Tortano also called casatiello, actually consists of two excellent and typical preparations of Campanian tradition, which have small differences between them.
The basic ingredients of these two preparations are practically the same, the main difference is in the eggs. In tortano, the eggs are already hard-boiled and cut into wedges, while in casatiello they are placed whole and raw on top of the doughnut and cook during baking in the oven.
The original tortano recipe includes provolone, salami, and hard-boiled eggs in the filling. You can add the cold cuts and cheeses you prefer, so much so that it is sometimes referred to as a fridge-cleaning recipe, like Cantonese rice and cold pasta.
Preparing tortano requires a few hours for the double rising of the dough. However, since there is a good amount of yeast, you can actually prepare it in about 4 hours.
Tortano and casatiello often appear on our Easter table, but they are great for any outing, savory buffet, and are perfect for appetizers.
I remind you of other savory recipes that can be useful for outings, appetizers, and buffets
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 16
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter
- Energy 341.19 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 31.10 (g) of which sugars 2.02 (g)
- Proteins 16.01 (g)
- Fat 17.56 (g) of which saturated 8.19 (g)of which unsaturated 8.29 (g)
- Fibers 1.63 (g)
- Sodium 749.82 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 106 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 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup water (lukewarm)
- 0.7 oz fresh yeast
- 5.5 tbsp lard
- 4 tbsp Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- to taste pepper
- 6.5 oz provolone cheese
- 4 oz salami (I used prosciutto)
- 1.8 oz pecorino cheese (grated)
- 4 eggs (hard-boiled)
- to taste milk (for brushing the surface)
Tools
You can easily knead by hand as it is a soft dough, but to make your work easier, I suggest using a stand mixer with a dough hook.
- 1 Stand Mixer Howork
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Cake Pan
Steps
I kneaded by hand and started by placing the flour in a bowl, I warmed the water in the microwave to make it lukewarm, not too hot max 98°F, and dissolved the yeast with the sugar in it. I added the prepared mixture to the flour and began to mix. When the dough was homogeneous, I added salt, pepper, and lard and mixed to give the dough some strength.
To finish kneading well, I brought the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, turned the dough a few times, then formed a ball and put it back in the glass bowl. I covered the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for about two hours, until doubled.
While the dough is rising, prepare all the filling ingredients into pieces, including hard-boiled eggs. When the dough has risen, bring it to a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a large rectangle about 1/8 to 1/6 inch thick.
Spread all the filling ingredients, cut into pieces, over the dough, trying to distribute them evenly and uniformly over the entire rectangle.
Start from one of the long sides and roll the dough onto itself until you form a large log, seal the ends well by pressing the dough with your fingers.
Place the rolled dough in the bundt pan. If you use a good non-stick pan, you won’t need to butter it.
Cover it with a cloth and let it rise for at least another hour as seen in the photos. When it has risen, brush the surface of the roll with a little milk and bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for 50 minutes until the surface is golden.
NOTES
Tortano is delicious when consumed warm but also great at room temperature, making it perfect for many occasions. For the rising of the dough and subsequently the doughnut, I always recommend the turned-off oven as it is usually a place without temperature fluctuations.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What cheeses can replace provolone?
In tortano, you can replace or mix provolone with cheeses like Emmental, flavorful caciottas, and Asiago.
