Pizza di Pasqua al Formaggio

The encyclopedic name is pizza di Pasqua, with synonyms including crescia di Pasqua, torta di Pasqua, and torta al formaggio; the Marche calls it crescia across the region, while neighbouring Umbria registers it as pizza di Pasqua, and it reaches into Abruzzo too. It is a recognised Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale in both Marche and Umbria, the Marche register listing it as 'pizza di Pasqua o crescia di Pasqua' and 'pizza o crescia di Pasqua al formaggio'. The word crescia comes from crescere, to grow or rise, after the dough's dramatic rise in the mould during baking. A local tradition says it originated with the nuns of the convent of Santa Maria Maddalena at Serra de' Conti near Ancona, but this is hedged as 'it is said' and remains legend rather than documented fact. The name crescia covers two different breads — this risen Easter cheese loaf and the flat, griddle-cooked crescia sfogliata of Urbino — so they are kept separate.

A tall, domed loaf with a deep golden crown; the crumb pulls apart in soft, eggy threads, shot through with sharp pecorino and the pockets of melted cheese cubes that crisp where they meet the crust. The flavour is unabashedly savoury and cheesy, peppery in the background, rich from the eggs and oil. Torn warm and eaten with a slice of hard-boiled egg and a curl of ciauscolo, it is the taste of Easter breakfast in the Marche. A wedge with red wine is the traditional pairing.

This is an enriched, heavily leavened dough, and the technique is built around the long rise. Italian sources stress that the dough 'must be worked at length to develop the gluten network and encourage leavening', then set in moulds, covered, and kept humid through a 'long leavening process' before baking, traditionally in a wood oven. The eggs, oil, and abundant cheese weigh the dough down, so it needs both strong gluten and a generous proof to climb tall in the mould rather than staying dense. The tall, narrow panettone-style form channels the rise upward into the signature dome. The grated cheese flavours the crumb throughout, while the cubes melt into soft pockets and crisp at the crust.