The dough for Apulian panzerotti is a fundamental recipe to prepare excellent Bari-style panzerotti that do not break during frying.
Panzerotti are one of the most delicious and well-known dishes of Apulian cuisine, and the locals are absolutely proud of them, along with the famous Bari focaccia and the onion calzone, products you can find practically in all bakeries.
While focaccia is a Sunday table staple, Apulian panzerotti are the street food par excellence, but they are also the dish most often prepared at family gatherings and with friends, the perfect symbol of conviviality, as they are often prepared together as a production line.
The preparation of Bari panzerotti also marks the beginning of the Christmas festivities: traditionally, they are prepared on the eve of the Immaculate Conception, along with fried cod and other delicacies.
Preparing the perfect panzerotti dough is very important, both for a soft and digestible dough and especially for a stretchy and well-kneaded dough that does not break during frying. Remember, the panzerotti dough needs to contain a moist filling, so finding the right recipe for the Bari panzerotti dough is crucial.
Let’s start with the assumption that the panzerotti dough recipe requires very simple ingredients: being an ancient recipe, they were prepared only with water, flour, salt, and yeast. With Puglia being large and long, there are truly many recipes for panzerotti (or calzones or fritters, as they are called in some towns).
Personally, however, I also add a small amount of re-milled semolina and a drizzle of oil to the panzerotti dough, as it makes the dough more fragrant. Some people replace part of the water with milk to make the dough taste milder. I prefer to use only water so as not to make the recipe even heavier.
I highly recommend trying my Apulian panzerotti dough: I have made a lot of panzerotti over the years and have always tried to refine the recipe to find the perfect combination. This one I’m about to present to you is the one I’ve been making for years and is, in my opinion, the best. If you also follow my tips for preparing perfect Bari panzerotti, I assure you that you will make a great impression!
You can prepare the panzerotti dough by hand or with a Thermomix or a stand mixer: if you knead it by hand, I recommend working it for a long time until you get a smooth and very elastic dough.
As for the amount of yeast, adjust it according to the time you have available and the temperature of the environment. Keep in mind that when it’s hotter, the dough rises much faster and, consequently, you can also use less yeast. Generally, with less yeast and a longer rise, the risen dough becomes more digestible. However, if you want to knead and make panzerotti in one day, use a cube of fresh yeast per kilogram of flour, just like our grandmothers did. In the recipe, I’ll put this amount of yeast, but you can decrease it according to your needs.
Before leaving you with the recipe, I also tell you that you can use this dough to prepare pizza in a tray or focaccia: in these cases, however, I recommend slightly increasing the dough’s hydration, going up to 700-750 g of water per kilogram of flour.
Well, now let’s move on to the recipe and see together how to prepare the dough for Apulian panzerotti, but first, I’ll leave you with links to some Apulian recipes you really can’t miss!.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 8 People
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Apulia
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 499.06 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 90.16 (g) of which sugars 5.66 (g)
- Proteins 17.56 (g)
- Fat 7.43 (g) of which saturated 0.88 (g)of which unsaturated 0.10 (g)
- Fibers 3.55 (g)
- Sodium 1,455.73 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 206 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients to prepare the dough for Apulian panzerotti
- 6 1/3 cups Manitoba flour (or type 0 flour, pizza flour)
- 1 1/2 cups re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 2 1/2 cups water (cold)
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 0.88 oz fresh yeast (or one packet of dry yeast)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt (25 g if you like the dough less salty)
Tools to prepare the dough for Apulian panzerotti
- Stand Mixer
- Bowl
- Spoon
- Pastry Board
- Fork
- Plastic Wrap
Steps to prepare the panzerotti dough
Let’s see together how to prepare the dough for Apulian panzerotti. You can do it by hand, with the Thermomix, or with the stand mixer.
On a pastry board, pour the flour and semolina in a mound and make a well in the center. In a corner far from the well in the flour, place the salt.
Put the crumbled yeast in the well created, add the sugar, and pour in a little cold water (taken from the total). Stir with a fork until the yeast is dissolved.
Add the oil and gradually proceed to add the remaining water, continuing to incorporate the flour. When the dough begins to come together, also incorporate the salt into the panzerotti dough.
Knead by hand with vigorous motions, occasionally slapping the dough onto the pastry board to develop the gluten. Work the dough for at least ten minutes, until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough.
Place the dough in a large bowl, make a cross on the surface to aid rising, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Wait for the dough to double before using it.
In the bowl of the stand mixer, place the flour and semolina.
In a small bowl, dissolve the crumbled yeast with the sugar and a little cold water taken from the total.
Start the stand mixer’s hook at the lowest speed and pour in the contents of the small bowl with the water, yeast, and sugar.
Also add the oil and then the rest of the water little by little.
Finally, add the salt. Increase the stand mixer speed significantly and knead for about ten minutes until the dough wraps around the hook and you obtain a firm, smooth, and homogeneous dough.
Let the dough rest in a large bowl, making a cross on the surface with the tip of a knife. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and wait for the dough to double before using it.
Note: The recipe is for one kilogram of flour. To avoid damaging your Thermomix, I recommend kneading 500 g of flour and semolina at a time in the Thermomix, as the maximum bowl capacity for this type of dough is 700 g.
Put the water, yeast, sugar, and oil in the bowl: 1 minute speed 2.
Add the flours and salt: 5 minutes kneading speed.
Compact the dough obtained with your hands and place it in a bowl, make a cross on top with the tip of a knife, and cover the bowl with some plastic wrap. Wait for the dough to double before using it.
Notes and variations
-If you don’t have re-milled semolina, you can also use all flour. I recommend using Manitoba flour or “pizza” flour or type 0. More generally, it would be preferable to use flour with protein content equal to or greater than 10 g (check the nutritional values on the package).
– If you use dry yeast, there is no need to dissolve it in water first: you just need to mix it with the flour.
– I didn’t intentionally set rising times because they depend on many variables. For example, with a cube of fresh yeast, in summer the dough will rise in a couple of hours, in winter it will take at least 5-6.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Why is cold water used for kneading?
Our grandmothers used to use lukewarm or even hot water for kneading. In reality, there is nothing more wrong, because heat is the enemy of yeast and risks causing it to “explode”, preventing the dough from rising. Especially if kneading with a stand mixer, be careful not to overheat the dough. Ideally, use well-chilled water, especially in summer. If you decide in advance to knead, put the water you will need for the dough in the refrigerator.
Why is a cross made on the dough?
This gesture is also part of our grandmothers’ tradition. There are different versions about it: some say the cross is made on the dough to “bless” it. The less religious version says the cross is made on the dough to aid rising, especially for firm and less hydrated doughs like panzerotti.
Can I use only type 00 flour?
If you really have no other choice, you can use type 00 flour, but I advise against using only that because the panzerotti dough needs to be very elastic, and this result can only be achieved using a gluten-rich flour like Manitoba or other flours with protein content greater than 10-12 g.
How can I make long-rise panzerotti dough?
To make long-rise panzerotti dough, I recommend kneading 24 hours in advance with about 5-6 g of fresh yeast per kilogram of flour, leaving the dough in the bowl covered with plastic wrap at room temperature for an hour, then putting the bowl in the fridge for 12 hours. Then take it out of the fridge, let it come back to room temperature, and then use it to prepare the panzerotti. For example, if you need to prepare panzerotti for Saturday evening, knead on Friday afternoon, leave the dough at room temperature for an hour, then put it in the fridge overnight. Midway through Saturday morning, take the dough out of the fridge, acclimate it until mid-afternoon, and then begin the panzerotti preparation.
