La Puddica Brindisina
...Anchovies, and Black Olives) Brindisi, the ancient Brundisium of the Romans, is a sort of rough, emotionally bankrupt port city. Still, we like to walk and sit, sometimes, on the edges of its rickety old wharfs early of a morning to inhale the bright, briny tableau of the place. And round about eight-thirty—high noon for the fishermen, who rise before the sun—we wait to see the baker’s boy running down the docks, toting a great basket of puddica—traditional Brindisino flatbreads—just born and sending up great hungering perfumes for the fishermen’s lunch. It seemed to us the highest form of ceremony left in the dour old place.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 12 small breads
Ingredients
The Dough
The Toppings
Preparation
The Dough
Step 1
In a large bowl, stir the yeast into the warm water, permitting it to rest and dissolve for 15 minutes.
Step 2
In a small bowl, combine the tepid water, the oil, the cream, and the sea salt.
Step 3
Combine the flours and add them, with the liquids, to the rested yeast, working the components into a rough dough.
Step 4
Turn it out into a lightly floured work surface, kneading it into soft, smooth dough. The task takes at least 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and permit it to rise for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled.
Step 5
Now, turn to the toppings.
The Toppings
Step 6
Wash and trim the rape and place them in a pot, covering them with cold water, adding the tablespoon of sea salt and poaching them for 3 minutes. Drain the rape very well, transferring them to absorbent paper towels. When the rape are cooled a bit, squeeze each piece, extracting as much water as you can before chopping them coarsely and setting them aside.
Step 7
Rinse the anchovies. Remove the heads and bones, dry them on paper towels, and crush lightly with a fork.
Step 8
In a large sauté pan over a medium flame, heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil, scenting it with the garlic and the chile, softening the garlic but taking care not to color it. Add the poached, chopped rape, rolling it about in the perfumed oil for 2 minutes before adding the anchovies and the olives, tossing it all together, permitting the components a minute or two to become acquainted. Set the pan aside.
Step 9
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Step 10
Divide the risen dough into 12 pieces, rolling each of them into a ball. Permit the balls a 10-minute rest under a clean kitchen towel before flattening them with your knuckles, stretching them into rustic little rounds of about 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Let the breads rest under a towel once again for 10 minutes. Give the rounds a final dimpling with your knuckles, brushing each with a bit of the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Give each a generous dose of the topping.
Step 11
Bake the breads on parchment-lined baking sheets or on preheated baking stones for 15 to 18 minutes or until they are golden-edged. Pile the puddica immediately into a basket and serve them hot or permit them to cool on racks to serve at room temperature. In any case, don’t ask them to wait more than 1 hour.
