Casatiello Napoletano | Stuffed Italian Easter Bread Recipe

Casatiello is a classic Neapolitan Easter treat, but it has become enormously popular throughout all of Italy. In fact, it was recently noted that it’s the Easter recipe most searched for online by the Italian population, and that’s saying a lot for a country with countless regional specialties for the holiday!

The dish consists of a fatty, peppery dough that’s rolled up with delicious cheese and cold cuts, then baked in a ring shape. For an extra-Easter touch, Neapolitans top the savory bread with decorative (but of course, edible) baked eggs. It’s an Easter classic, but delicious enough to warrant trying it any time of the year!

A Note on the Ingredients

Because the dough for casatiello needs some precision, we have prioritized measurements by weight and encourage home cooks to skip the volumetric cups and use grams for this recipe. The flour needs some high-protein strength to keep up with the added fat, so look for a 00 flour with a protein content of around 14 to 16%, such as Manitoba flour. All-purpose flour won’t do, in this case.

As far as the stuffing ingredients go, there is much more room to play around. We used cured pancetta and salami for the meat, but you can easily swap these for cold cuts such as mortadella or ham. For the chopped cheese, we used provola (a mild cheese, known erroneously in America as “provolone”) and provolone piccante (a very sharp cheese, nothing like “provolone” in the US). You can substitute the provola with another mild cheese, such as a low-moisture mozzarella, and the provolone could be swapped with something like a very sharp cheddar for similar results.

Watch the Pasta Grammar Video

Casatiello Napoletano Recipe

Makes: 8 to 10 servings

Cook Time: About 7 ½ hours, largely unattended

For this recipe, you will need:

• 380 grams (3 cups + 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) high-protein 00 flour (see above)
• 7 grams (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 7 grams (1 teaspoon) honey
• 215 milliliters (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) water
• 6 grams (1 teaspoon) salt
• 50 grams (about 3½ to 4 tablespoons) lard, room temperature, plus extra for greasing and topping
• ⅓ cup (30 grams) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• ⅓ cup (30 grams) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 5.5 ounces (155 grams) cured pancetta, chopped
• 5.5 ounces (155 grams) mild salami, chopped
• 3.5 ounces (100 grams) provola cheese, chopped
• 3.5 ounces (100 grams) provolone piccante cheese, chopped
• 3 hardboiled eggs, chopped
• 3 raw eggs, washed (optional)

Combine the flour, yeast, black pepper and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer. With a hook attachment, begin mixing on a low speed and add half the water. When a rough, crumbly dough forms, add the salt and the remaining water, then continue to mix until the water is evenly incorporated.

Increase the mixer speed slightly and add one spoonful of lard. When the lard is well incorporated, add another spoonful. Continue this process until all of the lard is absorbed into the dough, and keep mixing until the dough is smooth and even, and clings in a single ball to the hook.

Remove the dough to a clean surface and knead it briefly to smooth it out, then place it in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a lid. Let the dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in size—about 2 ½ to 3 hours.

After the dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and stretch it by hand into a large square. You can use a rolling pin to roll it out to its final size, which should be about 14 × 14 inches (35.5 × 35.5 centimeters). Cut a 1 inch (2.5 centimeter) wide strip of dough from one edge of the square and set it aside for later.

By hand, spread a thin layer of lard over the entire surface of the dough. Evenly sprinkle the dough with the grated Parmigiano and pecorino cheeses, then spread the chopped pancetta, salami, provola, provolone, and hardboiled eggs on top. Starting from one side, roll the dough and the stuffing up tightly like a carpet roll.

Grease the inside of a 9-inch (or similar) nut cake pan with lard. Carefully lift the dough roll and place it into the pan. Press the exposed ends of the roll together to seal them shut and make a continuous ring.

Place the 3 raw eggs on top of the casatiello, spaced evenly around the circumference. Cut strips of dough from the portion set aside earlier, roughly ½ inch (1.25 centimeters) wide, and use these to enclose each egg with an “X” pattern crisscrossed on top of each egg and pressed into the casatiello beneath.

Cover the casatiello with plastic wrap and let rise for another 2 hours, or until the dough is noticeably puffier.

Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Remove the plastic wrap from the casatiello, lightly rub a little more lard on the top surface of the dough, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes—until the dough is golden on top.

Let the casatiello cool until it can be comfortably handled before carefully removing from the pan, cutting it into slices and serving. Best served warm and fresh, but can be refrigerated for a few days and reheated or served at room temperature.

Buon appetito!