Panzerotti - Famous Italian Recipe

The trick to making a great panzerotti is first of all you need to have great dough. Making a pizza type dough that has wonderful flavor, has just the right stretchability, and holds up well during cooking is not an easy feat.

Strong bakers flour is required to start. This means anywhere from 12% - 13% protein by weight. Any less and you won't get the desired texture after working and deep frying the panzerotti.

A wonderful pizza sauce with just the right combination of spices and fresh tomato flavor is the next most important thing. Don't cook the sauce too much or too long, or you lose the rich flavor of the tomatoes.

Finally, the trickiest part is cooking your panzerotti. Baking requires enough heat to kick start the dough during the rise cycle, but you can't over do it or you end up burning the high points. In many cases you can use tinfoil to partially cover the panzerotti part way through the cooking cycle.

If you're deep frying - and this is my favorite method - you need to have the oil at approximately 325 degrees F so that the dough reacts correctly. The exact temperature will vary depending on the saturation and structure of your dough. Also, make sure you seal the edges very well, or the panzerotti will come apart during the deep frying process.

Be sure to watch the video below to see some of the initial stages of making the world's best panzerotti, and visit the /carmineshomestylepizza.com/giant-panzerottis/">Panzerotti website to get step-by-step details on everything.