Apulia is an excellent region in which to grow grain, especially the hard wheat referred to as grano duro or semolina. There is a long tradition of bread making in Apulia, dating back to the Roman empire.The Pagnota is the traditional bread, and is a large loaf which can weigh well over a kilo and up to ten. Today, formulae are found that specify both durum flour and 0 or 1 type flour. We have chosen to specify unbleached all-purpose flour in place of 0 or 1 type flour which are not readily available in the United States.
Is there an authentic, one and only way to make Pane Pugliese? Probably not. One technique is described in “The Italian Baker” by Carol Field (Harper & Row, New York, 1985). “Profumo di Pane“ by Erika Pignatti (Editioni Calderini, Bologna, Italy 1988) includes a description of Pane Pugliese. “Il Pane, Un’arte, Una Technologia” by Piergiorgio Giorilli and Simona Lauri (Franco Luciano, Editore, Milano, 1996) also includes a formula.
Guido Boriani, and Fabrizio Ostani. in “Il Pane”. and Silvano Franconeri, and Chiara Scudelotti in “Fare Il Pane e le Ricette di Pane“. also include a recipe for Pane Pugliese in their books. The recipes in both books are are essentially the same, and can be accessed by clicking on this link.
Quaglia, Sima and Mascarin include recipes for this bread in their works. Use the links at the left to access the recipes from these authors.
In all cases, the translations are ours. Thus, errors and omissions are our alone. Typical Pugliese loaves proofing are pictured in the photo above. This photo was taken from breads made in The Artisan Kitchen.