Today a savory traditional recipe: Umbrian Easter cheese pie.

During the Easter festivities on Italian tables there are many culinary specialties that can never be missing. In central Italy we also have different versions of cheese pie or crescia: the Umbrian one without chunks of cheese, the Abruzzese version with cheeses and cured meats, or the Marchigiana one with large pieces of cheese in the dough. And how could we forget the casatiello or the Neapolitan tortano?

The one I propose today is precisely the Umbrian version without cheese pieces, prepared with the basic ingredients — eggs, flour, pecorino and milk — which make this cheese-leavened bread fragrant and tasty.

As with all traditional recipes, every household has its infallible version, the one passed down in grandmothers’ notebooks where you can hardly read anything, but you were lucky enough to knead alongside her so many times that you don’t need many explanations.

According to religious tradition, the Umbrian Easter cheese pie should be prepared on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday so it can be eaten only at Easter for breakfast with blessed hard-boiled eggs and a nice glass of red wine.

Great to accompany cold cuts and cheeses as an appetizer at the Easter lunch or to take in the picnic basket for Easter Monday. It’s very easy to prepare, but it requires two rise periods so the process is a bit long — I assure you it’s absolutely worth it.

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

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Ingredients for the Easter cheese pie

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 250 g)
2 cups Manitoba (strong) flour (about 250 g)
2 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast (7 g / 1 packet)
2 tsp sugar
3/4 + 2 tbsp milk (about 200 ml)
1/3 cup olive oil (about 80 ml)
3 eggs
1 2/3 tsp fine salt
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan (about 150 g)
3/4 cup grated pecorino (about 80 g) (grated)
1 tsp pepper

Tools

1 Kitchen scale
1 Measuring jug
1 Stand mixer
1 Work surface / peel
1 Pan / mold
1 Whisk

Let’s prepare the Umbrian cheese pie together

In a bowl combine the all-purpose flour, Manitoba flour, ground pepper, dry yeast and just under two teaspoons of sugar and mix.
In the bowl of the stand mixer (you can also do this by hand) put the lukewarm milk, the eggs, the salt and the oil and give a stir with a hand whisk so as to break the eggs and start to blend the ingredients.
After beating the eggs with the milk, add the grated Parmesan and grated pecorino and begin kneading with the stand mixer fitted with the dough hook; then gradually add the flour mixture prepared earlier while continuing to knead.
Continue kneading until the dough is well combined, smooth and soft; then turn it out onto a work surface and work it with your hands for a minute to form a ball. Place it in a bowl, make a cross on top and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise like this for a couple of hours until doubled.
When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and perform strengthening folds: spread it with your hands into a rectangle, take the top portion and fold it toward the center, then fold the bottom portion over it, then bring the left side to the center and finally the right side over.
Round the dough with your hands to form a ball, place it in a paper panettone mold (18 cm) and cover again with plastic wrap. Let it rise for another 2 hours until doubled in an unheated oven.
When the dough has risen and reached the rim of the mold, bake the crescia in a preheated oven at 347°F for 40 minutes. After baking, let the cheese pie cool before slicing.
While you wait, take a photo of your Umbrian Easter cheese pie and post it on social media tagging me (una riccia che pasticcia Instagram and Facebook) and let me know if you’ll bring it with you on Easter Monday.