Airy fritters of very wet leavened batter, pinched or spooned into hot oil and deep-fried until hollow and golden. Served plain with salt, sweet with vincotto or honey, or savory with anchovies and olives. A festive street food across Puglia — called péttuli in Brindisi, pittule in Lecce, popizze in Bari — tied to the feast days of Santa Cecilia, San Martino, the Immacolata and Christmas.
The dominant legend places the invention of pettole on the feast of Santa Cecilia (22 November) in Taranto: a housewife distracted by a neighbour left bread dough to over-ferment, and rather than waste it, dropped spoonfuls into hot oil. The regional dialect names vary: péttuli in Brindisi province, pittule in Lecce, popizze in Bari. Olive oil's historical scarcity meant deep-frying was reserved for major festivals — Santa Cecilia (22 Nov), San Martino (11 Nov), Immacolata (8 Dec) and Christmas Eve — giving pettole their festive identity that persists across the modern Puglian calendar.
Just out of the oil the crust is paper-thin and shatters at the lightest pressure; the interior is almost entirely hollow, a bubble sustained by steam. Sprinkled with salt the olive-oil fragrance dominates; with vincotto, fruit sweetness plays against the bread note.
The wet batter (80–90% hydration) is laced with yeast-produced CO₂ after 3+ hours of fermentation. Dropped into 170–180°C oil, the outer layer gelatinizes within seconds, trapping interior moisture; the trapped steam and CO₂ expand and inflate the shell from within. Rapid Maillard browning of surface starches produces colour and aroma while dehydrating the outer crust. Because the batter contains almost no added fat, oil absorption is limited to the exterior surface layer.
Variations
Sweet: rolled in sugar, drizzled with vincotto (grape must syrup) or honey; savory: salt-cured anchovies, olives or semi-cooked broccoli florets folded into the batter; Calabrian version with sun-dried tomatoes and anchovies; Basilicata ring-shaped variant.
On the Palate
Where Pettole Pugliesi sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
7 steps · 20 min active + 3 hours waiting
- 15 min
Combine flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl; gradually beat in lukewarm water with a wooden spoon until a very wet, pourable batter forms (about 85% hydration).
- 2180 min
Cover with a damp cloth and leave to ferment in a warm place for at least 3 hours until tripled in volume and very bubbly.
Watch outFerment the wet batter until tripled and very bubbly — those bubbles are the CO₂ that puffs the fritters hollow; a flat batter fries dense.
- 35 min
Heat a generous depth of olive oil (or vegetable oil) in a deep pan to 170–180°C.
- 45 min
Using a wet spoon or dampened hands, scoop walnut-sized portions of batter and slide gently into the hot oil; do not crowd the pan.
- 56 min
Fry 2–3 minutes per side, turning once, until puffed, hollow-sounding and deep golden.
Watch outFry until puffed, deep gold, and hollow-sounding — that hollow note means the inside has inflated and cooked through.
- 62 min
Remove with a slotted spoon; drain briefly on kitchen paper and salt immediately.
- 72 min
Serve at once: plain with salt, dusted with sugar, or drizzled with vincotto or honey.
