Have you ever tried Neapolitan Casatiello? The rustic one? Yes, because there are two types of ‘casatiello’ in the Campanian gastronomic tradition: the savory one, which I will talk about now, and the sweet one. By Neapolitan casatiello, we mean a rustic leavened cake (prepared with sourdough or brewer’s yeast, and I will illustrate both processes) with lard, filled with pork cracklings, cold cuts, and cheeses, and decorated with raw eggs before baking. Lard is one of the fundamental ingredients of casatiello because, in adequate quantities, it makes the dough soft and fragrant; otherwise, in my opinion, casatiello becomes greasy. Personally, I can’t eat it, but every family has its version, with all the variations of the case, and this is mine. It is prepared for Easter, but I often make it at home because it’s a great solution for buffets, Saturday night dinners, or spring and summer picnics. The typical pan to use is the one for a bundt cake, but if you don’t have this type of mold, within the procedure, I have suggested a simple trick to obtain the classic shape. Casatiello has a very long leavening process, both with brewer’s yeast and natural yeast, which gives it a long shelf life and that softness it otherwise wouldn’t have (it’s one of the reasons I add a smaller amount of lard than the older recipe or those generally found on the internet, because the long leavening process adds further softness), which is why I recommend starting to prepare it the day before consumption. I, in fact, begin to prepare it in the early afternoon of Good Friday so that I can bake it on Holy Saturday morning and eat it for lunch.
In addition to the rustic Neapolitan casatiello and the sweet one, there is also another rustic leavened Easter preparation, namely the tortano, equally enticing and delicious.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 10 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 21 oz all-purpose flour
- 5 oz sourdough starter (or 5 g of fresh brewer's yeast)
- 1 1/8 cups water (at room temperature)
- 2 tablespoons lard (heaping)
- 1 tablespoon fine salt
- as needed lard or oil for the pan
- 1.75 oz diced mortadella
- 1.75 oz pork cracklings
- 1.75 oz diced Neapolitan salami
- 1.75 oz diced spicy provolone
- 1.75 oz mix of grated pecorino romano and grana
- 1.75 oz diced pecorino romano
- 1.75 oz diced grana or parmesan
- 4 whole eggs
- as needed freshly ground pepper
Tools
- 1 Bundt cake pan
- 1 Cooling rack
Steps
For those who do not have a 30 cm bundt cake pan, you can do it this way: use a round mold (springform or not).
To create the typical hole in the casatiello, line a tall glass with parchment paper, place it in the center of the mold, making sure the folds of the closure of the paper are facing up, towards you (so, if necessary, you can just open the parchment and remove the glass) and place the filled dough around it. Before baking the Neapolitan casatiello, remove only the glass, without removing the parchment paper to avoid ruining the leavening, and off to bake.
Refresh the sourdough starter as we are already used to doing and let it rise. It must be very strong because it will have to make a dough rich in ingredients and fats rise.
When the sourdough starter has doubled in volume, take the amount we need and put it in a bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and knead it with half of the water provided by the recipe; we will obtain a rather creamy mixture.
Start adding half of the flour, which we will have previously sifted very well, and begin to knead to mix the ingredients.
Then add the salt, lard, the remaining flour and pour the rest of the water little by little (it may require less or more than I indicated), until you get a soft consistency, easy to work with, but not mushy and unmanageable.
Work the dough until you get an elastic, smooth ball (about 10 minutes by hand; a little less with the stand mixer). Let it rise in a container, greased with very little oil, well-sealed, until doubled (it will take about 6-9 hours with sourdough starter, depending not only on the ambient temperature but also on the ‘strength’ of the sourdough).
While the dough is rising, let’s prepare the filling by cutting all the cold cuts and cheeses into cubes. In my area, in many delis, even in supermarkets, they sell ready-made fillings to use, utilizing quality leftovers from cold cuts and cheeses.
When the dough has doubled, turn it onto the work table, stretch it with your hands (some use a rolling pin; I do not, because the dough should not be rolled or flattened, but spread with your hands gently), take a small amount and set it aside, because we will need it to create the pastry strips to decorate the eggs. Finally, fill it with the filling, distributing it evenly.
Roll the dough tightly, form a loaf, and shape it into a ring.
Transfer the ring to the appropriate pan, with a hole in the center and well-oiled (or around the glass as described above, always making sure to oil the pan).
Embed the eggs on the surface of the ring, decorate them with the pastry strips placed crosswise, and let it rise one last time until doubled (it will take all night for both brewer’s yeast and sourdough starter).
For baking
Preheat the oven to maximum; when it reaches temperature, bake the casatiello in the middle rack (remember to remove the glass placed in the center of the ring, for those who do not have the appropriate mold), immediately lower to 200°F and let it cook in the middle rack for about 50 minutes (adjust to your oven, and both static and fan are fine). Take it out immediately and place it on a cooling rack (because both the parchment paper and the pan alone would contribute to forming annoying condensation at the base of the casatiello, dampening it). Neapolitan casatiello can be enjoyed hot or cold, typically accompanied by fresh fava beans, salami, pancetta, or other grilled vegetables.
Neapolitan Casatiello with brewer’s yeast
With brewer’s yeast, I personally prefer to prepare a starter or pre-ferment that will help the casatiello rise, making the dough softer, better aerated, and more digestible.
For the starter: dissolve 5 grams of fresh brewer’s yeast in 50 ml of water taken separately (i.e., not from the quantities provided for making the dough), add 100 gr. of all-purpose flour, also taken separately. Knead to form a soft dough of about 150 grams. Cover very well and let it rise away from excessive heat sources or drafts until doubled (about an hour and a half).
As soon as the pre-ferment has doubled in volume, put it in the bowl of the mixer or a large bowl and use it as if it were the sourdough starter, following exactly the same procedure described above.
Bon appetit
Casatiello is a leavened product that lasts for several days, but I recommend keeping it closed in an airtight container, like a cake holder, for example.
