The Abruzzo Easter pizzas are a type of traditional rustic sweet bread that my family has been preparing for over three hundred years on Holy Thursday, to be taken to church with boiled eggs on Easter Sunday and blessed before breakfast. Though some traditions have fallen into disuse over time, the one of the pizzas, whose shape derives from the fact that they were originally baked with bread loaves in the wood oven, still persists. In Abruzzo, depending on the province, these become sweeter and are enriched with candied fruits, decorated with sugar sprinkles, or change shape to resemble the taller sweet pizzas from the Marche, but they always remain part of the Easter table.
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 8 Hours
- Cooking time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 24 people
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 280.95 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 55.03 (g) of which sugars 10.23 (g)
- Proteins 9.62 (g)
- Fat 3.06 (g) of which saturated 1.26 (g)of which unsaturated 1.45 (g)
- Fibers 1.66 (g)
- Sodium 47.50 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 105 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
- 4 Egg yolks (large)
- 5 Eggs (large)
- 4 Egg whites (large)
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 7/8 cup Milk (whole)
- 1 Fresh yeast (cube)
- 2 packets Baking powder for sweets
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch Nutmeg (tip of a teaspoon)
- 1 Lemon zest (grated)
- 1.1 cup Potato starch
- 2.2 lbs All-purpose flour
- 7 oz All-purpose flour (to finish working the dough)
- 1 pinch Bicarbonate
- 1.7 oz Rum
- 1.7 oz Amaretto (liqueur)
- 1.7 oz Marsala wine
- 1.7 oz Strega liqueur
Tools
- 1 Pastry board
- 1 Baking dish
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Grater
- 1 Hand whisk
- 1 Small pot
- 1 Food scale
- 1 Fork
- 4 Tea towels
- Baking paper
Preparation
Mix the baking powder and potato starch with the flour and arrange it on the pastry board.
Add the 5 whole eggs and the 4 egg whites, setting aside the remaining yolks for the final decoration.
Beat the eggs with the sugar.
Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and grated lemon zest along with a pinch of bicarbonate.
Dissolve the fresh yeast in lukewarm milk (not too hot, or it will prevent rising), leaving about two fingers’ worth aside, and pour it gradually over the beaten eggs, stirring gently and incorporating part of the flour around.
Now slowly, ensuring not to make the mixture too liquid, add the mix of liqueurs to the dough, while using a fork to slowly mix the flour.
At this point, the dough should take shape and become compact enough to work it by hand. Roll it into a large ball and knead it like bread: rolling, flattening, and kneading it with your hands for several minutes, as the better it is kneaded, the softer the final texture will be.
After forming a large ball, cover the dough with clean tea towels and let it “rest” for 8 to 10 hours so that it can rise properly. The environment should be warm, ideally around 68°F, or it will take longer. [In the past, women used to cover it with old wool sweaters to retain warmth.]
After the rising hours, beat the yolks with the reserved milk: they will be used to brush the pizzas before baking.
Cut pieces of the risen dough and shape them into loaves as shown in the photo above.
Carefully place them in the baking pan two by two for baking. I recommend not placing more as they will expand. To avoid using too much fat and achieve more uniform cooking, I preferred using baking paper instead of greasing the pan with oil.
Remember to turn on the oven at least twenty minutes in advance, so it is preheated to the right temperature when placing the pizzas, which should bake for 45 minutes at 392°F until they appear golden on top as in the photo.
Note: if you have a gas oven like mine, it is essential to place the pizzas on the upper oven rack and put a baking dish with water underneath. Otherwise, you might end up with undercooked or burnt pizzas.
Notes
It was quite challenging to extract precise quantities for this recipe, as it has always been passed down orally and without exact measurements, with quantities “by eye.” With these quantities, you will get nine pizzas. Regarding baking: every oven is different; I had problems even when having to change mine. I use a gas oven; if you have an electric oven, I think you should lower the temperature by 10/20 degrees, especially if you use the convection oven setting.
Calories: 204.94
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