Puccia dell’Immacolata, recipe

The puccia dell’Immacolata is an Apulian tradition that many like to keep alive. It is one of the many Apulian traditions that bind spirituality and conviviality in a double thread. An indissoluble and profound bond which, if we think about it, we also find in many sacred texts. But returning to us, that sense of spirituality, emotion and celebration is experienced even more if the traditional preparations are prepared with one’s own hands rather than purchased from one or another bakery. So let’s see immediately how these pucce dell’immaculata are prepared.

When to prepare and when to taste the puccia dell’Immacolata

The day of the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception is a day dedicated to spiritual retreat, prayer and fasting. The sandwich that we present here belongs to the long-standing traditions of Puglia and mostly of Salento. Here, even today it is customary to eat only one puccia on the eve of the Immaculate Conception. It is not a puccia like those found in bakeries all year round (often still called simply “ovens” in Puglia), but a simpler and more essential sandwich. Sometimes with olives, but most of the time not. Stuffed with sliced ​​cheese (Swiss, as they say in Salento), tuna, anchovies and little else. In Gallipoli there could be an anchovy, but nothing more. Well, you eat little and sparinglyprecisely as a sign of respect for tradition and religious celebrations.

Have you thought about it? Speaking of puccia dell’Immacolata, don’t forget that it is very common, widespread and ancient the habit of preparing and distributing devotional sandwiches also prepared on the occasion of the feasts of the Patron Saint of various cities, not only in Puglia. Think of the sandwiches for San Nicola, but also those for S. Antonio da Padova and many others. But let’s get back to us and see the recipe for the puccia dell’Immacolata.

Recipe of the puccia dell’Immacolata, ingredients

Let’s see immediately the ingredients to prepare the puccia dell’Immacolata.

  • half a kg of semolina flour
  • a cube of brewer’s yeast
  • a heaping teaspoon of salt
  • 150 grams of celline-type black olives
  • two tablespoons of olive oil
  • warm water as needed

Read also: bridge of the Immaculate Conception in Puglia, where to go

Preparation of the puccia of the Immaculate Conception

Now let’s see how prepare the puccia of the Immaculate Conception in a few simple steps and obtain this delicious sandwich designed for Christmas Eve fasting.

  • Flour a pastry board and put the flour on it.
  • Add the yeast dissolved in a little warm water to the centre
  • Knead and gradually add all the water, then the oil and finally the salt
  • Knead again and then leave aside covered so that it rises and doubles in volume
  • After the time, add, if you like, the olives
  • Divide the dough into 4 loaves and let it rise once more
  • When the volume has doubled again, bake at 220 degrees for 30 minutes
  • At the end of cooking you can stuff your pucce dell’Immacolata according to tradition

How to fill the pucce of the Immaculate Conception

In Gallipoli it is customary to add an anchovy, in Brindisi the so-called fanfullicchi. They are fried fish that give that touch of gluttony to the puccia dell’Immacolata. But not only. The classic filling of the pucce dell’Immacolata usually includes tuna and Swiss cheese.

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Puccia dell’Immacolata, recipe