Easy Italian Recipes

Resembling a savoury panettone, crescia takes various forms around Le Marche, Umbria and even Tuscany. It can be cooked in a terracotta flowerpot or madeas flat discs and eaten topped with prosciutto. Crescia always contains cheese, either Parmesan, pecorino or both.
It is particularly popular at Easter, when the shops around Lesi in Le Marche are full of them — and the aroma of melting cheese. This version comes from Chef, former owner of The Walnut Tree Inn in Abergavenny, Wales, whose family are Marchegiani. He forms the dough into plaits and cooks them in brioche tins or 6cm x 6cm dariole moulds, but if you don't have these, try using similar-sized terracotta flowerpots lined with baking parchment. Otherwise, bake as four larger loaves in charlotte tins. This bread freezes well.

Makes 16 brioche tins or 4 in charlotte tins
500-550g strong white flour or '00' flour 150g freshly grated pecorino
100g freshly grated Parmesan
1Og salt
5g black pepper
100m1 olive oil
100m1 warm water
50g fresh yeast
5 eggs, beaten
butter, for greasing
150g young pecorino, cubed

Put 500g of the flour, the grated cheeses and salt and pepper into a large bowl. Add the oil and water to the yeast and mix until creamed, then add to the flour, followed by the beaten eggs. Form the mixture into a dough, if necessary adding a little more flour (this depends on the size of the eggs). Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes. Leave the dough in an oiled bowl, covered with a cloth, in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, up to 1 hour. Meanwhile butter the moulds or tins generously or line the flowerpots with baking parchment.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Cut the dough into four. Fold one quarter of the cubed pecorino into each lump, allowing it to poke out slightly. If making loaves, follow the loaf-shaping masterclass on page 48 and put the loaves in the charlotte tins seam-down. If using dariole moulds or flowerpots, divide each portion in four again and make 16 small rolls using the same method. Put the balls in the moulds or tins. Cover with a tea-towel and leave to prove until doubled in size. Bake for 35-40 minutes, the rolls for 20 minutes. Unmould and cool on a rack.