Apulia, or Pugliese in English, is the heel off the Italian boot. It is the most productive agricultural plain in all of Italy. And from these plains grows the durum wheat used to make traditional Pugliese. It is a very wet dough, comparable to ciabatta, but slightly more dense.
This is not a quick bread to make. The hour and a half of flouring and folding is time-consuming but without it, it just wouldn’t be Pugliese! I used bread flour exclusively for this recipe as I didn’t have a close source for fancy durum wheat. This bread showed me the necessity for being able to properly make a boule. The softness of the dough makes it want to succumb to gravity more readily than a lesser hydrated dough. I made one in a banneton and the other simply on a floured peel. Interestingly, both turned out the same shape! I baked one of the loaves a bit longer than the other giving it a marvelous deep caramel colour. What I didn’t expect was the crackling that occurred when I took it out of the oven. The crust began to fissure and made quite a pronounced snapping sound! Note that these loaves do indeed soften as they cool. The taste is a nutty soft texture with a chewy crunchy crust. Viva Italia!
-
- Pugliese
-
- Pugliese loaf with cracks in the crust
-
- Pugliese, cut. Notice the dark crumbs from cutting the bread.
