked all together. They can be eaten either sweet or savory, they can be prepared in the shape of a ball or with a hole, in any case, they will always be delicious.

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Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Economical
Rest time: 2 Hours
Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Portions: about 20 pettole
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian Regional

Ingredients

4 cups re-milled durum wheat semolina
1.7 cups water
1/2 tablespoon fine salt
1/2 oz fresh yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)

Steps

Activate the fresh yeast in a glass of water (taken from the total) with one tablespoon of flour (also taken from the total) and two teaspoons of sugar for about five minutes.
Put the flour in a bowl, add the activated yeast, water, knead and add the salt. If the dough is too compact, wet your hands repeatedly and knead until you get a smooth, soft, and slightly sticky dough. Flour the bottom of the bowl and the surface of the dough, cover with plastic wrap, a cloth, a blanket, and let it rise for one or two hours.
The dough should at least double in volume.
Wet your fingers with vegetable oil, otherwise the dough will stick to your fingers. Take balls of about 1.7 oz, make a hole in the center. You will get about twenty.
Fry the pettole in a pan with plenty of vegetable oil, open the hole with a chopstick (like those from a Chinese restaurant), cook for about two to three minutes per side. They should be nicely golden.
Place them on a tray covered with absorbent paper for frying or paper towels to absorb excess oil. Serve with assorted cold cuts and cheeses.