The crescia al formaggio di Pasqua is a recipe usually prepared during Easter, but there’s nothing stopping us from enjoying it all year round. It is a leavened bread enriched with Parmesan and pecorino cheese, with pieces of cheese added to the dough. The crescia is excellent to enjoy with tasty cured meats but is also delicious on its own. The recipe for the crescia al formaggio di Pasqua is passed down from generation to generation, and everyone has their own little secrets to make it even more special; in fact, mine is my husband’s grandmother’s recipe, who was from Umbria, Gubbio. Since it is truly special, over time, I haven’t had to enrich it with any other ingredients; I left the original recipe. If you haven’t tried this wonderful leavened bread yet, give it a go, and I’m sure it will win you over from the first bite. Now, let’s see what we need to make the crescia al formaggio di Pasqua.
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 12 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter
Ingredients
THE EASTER CHEESE BREAD GRANDMA’S RECIPE
- 8 cups all-purpose flour
- 3.5 oz soft butter
- 7 eggs
- Half glass extra virgin olive oil
- 10.5 oz pecorino cheese
- 3.5 oz Parmesan cheese
- 1 oz salt
- pepper
- 2 cakes fresh yeast
- 5 oz cheese (I use spicy provolone)
- milk (as needed to dissolve the yeast)
- 1 egg (for brushing)
Tools
2 cheese cake pans or 2 lb panettone molds, paper molds work too
Steps
NOW LET’S SEE HOW TO PREPARE THE CRESCIA
To make the cheese bread, my husband’s grandmother used to knead it by hand, but today we can make use of our lovely mixers. Pour the eggs into the mixer bowl along with the oil and start mixing. Add the yeast dissolved in milk, then add the grated Pecorino and Parmesan cheeses, salt, and some pepper to taste (you can omit it if you don’t like it). Finally, gradually add the flour and, last but not least, the soft butter. Once all the ingredients are well combined, give a final knead by hand on the work surface, spread the dough a bit, and add the pieces of cheese of your choice in the center. Fold it all together and knead by hand for a few minutes. Divide the dough into two parts, form two nice balls, and place them in your chosen molds. If using aluminum molds, butter and flour them, cover them and let them rise until the dough reaches the rim. Brush the tops with the beaten egg and bake at 350°F for about 30-35 minutes, but always adjust based on your oven and do the toothpick test. Remove from the oven and let the crescia cool completely. It tastes even better the next day. With these amounts, you can make 2 loaves weighing 2 lbs each.
