Italian Easter cheese bread – crescia al formaggio

There are dishes that warm up our heart and soul and for me one of these dishes is Italian Easter cheese bread – crescia al formaggio. This leavened savory bread/cake is traditionally baked during the Easter period in Umbria. Nowadays it is very popular and it can be bought all year round in many Umbrian bakeries. When I was a student I used to buy it still lukewarm and I ate it for lunch between one course and another.

When I recently met a food blogger who lives in Gubbio I immediately asked her for the original and tested recipe. Her name is Marta and her blog is called In cucina con mia sorella. She kindly gave me this recipe and I almost have not made any changes. I trust the experience and tradition of her family that has been preparing this crescia for many years.

This Easter Italian bread is very tasty, rich in various types of cheese, perfect to be eaten with a glass of red wine. The smell during cooking is absolutely overwhelming and it takes a lot of inner strenght to not eat while it still very hot as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Italian Easter cheese bread – crescia al formaggio

Traditionale Italian recipe: Italian Easter cheese bread – crescia al formaggio.

Course second course

Cuisine traditional Italian, vegetarian

Keyword bread with active dry yeast, Easter, homemade bread, parmesan, pecorino cheese, savory, savory brioche, stuffed bread, traditional Italian, traditional recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings round baking pan 20 x 10 cm

Calories 111kcal

Ingredients

5 eggs
150 g grated Parmesan cheese
50 g grated pecorino cheese
500 g bread flour
100 g soft butter
120 ml warm milk
4 g active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons salt
80 g diced gruyère cheese I used emmental

Instructions

Instructions Italian Easter cheese bread

Whisk milk with honey and active dry yeast. Set aside and wait for 10 minutes or until it becomes foamy.
In a bowl of the mixer with dough attachment place flour, Parmesan and grated pecorino cheese and salt.
Add the eggs and begin to knead.
At this point add milk with yeast and butter.
Knead the ingredients until minimum 10 minutes or until the dough becomes smooth and very elastic. At this point add diced Gruyère cheese and knead the dough briefly to incorporate it.
Grease 20 cm wide and 10 cm high round baking pan and lightly dust it with flour. Create a ball of dough and place it in the pan. Place your Italian Easter cheese bread in a warm place until it doubles in volume.
The rising times are approximate, it can take more or less time depending on the temperature of the environment, the freshness of the yeast, the strength of the flour and other factors not related to the recipe.
Bake your crescia in the preheated static oven at 170 – 180 ° C for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool down slightly before removing from the pan. Serve with cheese, traditional salami and red wine.

Notes

Waiting time necessary for the dough raising.

The nutritional values are generated automatically for indicative purposes only and are therefore not completely accurate.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bread | Calories: 111kcal

lot of love. B.

p.s. If you like savory Italian bread recipes I think you will also love my: Savory rolls stuffed with Italian eggplant caponata.

B S

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View Comments

Monica LaPeter says:

April 21, 2019 at 3:48 am

I don’t understand meters so I don’t know the amounts and I only know Fahrenheit not Celsius for the oven, what do you suggest I do?? Thank you ❤️
- B S says:
  
  April 21, 2019 at 12:27 pm
  
  I normally use online converters. No problem I can do it for you: 356 °F.
  5 eggs
  0,6 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  4 tbsp grated pecorino cheese
  generous 2 cups g bread flour
  about half cup soft butter
  half cup ml warm milk
  1 tsp active dry yeast
  1 teaspoon honey
  2 teaspoons salt
  6 tbsp diced gruyère cheese (I used emmental)
  - Monica LaPeter says:
    
    April 22, 2019 at 2:24 am
    
    Thank you so much B.S, you really helped me but one thing I don’t understand, what amount is 0.6 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    What is 0.6 cup?? Thank you for your help & patience! ❤️
    - B S says:
      
      April 22, 2019 at 7:10 am
      
      half a cup and about 2 tbsp according to my dusty math skills... (1 cup is 16 tbsp so 0,1 should be less than 2 tbsp... right?) ^_^
- Laura says:
  
  April 21, 2019 at 7:47 pm
  
  I bought an inexpensive food scale. It will measure ingredients by weight in grams, ounces, ml's and others! I can now weigh my ingredients as written, no conversions necessary! Love baking by weight now, so much easier and precise.
  - B S says:
    
    April 22, 2019 at 2:17 pm
    
    Yes it is really important if you are making any technical pastry recipe. On the other hand I find myself comfortable when I make some easier recipes like pancakes or easy cakes to use tbsp and cups.