Today, a savory recipe from tradition: Umbrian Easter cheese bread.

During Easter celebrations, Italian tables are filled with culinary specialties that can never be missing. In central Italy, we have different versions of cheese bread or crescia, the Umbrian one without cheese pieces, the Abruzzese with cheeses and cured meats or the Marche version with large cheese chunks in the dough. And how can we forget the casatiello or the Neapolitan tortano?

The one I propose today is the Umbrian version without cheese pieces, prepared with the basic ingredients of eggs, flour, pecorino, and milk, making this cheese bread fragrant and tasty.

As with all traditional recipes, every household has its infallible version, passed down in grandmothers’ notebooks where you can’t understand much, but you’ve been lucky enough to knead it many times with her, so you don’t need much explanation.

According to religious tradition, the Umbrian Easter cheese bread should be prepared on Holy Thursday or Good Friday to be eaten only at Easter during breakfast with blessed hard-boiled eggs and a nice glass of red wine.

Great to accompany with cold cuts and cheese in the Easter lunch appetizer or to take with us in the picnic basket on Easter Monday, it is very easy to prepare, though it has two risings, making the process a bit long. Still, I assure you it is absolutely worth it.

Now let’s see together, step by step, how to make this recipe.

Ingredients for the Easter Cheese Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups bread flour
1 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 cup milk
1/3 cup olive oil
3 eggs
2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups grated Parmesan
3/4 cup Pecorino (grated)
1 tsp pepper

Tools

1 Scale
1 Measuring Cup
1 Stand Mixer
1 Pastry Board
1 Mold
1 Hand Whisk

Let’s Make the Umbrian Cheese Bread

In a bowl, mix all-purpose flour, bread flour, ground pepper, dry yeast, and two scant teaspoons of sugar.
In the stand mixer’s bowl (or you can do it by hand), add the warm milk, eggs, salt, and oil, and give it a whisk with a hand whisk to break the eggs and start combining the ingredients.
After beating the eggs with the milk, add the grated Parmesan and grated Pecorino, and start kneading with the stand mixer hook. Then, gradually add the prepared flour mix while continuously kneading.
Continue kneading until the dough is well combined, smooth, and soft. Then, turn it onto a work surface, knead for a minute with your hands to form a ball, place it in a bowl, make a cross on top, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for a couple of hours until doubled.
Once the dough has risen, turn it onto a lightly floured surface, and make folds by stretching it into a rectangle. Fold the top third over the center, then the bottom third on top, then take the left side and fold it to the center, and finally, the right side on top.
Round it with your hands to form a ball, place it in a 7-inch panettone paper mold, and cover again with plastic wrap. Let rise for another 2 hours until doubled in a turned-off oven.
When the dough has risen and reached the mold’s edges, bake our crescia in a preheated oven at 350°F for 40 minutes. After baking, let our cheese bread cool before slicing it.
While waiting, take a picture of your Umbrian Easter cheese bread and post it on social media tagging me (una riccia che pasticcia Instagram and Facebook) and let me know if you’ll take it with you on Easter Monday.