To many families living in the Italian regions of Umbria and Marche, Easter would not be the same without “torta al formaggio,” literally “cheese cake,” a dome-shaped cheese bread made with flour, milk, and Pecorino cheese. Like many other delicious Italian recipes, this iconic Easter dish, also known as “pizza al formaggio” (cheese pizza), was invented by nuns during the Middle Ages.
Born out of the need to repurpose leftover cheese, the “torta al formaggio” was introduced by nuns from the Convent of Santa Maria Maddalena in Ancona, the Marche’s capital city during the Middle Ages.
At the time, it was referred to as “crescia,” literally meaning “leavened,” in reference to its cooking process. Written records of Easter “crescia” date back to 1848 when a recipe for this cheese bread was included in the cookbook Memories of the Easter Cresce. A later cookbook, The Cook of the Marche, dating to 1864, also mentions the “cresce” as one of the region's staple Easter dishes.
40 eggs for 40 days
These ancient cookbooks also include a special recipe to make “torta al formaggio” for the local Father Confessor, which included the use of 40 eggs representing the 40 days of Lent. According to Catholic tradition, this dish would be made on Good Friday. It was then left to rest and served during lunch on Easter Sunday.
Today, this nun-invented bread is a beloved Easter dish prepared by families, bakeries and restaurants during the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday.
Over the course of the centuries, the recipe evolved and now includes Parmesan cheese on top of Pecorino. In recent years, this beloved dish was featured in the Italian cooking show The Nuns' Kitchen, where nuns from the Benedictine Monastery of Sant’Anna in Bastia Umbra share their centuries-old recipes with viewers.
In the episode about Easter cheese pizza, the nuns explain how they learned to bake this Easter bread from previous generations of nuns and how it is now a local custom to gift torta al formaggio during Easter festivities.
Torta al Formaggio recipe
Serves 10
- 2 cups flour (half all-purpose, half Manitoba or high-protein hard wheat flour)
- 1.4 teaspoons dry brewer’s yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/3 cups extra virgin olive oil
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ teaspoons fine salt
- ½ cup grated Grana cheese
- ⅔ cup grated Pecorino cheese
In a large bowl, we pour in the flour, the dry brewer’s yeast, the two teaspoons of sugar, and give it a stir. In another bowl, we pour in the warm milk, the eggs, the salt, and the oil, and start mixing with a fork. While continuing to mix, add the grated Grana and Pecorino cheeses until they are fully incorporated into the liquid mixture. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the liquid mixture, starting with a fork to help combine them. Then, as the dough becomes firmer, transfer it to a work surface and continue kneading it by hand, little by little, incorporate all the remaining flour.
Once we’ve obtained a soft and smooth dough, we place it in a bowl, make the traditional cross cut on top, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise for two hours or until it has doubled in size. After two hours have passed, take the dough, work it by folding it a few times, and place it in the baking mold. Let the Easter pizza rise again in the mold for another half hour. Bake the Easter pizza in a preheated fan-assisted oven at 340°F for about 35 minutes.
