Bryan Martin: How to make perfect deep-fried pizza pockets (battilocchio)

It had to happen, all good things must come to an end and, while it's nothing too devastating, I do need to mark the occasion so I can heal, regroup and move on.

A year ago, after much wrangling, I acquired a 20-kilogram box of, what I thought at the time, was one of the best things money could buy. Each week I've been judiciously meting out my prize, weighing and judging whether the dish is worthy or not, being fairly quiet about it, knowing that at some stage I'll be down to the last bag.

I'm there now. Do I open this last bag of Petra #3 flour? Petra 3 is basically the best flour for pizza there is. No use doubting me, or arguing, if you were in front of me I'd be saying "talk to da hand, cause I's ain't listening bra!".

Over the last year we have been enjoying a wide variety of pizza and without a shred of doubt, the dough made from this flour, along with our pure rainwater and my five-year-old yeast mother, makes the dish.

I don't know if I can get more, so should I see it off in style or hoard it until another rare shipment hits the little deli in Carlton where I got this pack from?

My internal dilemma is solved when I come across a new ingredient that has forced my hand so I'll need to break into the last pack, where the writing says, and this is a rough translation "in 1 kilogram of petra there are more fibers more protein and more according to taste the natural balance of a grain of wheat".

Sure it makes no sense but in Italian these are emotive words.

At a local deli I found buffalo ricotta. You've probably seen the growth in buffalo products, not sure where they come from as I haven't noted herds of buffalo roaming around the Yass valley. However, cheese that professes to come from this animal seems to have a tenderness and delicacy that standard cow milk ricotta and mozzarella lacks. So I'm a believer and am pretty happy to pay the higher price to go on my Petra 3 pizzas.

For this dish I thought I'd attempt to make battilocchio - queue my dramatic music.

These are deep-fried, filled pizzas, super crispy on the outside, juicy and moist within. "Pizza pockets" as my son, quite deflatingly, suggests that: "We get them at school".

Well, maybe, they are just pizza pockets, but I doubt my son's school, as good as it is, stuffs his battilocchio with braised endive and cavalo nero, some crispy dry cured bacon and this buffalo cheese.

You will need a high protein flour to make the dough stretchable enough to stay together in the fryer. Another tip is to use olive oil. This needs to be fresh, nothing too fancy and don't let the temperature go over 180C otherwise it smokes, gives a bitterness to the dish and may explode your pizza pocket.

If you don't feel confident you can just bake these in a hot oven where they become calzone or saltimbocca.

Do try these this; deep fryers are cheap and handy for all sorts of food like this - battilocchio, the world's best street food and so worthy of my last bag of special flour.

Battilocchio with kale, bacon and buffalo ricotta

prepared dough, see below
olive oil
8 slices dry cured bacon or pancetta
1 small red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced very fine
3 tbsp pine nuts
1 bunch Italian kale and or baby endive, chopped
200g buffalo ricotta or a good quality, fresh cow's milk ricotta.
basil leaves
salt and pepper

In a large pan, add just a little oil and cook the bacon until it is getting crispy, remove and splash in some more oil and lightly fry the onion and garlic, then add the pine nuts so they get just a little colour, add the kale or endive and cook until it all collapses, stirring as you go. Season well and let it cool.

Have the deep fryer set at 175C with fresh, clean olive oil. Place the filling on one side, they should be plump but not too turgid. Each battilocchio gets a smear of ricotta, about a tablespoon, about half a cup of kale mixture, a slice of bacon and a few basil leaves.

Fold the other side over and press the two edges together. Form the crescent into a more oval shape and carefully lower into the hot oil. Just do one at a time and keep them rolling and turning so they cook evenly.

They'll take about five minutes each and are done once they have a pleasing toasted look. Wrap in a napkin to serve.

Pizza dough

65g water
Pinch of yeast
150g water
2 tsp salt
320g high protein bread flour

First make the sponge from the 65 grams of water and yeast (or if you have a yeast mother just use 130g grams of this and skip to next step). Have the water at 25C, mix in the yeast and flour to form a paste or sponge. Leave this to ferment overnight in a cool place.

In mixer bowl, add water, salt, sponge and flour. Mix on a low speed with bread hook for 10 minutes. Rest for 30 minutes and then knead for another five minutes or so.

Turn out and hand knead until it is firm but still elastic. Cut this dough into eight equal pieces and form each into a tight ball.

Place together in one layer in a sealed vessel and leave to prove for a good eight hours. If it looks like the ferment is moving too fast put the dough in the fridge to tame it.

When ready, dust a clean surface with a little flour and roll each ball out into a thin elongated oval, twice as long as it is wide.