Crescia di Pasqua (Easter Pizza)

Crescia di Pasqua

Crescia di Pasqua (Easter pizza)

As promised, here comes nonna Lella‘s recipe for Easter Pizza (Crescia di Pasqua)

INGREDIENTS:

flour: 500 gr. (superfine flour – ‘OO’);
5 eggs (whole eggs);
2 and 1/2 cubes of brewer’s yeast (75 gr);
olive oil: 100 gr.;
butter: 50 gr.;
(grated) grana padano cheese: 70gr.;
(grated) pecorino cheese: 40 gr.;
one lemon peel (grated);
salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg.

Step 1: have brewer’s yeast melt in a ‘finger’ of water (or milk) in a bowl. Help the yeast melt working it with a fork or with a wooden spoon;

Step 2: beat eggs;

Step 3: beat olive oil together with butter (the latter must be soft, not just taken out of the fridge!);

Step 4: mix flour, cheese, salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg;

Step 5: pour eggs, olive oil and butter and yeast into flour, and stir with a long wooden spoon (in the end using your hands);

Step 5: butter the baking pan (diameter: cm 22 – height: cm 12), and then pour flour into it (so that Crescia di Pasqua won’t stick to it when ready to be served);

Step 6: cover the dough with a dishcloth and have it rise for about one hour in a terrine;

Step 7: work the dough again (using your hands) and place it in the baking pan; then have it rise until it reaches the height of the pan.

Step 8: place the pan into the preheated oven (175/180 C°) for about 45 minutes (however, after about 20 min. it’s better to cover the top of the Crescia with oven paper, so that the top does not overcook – you can first make a ball out of the oven paper, then make it flat and place it on top);

Step 9 (the easiest): serve and eat!