Panzerotti Pugliesi

Ingredients

• 400g tipo 0 or plain flour
• 100g fine semolina flour
• 300ml lukewarm water
• 7g fresh yeast, or 3g instant dried yeast
• 10g fine salt
• 5g caster sugar
• 20ml extra virgin olive oil
• 300g fiordilatte mozzarella
• 300g tomato passata
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, for the sauce
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• A few basil leaves
• 2 litres sunflower or groundnut oil, for frying
• Salt

Before you cook

• Dice the mozzarella into 1cm cubes, tip it into a sieve set over a bowl, and leave it to drain for at least an hour.
• Season the passata with salt, the oregano, a tablespoon of olive oil and torn basil, then leave it to sit.
• Line a tray with a clean cloth, ready for the shaped panzerotti.

Steps

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water in a large bowl.
2. Add both flours and mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Add the salt and the 20ml of olive oil, then knead on the worktop for eight to ten minutes until smooth and elastic.
4. Shape the dough into a ball, cover it, and leave it somewhere warm for about two hours, until doubled in size.
5. Divide the dough into ten pieces of about 80g and roll each one into a tight ball.
6. Cover the balls and rest them for 30 minutes.
7. Roll one ball out into a disc about 14cm across, a little thicker than you would for pizza.
8. Spoon a tablespoon of the seasoned passata onto one half of the disc, leaving a clear 2cm border.
9. Scatter a small handful of drained mozzarella over the sauce.
10. Fold the disc over into a half moon and press the edges firmly with your fingertips, pushing out any trapped air.
11. Crimp the sealed edge with a fork and set the panzerotto on the cloth-lined tray.
12. Shape the rest of the panzerotti in the same way.
13. Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to 180 degrees Celsius.
14. Lower two panzerotti at a time into the oil and fry for about two minutes, spooning hot oil over the tops so they puff.
15. Turn them over and fry for a further two minutes, until deep golden and blistered.
16. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain them on kitchen paper.
17. Rest the panzerotti for two minutes before eating, because the filling is hot enough to burn your mouth.