The Easter Crescia or Easter Pizza with cheese is a leavened rustic bread, typically from Marche and Umbria prepared by tradition during the Easter period. There is also a Lazio version, and I know that in the northern area of Abruzzo it is similarly prepared for the Easter Holidays.
Of course, the types of cheese used vary, from pecorino to casciotta, from the more intense and salty Roman cheese to the less aged pecorino. Names also vary: Easter Crescia, Cheese Pizza, Easter Pizza, Cheese Crescia, Durmiento (for the many hours of leavening) but it is a sweet preparation, then there is Easter Ring, Cheese Ring. I am also told that in Tuscany it is called Easter Schiaccia and that anise seeds are added, and lard is not used.
Do you know of any others? I would be delighted to add them!
Aesthetically, it resembles a panettone, but it remains savory, as it is prepared using parmesan and aged pecorino and is served accompanied by other cheeses and cured meats.
You can take the Cheese Crescia with you for Easter Monday if you go for a day trip with family or friends, even though it is traditionally enjoyed as a mid-morning snack on Easter day! My grandma Sandra recalls that it was the Breakfast on Easter Sunday along with cured meats, olives, and other local products.
To keep the Easter Crescia fresh in the days following preparation, you can slice it into thick slices and store it in an airtight container to prevent too much air exposure. It should remain moist as if it were just baked.
The Easter Cheese Pizza is certainly a recipe that requires a considerable amount of time both for its preparation and for its leavening and baking. Therefore, if you decide to prepare it, manage your time well for all the necessary steps and procedures.
For Easter on the blog Le Ricette di Bea, you will also find many other recipes, the most famous after Cheese Crescia is undoubtedly the recipe for Torta Pasqualina. Multi-layered puff pastry with a heart of spinach and ricotta and whole eggs inside. A delight not to be missed!
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter, Easter Monday
- Energy 727.83 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 67.86 (g) of which sugars 4.04 (g)
- Proteins 31.04 (g)
- Fat 38.90 (g) of which saturated 15.11 (g)of which unsaturated 6.70 (g)
- Fibers 3.68 (g)
- Sodium 2,274.52 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for a 2.2 lbs (1 kg) Easter Crescia:
- 6 Eggs
- 1 Egg yolks
- 7 oz Pecorino cheese (aged)
- 7 oz Cheese (grated)
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 21 oz Flour 0
- 1 oz Fresh brewer's yeast
- 1 pinch Black pepper
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 Lemon zest
Recipe Tools
- Oven
- Mold
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Small pot
- 1 Brush
Preparation of Easter Crescia or Cheese Pizza:
First, dissolve the yeast in the milk, lukewarm. In a bowl, then work the eggs with the salt, extra virgin olive oil, grated pecorino, and grated cheese, grated lemon zest, and a good sprinkling of pepper.
Add the milk in which the brewer’s yeast was dissolved and finally the sifted flour. Work the mixture with your hands until a smooth and homogeneous dough is obtained. If you want to add cheese cubes, now is the time, incorporate the cheese with the dough using a wooden spoon so as not to heat our dough too much.
Now take the panettone mold, found easily in stationery stores or supermarkets (or by clicking here to purchase), sprinkle the bottom with flour, and place our dough in the center.
Brush the surface of the Easter Crescia with the yolk that we set aside and let it rise in the oven, turned off, of course, but with the light on for about 3 hours.
The effect you will get is that the Cheese Crescia will have doubled its volume.
At this point, remove the Easter Crescia from the oven, which we will then bring to 350°F (180°C) using the static mode.
The Crescia must cook for about 40 minutes, it will be beautifully golden on the outside, and as always, for the inside, do the long toothpick test.
It should be served cold, accompanied by aged cheeses and cured meats, or you can cut it into cubes and use it in soups instead of bread. What a scent in the house!!!
Enjoy your meal!!!
If you have your recipe for the Easter Cheese Pizza, write to me, I would be super curious to try other variations!
The memory: when I was little, with grandma, we would spend many Sundays with relatives in Abruzzo or Umbria. The Easter Cheese Crescia was enjoyed together with them, or at Aunt Vera’s in Roseto degli Abruzzi or then at Cincina’s in Foligno. But even at Oliva’s in Terni, the culinary traditions were no joke. They were women of the past, spending hours in the kitchen to delight the family, authentic flavors, simple ingredients. They were my memories, but I am sure they are also for most of you.
Storage:
You can store the Easter Crescia or Easter Cheese Pizza for up to two days in a tightly sealed freezer bag, so it remains soft inside.
If you like traditional recipes, you must try the Homemade Tigelle or Crescentine
A typical recipe from Polish tradition, you will find the Chocolate Babka in my version.
