Casatiello | A Delicious Stuffed Italian Easter Bread

Casatiello is a delicious stuffed Italian Easter Bread. It is a traditional savory Easter bread from the Campania region of Italy. It is made with a simple pizza dough and filled with cheese and cured meats. Perfect to bring along on a Pasquetta (Easter Monday) picnic!

As with any holiday, I find an excuse to bake an Italian bread. My other goal during the holidays is to find the time to take a few photos of what I created and capture the bread moment to share here with all of you, like this wonderful bread called casatiello.

Casatiello | A Delicious Stuffed Italian Easter Bread

Originally published April 7, 2015, updated on February 6, 2020.

Growing up in an Italian family, I learned the lessons of “waste not, want not”. I live it now as an adult getting to spend time with my in-laws in Italy and when they come to visit us here. My mother-in-law is the queen of finishing every last ingredient before going to buy something new. Another famous Italian Easter bread is the Crescia al Formaggio-Italian Easter Cheese Bread. And our family favorite is the Pane di Pasqua-Italian Easter Bread that is stuffed with eggs.

As my Sicilian father did, Teresa embraces wholeheartedly “la cucina povera” (translated literally: poor kitchen or the kitchen of the poor), but I like to think of it as the creative genius of a home cook that uses simple ingredients that result in incredible dishes and flavors.

I always have on hand some ham, different cheeses and salami. I have made different breads with these ingredients, not just for the holidays. But since it was Easter, and a new #TwelveLoaves challenge, I decided to bake a casatiello: a Neapolitan Easter bread. This month #TwelveLoaves bakers are baking with CHEESE…and who doesn’t love cheese?!?

What is a typical Italian Easter bread called?

When to eat this bread on Easter?

How do you make a stuffed Italian Easter bread?

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Savoring Italy.

Our theme is CHEESE. Look at all these other fantastic cheese breads!

• Buttermilk Goat Cheese Biscuits from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Casatiello from Savoring Italy
• Cheddar Chive Bread from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Cheddar Dill Twists from blackberry eating in late september
• Cheese Babka from Hostess At Heart
• Cheese Soda bread from Ma che ti sei mangiato
• Cream Cheese and Cherry Buns from girlichef
• Feta & Olive Swirls from The Bread She Bakes
• Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese Bread) from A Shaggy Dough Story
• Pimento Cheese Straws from Kudos Kitchen By Renee

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Casatiello

Casatiello is a traditional savory Easter bread from the Campania region of Italy. It is made with a simple pizza dough and filled with cheese and cured meats. Perfect to bring along on a Pasquetta (Easter Monday) picnic!

Prep Time2 hrs 30 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Bread, Easter, Italian bread

Servings: 1 large round loaf

Author: Lora

Ingredients

• DOUGH
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour plus more for rolling
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 envelope instant dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups water 110 degrees F
• 3 tablespoons olive oil plus 4 teaspoons
• FILLING
• 1/2 cup sliced ham diced small
• 1/3 cup soft salami diced small
• 1/4 cup provolone cheese diced small
• 1/2 cup fontina cheese diced small
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped rosemary

Instructions

• In a small bowl, add the water and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Sprinkle on the sugar and 1 tablespoon of the oil and whisk together. Set aside until the yeast bubbles (about 10 minutes).
• Brush another large bowl with 2 teaspoons olive oil.
• In the bowl with yeast, whisk the rest of the olive oil, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the flours and pour in the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms.
• Form the dough into a ball and place into the oiled bowl (when I put the dough in the bowl I swish the dough around the bottom of the bowl and then flip it over so all of the dough is covered in a light film of oil).
• Cover with a towel and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size (about 1-1 1/2 hours).
• When dough is ready, roll it out to a rectangle about 16x20 inches (about 1/10 inch thick)and cut the ends to make it even.
• Sprinkle the filling ingredients on top of the dough leaving a 1 inch border.
• Roll the dough like a jelly roll. Cut the ends so it is even and pinch the dough around the seams to seal it.
• Bring the two ends together to make a ring and seal them closed. Place the ring on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Let the dough rest covered with a towel for about 30 minutes.
• While the dough is resting, heat the oven to 375F.
• When ready to bake, brush the dough with the remaining olive oil.
• Bake until golden brown (about 30 minutes).

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