Crescia di pasqua (Italian Easter cheese bread)
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Prepared with parmigiano and pecorino, this delicious bread is a must at any Italian Easter breakfast alongside with traditional hard-boiled eggs and cold meat cuts.
Ingredients
- 250 g (1 ⅔ cups) strong bread flour (with at least 11% protein)
- 250 g (1 ⅔ cups) all purpose flour
- 5 medium eggs
- 100 g (1 cup) pecorino cheese (grated)
- 100 g (1 cup) parmigiano cheese (grated)
- 50 g (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
- 50 g (¼ cup) pork lard (or shortening, or butter)
- 100 ml lukewarm water (a little less than ½ cup)
- 25 g fresh yeast (or 2 ¼ tsp of dry active yeast)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp malt extract (or honey)
- black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Place the water on a bowl or glass, add malt extract and yeast. Mix until everything is combined.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, place flours and make a deep well in the center.
- Add water and yeast mixture and mix lightly to make a runny dough (poolish). Cover with flour.
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and place it in a warm zone. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Mix eggs with olive oil, parmigiano and pecorino cheese, salt and freshly ground black pepper until everything is combined.
- Add the eggs mixture to the bowl with flour and knead for 2 minutes in your stand mixer.
- Add lard (or butter) and keep kneading at medium speed for 5 more minutes. You’ll end with a sticky dough like the one on the photo below.
- Cover with a kitchen towel and let it proof until doubled in size (about 2 hours).
- Grease a 6.5″ (16 cm) large and 8″(20 cm) deep aluminum pan with olive oil. If you don’t have a similar pan, you can use parchment paper to line it and make it deeper, as seen in the photo below.
- Slightly oil your hands and carefully, transfer the dough to the pan and let it proof again until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
BAKE
- Heat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C), once the oven has reached the indicated temperature, open it and pour half a glass of water on the bottom of the oven to create steam (or use the steam function if your oven has it).
- Place the pan into the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until the surface has an even golden color and when you insert a toothpick in the bread it comes out clean.
Notes
- All the ingredients have to be at room temperature or at least not straight from the fridge, especially butter and eggs.
- The water needs to be lukewarm, not hot or it can kill the yeast and preven the dough from raising.
- You can also use a panettone paper pan. The important thing is that it should have high edges because the dough raise at least twice its size.
- Pecorino is a cheese with a strong flavor, if you are not used to it, it is best to decrease the amount and replace it with parmigiano cheese.
- This crescia di pasqua is more delicious if it is made at least two to three days in advance.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 420kcal
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