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Casatiello
Easter bread with salami and eggs
Casatiello: Naples's Easter bread ring packed with salami, cheese and whole eggs
ItalianOn Easter Monday, Neapolitan families head out of the city for a picnic, called la pasquetta, and they always pack a casatiello: a heavy, rich bread ring made with lard, studded with cubes of salami, cured pork and cheese, with whole eggs in their shells set into the top under crosses of dough. It is baked on Holy Saturday and rises slowly, filling the house with its smell. The fat used is pork lard, with salami and pancetta. Chef's tip: give it the full, slow rise; a casatiello needs time to lift its heavy load of salami and cheese.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour
- 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water
- 2 ⅞ oz pork lardsoft, plus extra for the tin
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black peppercoarsely ground
- 4 oz Neapolitan salamidiced
- 2 ⅞ oz pancetta or cooked hamdiced
- 4 oz provolonediced
- 2 ⅛ oz pecorinograted
- 4 eggs in their shellswashed
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp black pepper with 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water and knead for 10 minutes. Add 2 ⅞ oz pork lard and knead for 5 minutes more, until smooth and glossy. Cover and leave for 2 hours, until doubled.
135 minStep 2: Set aside a small piece of dough for the crosses. Roll the rest into a rectangle about 40 × 30 cm. Scatter with 4 oz Neapolitan salami, 2 ⅞ oz pancetta or cooked ham, 4 oz provolone and 2 ⅛ oz pecorino and roll up tightly from the long side.
Step 3: Grease a 25 cm ring tin with lard. Lay the roll inside, join the ends and press four of 4 eggs in their shells into the top. Roll the reserved dough into thin strips and cross two over each egg.
Step 4: Cover and leave for 2–3 hours, until risen almost to the top of the tin. Common mistake: baking too soon; the bread is heavy and needs a long rise.
Step 5: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Bake for 55–60 minutes, until deep golden and hollow-sounding, covering with foil if it browns too fast. The eggs cook hard inside their shells.
60 minStep 6: Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then turn out. Serve at room temperature in slices.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 44 g
- Fat
- 29 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does casatiello take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 60 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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