Easter Pecorino Pizza
This Easter pecorino pizza reminds me of many Easters spent with my maternal grandmother, who being of Umbrian origins, prepared it every year. It’s truly tasty and very soft.
An old rustic pizza, fragrant and delicious, that goes well with salted ricotta, cured meats and hard-boiled eggs. It is served either as the starter for the Easter lunch or for picnics and outings on Easter Monday.
This is a recipe I make every year because it brings me a lot of satisfaction, so it is well tested and foolproof. Just follow my step-by-step instructions and you can’t go wrong; success is guaranteed.
I’ll tell you right away that the pecorino pizza should be eaten at least 1 day after you prepare it, because the flavors need to meld well. So plan carefully the day you want to make it.
If you want to enrich your Easter menu with other sweet and/or savory recipes, I recommend checking my “Special Easter Menu”.
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Moderate
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Cooking time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 8 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Easter
Ingredients
- 5 Eggs
- 2 1/2 cups 00 flour (I use Caputo Classica blue)
- 1 2/3 cups Manitoba flour (I use Manitoba Oro Caputo, W over 350)
- 0.7 oz Fresh baker's yeast
- 1 teaspoon Sugar (about 10 g (approximately 2 1/2 teaspoons))
- 1 1/4 tsp Salt (about 7 g)
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1/3 cup Water (about 3.4 fl oz (100 ml))
- 1 2/3 cups Pecorino Romano (aged, finely grated (about 5 2/3 oz))
- 1 cups Parmigiano Reggiano (aged, finely grated (about 3.2 oz))
- 3 1/2 tbsp Lard
- 1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil (of good quality (about 5.3 tbsp))
Tools
- Bowl
- Stand mixer Kenwood 1200 W power and double bowl
- Mold truncated cone, 8 in diameter
Preparation for Easter Pecorino Pizza
Prepare a mixture with 5 whole eggs, 160 g of Pecorino Romano, 90 g of Parmigiano (the proportions between the cheeses can vary according to your taste), salt, pepper, and 80 g of good-quality extra virgin olive oil. Let this mixture rest for at least 4 hours, so the flavors can meld well.
Meanwhile, prepare a preferment with: 20 g fresh yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar and 100 ml lukewarm water (about 100°F) and let it ferment in a glass, preferably plastic, for 5-6 minutes.
Mix the dissolved yeast with a little flour to form a small dough ball and let it ferment, covered with flour, for 40-50 minutes.
When the small dough is cracked all over, gradually add the egg-and-cheese mixture LITTLE BY LITTLE (not all at once) and work it into the remaining flour.
I used the stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mixed well for about 20 minutes, then added the lard (a little at a time, NOT all together!) and worked the last 10 minutes with the dough hook.
The dough should be soft and stretchy and must come together well: it should pull away from the sides and when you lift it it should fall in a single piece without tearing (see photo above). Let the dough rest at room temperature for about 50-60 minutes, covered.
Before placing the dough in the mold, perform second-type folds (see here, starting from where Adriano Continisio writes: “There is a tight folding system that strongly loads the gluten and tightens the crumb. It is used to obtain a fine and regular crumb along with marked vertical rise of the product“) and slightly round (pirlare) the dough, closing it into a ball and gently place it in the mold, giving it a round shape.
The mold must necessarily be tall, narrow and flared, conical in shape, like the one used for panettone (8 in diameter, height 4 3/4 in, lower base 6 1/4 in, upper base 8 1/4 in), well greased with lard (NOT floured) as in the photo (see Buying Tips below).
Let the dough rise again, covered and protected from drafts, until it reaches the rim of the mold (about one hour).
This pecorino pizza needs to be baked initially slowly, so place it in the oven when it is gently warmed to 122°F (50°C). This way the cake will not form a crust immediately and will develop more height. To help this, pour about a glass of water onto the bottom of the oven (or place a small heatproof pot with water in the oven) to create steam, then immediately raise the temperature to 392°F (200°C). After the first 20 minutes, lower the oven to 356°F (180°C).
This Easter savory cake should bake for about 40-45 minutes; after 40 minutes check with a skewer.
The pecorino pizza should be eaten at least 1 day after baking (but even better after 3 or 4 days) otherwise it will not acquire its typical flavor.
Serve this Easter pecorino pizza accompanied by salami, capocollo and hard-boiled eggs.
Store the pizza in a plastic bag (or wrapped in cling film). It keeps well for 7-10 days.
Notes and Tips
If you don’t have the specific mold, a round aluminum pan of about 8 in diameter will also work.
The cheese pizza should not darken too much because cheeses can develop an unpleasant taste. If well worked, the cake will bake to a light golden color.
The recipe comes from the legendary forum of Cucina Italiana and is by Paola Lazzari, who already in 2007 on the forum described this pecorino pizza as: “… I guarantee it’s easy and delicious. Make it because it will give you great satisfaction and it’s MUCH better than the commercial ones or those from various bakeries…” I fully agree with her — among the many I’ve tried, this recipe is the one that comes closest to what my maternal grandmother used to make.
Try to give the dough a round shape before placing it in the pan, as if shaping a panettone. There are very clear videos on YouTube. This way you’ll have a nice dome after baking! Choose well-aged cheeses, both Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano.
The cake will taste better and keep longer without developing mold. The pepper is not meant to make the cake spicy, but to give it its characteristic aroma. Don’t omit it! Grate the cheeses finely: if you use an electric grater try to make the cheese even finer by rubbing it between your hands. This will make the crumb soft and compact. Work the dough thoroughly. It will be ready when you can stretch a small piece of dough to form a thin membrane without tearing (see photo above). Bake the cake well so it is dry inside. If the dough is well worked and well risen, it will bake quickly (40-45 min) and the crumb will be as soft as panettone. Conversely, if the dough has not been properly worked, the crumb will be damp and will require more time to bake, browning the top dome. With the quantities given above you obtain a cake of about 1.2 kg. Let’s say this is the minimum amount for a cheese cake; making it smaller significantly reduces flavor. I’ve seen very cute muffin-sized versions. Again, very fancy and perhaps practical to serve, but I assure you the size penalizes the flavor a lot.
Buying Tips!!!
To knead various types of dough perfectly and comfortably, I use my Kenwood Titanium Chef Patissier XL stand mixer with 7L illuminated bowl, integrated scale and blender and 1400W of power, a faithful ally in the kitchen for: kneading, weighing, whipping, melting chocolate and pasteurizing eggs.
If instead you are looking for a more economical and smaller stand mixer, you can calmly choose the Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker stand mixer with double 5L and 3.5L bowls, 1200W.
You can find both stand mixers on Amazon at a special price.
To bake the pecorino pizza you need a truncated-cone mold about 8 in in diameter.
You can purchase all the items I recommend above on Amazon at a great price, just click directly on the respective links.
How do you store Pecorino Pizza?
Pecorino pizza (crescia or cheese cake) keeps for 3-4 days well wrapped in cling film. It can be reheated and also frozen.
What’s the difference between Umbrian pecorino pizza and the Marche cheese cake?
In general, the Umbrian version is more compact, made with bread dough plus brewer’s yeast.
The Marche version has a larger crumb with cheese pockets, since it usually also contains cubes of cheese inside.
