The Paposcia of the Gargano: The bread that smells of Puglia!
If there is a product able to capture in a single bite all the magic of Italy’s spur, it is undoubtedly the Paposcia of the Gargano.
It is not a simple focaccia and it is not an ordinary sandwich: the Paposcia is an institution, a ritual that smells of olive groves, sea and wood-fired ovens lit at dawn.
Typical of the Vico del Gargano area, this delicacy owes its curious name to its elongated shape that resembles a slipper (the “paposcia”, in the local dialect).
Historically, the paposcia was born as a “test” to check the oven temperature before baking loaves of bread.
In dialect it is also called pizza a vampa (pizza alla vampa), precisely because it was baked quickly over a fierce flame.
Tradition has it that the original dough was based on sourdough starter, that “crusc’t” that was passed down from generation to generation.
Today, however, not everyone has a professional wood-fired oven at home or the time to manage an involved sourdough starter.
For this reason, I decided to offer you a simple, quick, homemade version, accessible to everyone, but capable of delivering an amazing result: a crunchy crust and a soft, airy heart, just like the one you could enjoy in a pizzeria in Vieste or Peschici.
Today the Paposcia is easily found in all the bakeries and supermarkets of the Gargano area, but making it at home has a completely different taste.
Its natural destiny? The filling!
• The classic: Extra virgin olive oil (good Puglian one!), fresh tomato, mozzarella and arugula.
• The indulgent: Local cured meats, fresh cheeses or artisanal preserved vegetables.
In summer, you can let your imagination run wild with salads and fresh ingredients: the result will always be a guaranteed success.
I recommend making it at least once: whether stuffed for a dinner with friends or eaten hot on its own, it will win you over at the first bite.
Are you ready to bring a piece of Puglia into your kitchen?
About 604 kcal per paposcia
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 3 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 18 Minutes
- Portions: 5 paposcie
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for the first dough
- 1 1/8 cups water
- 3 1/2 (about 15 oz) cups type 0 flour
- 2 1/2 tsp fresh yeast
- 1 1/8 cups water
- 3 1/2 (about 15 oz) cups type 0 flour
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 2/3 tsp salt
- Nonstick baking trays
Preparation of the Paposcia of the Gargano
Start by putting the water planned for the first dough in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in it and add the flour little by little.
You will obtain a dry dough and at this point start adding the water for the second dough, the oil, the salt and the flour little by little until you obtain a well blended and homogeneous dough.
Let rest for 10 minutes…
…then make folds in the dough and let it rest again for 30 minutes.
After that time, fold again and then rest another 30 minutes.
Make the folds for the last time and let it rise for about 1 hour until it reaches almost double the volume.
At this point divide the dough into 5 parts for a weight of about 285 g for each piece and shape into balls.
If you used the yeast as I suggested, continue working the same day, otherwise the balls once formed should go into the fridge for 24 to 48 hours, then take them out of the fridge and wait several hours before continuing, because they will need to come back to temperature.
Form the balls; for space reasons I placed them on a floured baking tray (better without parchment paper).
Let rise for about 1 hour….
then take the balls by the base with your hands and stretch them to form a tongue about 8-12 inches long and place them on a baking tray.
Let rest another half hour, just enough for them to puff up a little…..
…then bake in a hot oven at 428°F for about 15 minutes, then activate the broiler/grill function for 2-3 minutes to give a crispier surface and emulate a wood-fired finish.
Remove from the oven and fill as you like….bon appétit!!!
