PANZEROTTI PUGLIESI - Cooking with me recipe Graziella

Apulian panzerotti are a delicatessen gastronomic specialty, a circle of stuffed pasta, closed on itself to form a crescent, typical of the regions of central-southern Italy, in particular of my beloved Puglia. In some areas of Italy the term "panzerotto" refers to the calzone. The panzerotto was born from the tradition of the poorest Apulian cuisine, when these small crescents with pieces of cheese and tomatoes were cooked with the leftover bread dough. It is prepared with the same dough as normal pizza (with some variations in some areas) and depending on the location it takes on different names: in Naples, where it is also very widespread, it is simply called fried pizza, while the term calzone indicates the calzone baked and the name panzerotto is instead used to indicate simple large potato croquettes. In Sicily, they are known as fried calzones.
BUT HOW TO MAKE PERFECT PANZEROTTI? HOW TO PREVENT THEM FROM OPENING DURING COOKING?
Here, therefore, is the decalogue of MY advice and suggestions for obtaining the perfect panzerotto:
The hydration of the dough is very important: a dough that is too hard would not hold up to frying and would break during cooking right on the surface, causing the filling to leak out.
For the filling it is important to use dry mozzarella: braid or fior di latte are fine, if you use mozzarella make sure to put them in a colander after cutting them so as to lose all the whey.
Use mozzarella that is not cold from the fridge: take it out at least an hour in advance, this way you will get a stringy and tasty filling
Don't cut the mozzarella into too large pieces: it won't have time to melt during cooking
Do not add the puree or peeled tomatoes to the mozzarella, rather put mozzarella on the base first and then a teaspoon of sauce (this way you will not have any liquid leakage)
Press the edges well: if the dough is properly hydrated it will not be necessary to brush the edges of the panzerotto with water or anything else; just press to let the air escape well and seal the edges well by pressing with your fingers (no to the use of a fork to seal because the prongs could pierce the dough and no, in my humble opinion, to the use of pasta cutter wheels which they completely change the shape of the panzerotto (a good dough and good manual skills do not require anything else)
Stuff the panzerotti and fry immediately: do not stuff the panzerotti and keep them waiting for frying, the humidity of the filling would wet the dough and break during frying
Fry at a temperature of 170/180°: low temperature oil would make the panzerotti greasy and indigestible; an oil at too high a temperature would not allow the filling, therefore the mozzarella, to melt perfectly (and there is nothing sadder than finding the mozzarella still intact inside
Frying in company: frying with the help of someone, if you don't have too much experience, is essential. The company also serves this purpose, an assembly line made up of smiles and chatter that passes from hand to hand: those who roll it out, those who stuff it and those who fry it and then, as usual, those who eat
Last and most important: turn the panzerotto as soon as it rises to the surface during frying. In this way we prevent the upper part from swelling and "bursting".
What are the most common mistakes when preparing Apulian panzerotti?
1) make a dough that is too hard;
2) start frying when the oil is not yet at the right temperature;
3) immerse too many panzerotti in the pan, thus lowering the temperature of the oil
4) once you have lowered the panzerotto into the pan, wait for it to cook on one side before turning it, this is the most common mistake, watching the video you will realize that as soon as the panzerotto rises to the surface I turn it to seal it well on both sides .
5) stuff the panzerotti too long before frying: on the one hand this will wet the dough causing the filling to come out, on the other it will continue to rise and the edges will no longer have the same adhesion and here too we will have the filling coming out
After having prepared together many varieties of panzerotti, from PANZEROTTI ALL SEMOLINA to PANZEROTTI WITH BEER DOUGH up to PANZEROTTI WITH POTATOES FROM THE DOUGH and many other recipes!
Force! Now let's go to the kitchen, there are the panzerotti to fuck (typical Bari verbs which indicate the kneading of the panzerotti), to the joy of the whole family always from heart to hand for you!
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