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5 from 3 votes
Tortano or Casatiello - Easter Bread

Tortano or Casatiello is Italian (Napoletan) Easter bread stuffed with ham, salami, cheese, pork cracklings and eggs.

Ingredients
  • 500 g flour (1 lb 2 oz)
  • 15 g yeast (0.6 oz)
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) butter or lard
  • 270 ml water (about 1 1/8 cups)
  • 50 g (1.7 oz) grated Pecorino cheese
  • 150 g (5 oz) Provolone, diced
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) spicy salami* diced
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, cut into wedges
  • 150 g (5 oz) pork cracklings, chopped
  • pepper
Instructions
  1. Combine flour, yeast, butter, salt and water to make a bread dough, but a little softer (similar to pizza dough). Let it rise in a warm place for a couple of hours (the volume should double).
  2. When risen, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to form a rectangle about half a centimeter (1/4 inch) thick. Brush the dough with butter. Sprinkle with cheese, ham, salami and eggs. Season with pepper.

  3. Roll the dough into a large sausage and place in a buttered 30 cm (12 inches) spring form. Cover with kitchen cloth and let it rise again for at least 2 hours.
  4. Bake in preheated oven at 180 C (355 F) for about an hour. Serve warm or cold.
Recipe Notes

*I used Croatian Kulen, but you can use any kind of spicy salami like Spanish Chorizo or Italian Pepperoni