Puccia Pugliese

Puccia Pugliese is a type of panini from Salento and Taranto that is made with puccia bread and is usually filled with local cured meats and cheeses such as giuncata, capocollo di Martina Franca or a copious amount of vegetables. The puccia bread is round bread, about 20-30 cm (8-12”) in diameter, and can be made with pizza or bread dough. It has very little crumb, making it perfect for filling with various ingredients. However, there are other kinds of puccia bread as well, such as the uliate, which are smaller and interspersed with cured black olives, and the puccia that is made with semolina. When it comes to the filling, there are no rules. Anything goes, from local cured meats and cheese to hamburger patties, uccelletti (smoked scamorza wrapped in prosciutto)i, and horsemeat ragù.