Neapolitan Casatiello (Stuffed Easter Bread from Italy)

Casatiello is a traditional Neapolitan bread that’s prepared at Easter to celebrate the end of Lent. It’s a bread heavy with meaning—the halo of hard-boiled eggs and crosses on top of the bread represent new life and recall the biblical Passion of Jesus. But with its stuffing of cheeses and cured meats, Casatiello is also a rich, delicious addition to any Easter celebration.

The salty and lard-based Casatiello uses a dough that’s the ideal vehicle for meats and cheeses. Traditionally, Neapolitans stuff this bread with ciccioli, a native creation that’s a cross between cracklins and lard, but if you can’t find that, you can also substitute pancetta or guanciale. While you could swap butter for lard, the texture and taste of your dough won’t be the same. Look for lard in your supermarket’s baking or dry goods section, or you can also ask your butcher if you can’t find a shelf-stable variety. 

It may seem strange to add hard-boiled eggs to the bread with their shell still on, but they make for a dramatic presentation when cut into. To eat, take the egg out of its little bread cage and remove the shell; shell removal can be done either before or after cutting the loaf into slices. 

Difficulty

Servings

1 bread, serves 15 people

Prep Time

4 hours, 30 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour

By Vincenzo Viscusi

Neapolitan Casatiello (Stuffed Easter Bread from Italy)

Note

While Casatiello can be cooked in any of our ovens, this bread cooks best in an oven with a door, like Ooni Karu 16, Ooni Karu 12G, Ooni Volt, and Ooni Karu 12. 


1. Put the flour, yeast and water in the bowl of the mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on medium until the dough comes together into a uniform mass.

Then, without stopping the mixer, add the salt and oil.

2. Finally, add 100 grams of lard a little at a time, giving the dough time to absorb each portion before adding more.

Mix in 5 grams of freshly ground pepper.

3. When the dough is smooth to the eye and soft to the touch (about 15 minutes) shape it into a ball and let it rest (covered with a cloth) at room temperature for 40 to 60 minutes or until it roughly doubles in size.

4. While the dough rests, place the salami, ciccioli (or pancetta), provolone, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, and a sprinkling of pepper in a medium-sized bowl and mix it all together by hand.

5. Melt the remaining 30 grams of lard in the microwave (or, if you prefer, in a small saucepan on the hob over medium heat) for about 10 seconds and set aside.

6. When your dough is rested, set aside and cover roughly 50 grams of dough, which will be used to seal the eggs.

 

7. Using a rolling pin, roll out the rest of the dough into a rectangle of roughly 28 x 20 inches (70 x 50 centimetres.

8. Using a pastry brush, grease the inside of the mold with the lard (you can also use butter or oil for this step).

9. Cover the dough rectangle with the meat and cheese filling all the way to the edge, leaving a border of about 2 inches (5 centimetres) on the shorter edge, then tightly roll the dough on itself, rolling from the long edge.

Two hands rolling dough filled with pieces of meat and cheese on itself

10. Place the dough into the bundt pan with the closure facing downwards, to prevent the ingredients from leaking out.

Tip: You may need to tuck the sides of the dough into one another to get the dough to fit.


11. Cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled in size, about 3 to 4 hours.

Cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled in size, about 3 to 4 hours.

12. Once the dough is proofed, put the eggs on the surface of the Casatiello, spacing them evenly, and seal them with the leftover dough.

Put small strips of dough into an “X” over each egg and attach the “X” to the Casatiello.

Tip: When done correctly, this “X” works almost like a seatbelt, holding the eggs in place throughout their ride in the oven.



13. Whisk an egg yolk in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to brush the top of the Casatiello lightly with the egg yolk.

This will encourage browning. 

14. Fire up your oven, aiming for 180 °C to 200 °C (350 °F to 400 °F) on the stone.

Tip: Use an infrared thermometer for a fast, accurate reading.



15. When the oven is ready, put the Casatiello in the oven and let it cook for a maximum of 5 minutes, just long enough for the egg yolk to dry on the surface.

16. Remove the Casatiello and cover it with aluminium foil to keep it from browning too much on top.

 

17. Return the Casatiello to the oven, leaving it to cook for 50 to 60 minutes.

Rotate every 15 minutes to ensure even cooking.

18. When the Casatiello is cooked underneath and on the sides, remove the foil and cook for approximately 5 more minutes, or until the bread is uniformly browned.

Let the Casatiello rest for at least 6 hours (ideally 24 hours) before removing it from the mold, cut it into slices (about 15) and serve. 

Vincenzo Viscusi

Italian-born, Augsburg, Germany-based Ooni Ambassador, Vincenzo Viscusi (aka @vincenzoviscusi), loves homemade pizza and chronicles his eating and cooking adventures on YouTube for more than 100k followers, and on Instagram (@vincenzoviscusi).

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