I have fond memories of going to my Italian grandmother’s and my Aunt Millie’s for Easter. They lived in a two-story home located in a small Italian neighborhood.  Salami & Egg bread, Ricotta Cheesecake and Italian bread with the hard boiled colored Easter Eggs baked inside were always part of our celebration, and it was something I looked forward to every Easter. There is something savory and sweet about this bread. It’s salty, because the cheese and deli meats, but sweet because the crust. It has the consistency and texture of a quiche, but is served cold.

As I started celebrating Easter with my own family, I was lucky enough to recover this Salami & Egg Bread Recipe that has been in my family for many generations. I hope you try it and it becomes a part of your families’ Easter Celebration.

The Crust

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 stick butter (at room temperature)
• A pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Warm Water as needed to make dough form (roughly ½ cup)

Before you start this recipe, you’ll want to cook the hard-boiled eggs the day before. Try to find a medium sized baking pan. The depth of the pan should be similar to what you would use for a lasagna.

Locate a large bowl to mix the ingredients for the crust. Start by beating the eggs in a separate bowl and setting them aside. Then add the flour and salt and mix into the large bowl. Add the sugar, butter and vanilla to the egg mixture and then slowly add the flour to that and stir. Add warm water as needed until the dough/crust forms together nicely.

Pour the dough into the baking dish (butter it first) and press it into the dish using your fingers. You could try using parchment paper in the bottom too, it might make it easier to slide out. Reserve about ¼ of the dough so that you can make the criss-cross pattern you see in this photo. Press the dough all up the sides of the pan. It’s fine if it doesn’t go all the way up. You should have plenty of dough.

Put the oven at 350 degrees.  Once it reaches that temperature put the dish with the crust in the oven for about 10 minutes so it’s starts to cook, then take it out of the oven but leave the oven on.

Working on a clean wood cutting board, cut the salami and pepperoni into chunks. Then cut up the provolone cheese into tiny bite size chunks. Take out the hard-boiled eggs and dice that into chunks as well in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, add 3 lbs. Ricotta Cheese, 1 tsp flour, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the grated cheese. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, and add that to the mixture along with the parsley. Then you can add the: salami, pepperoni, provolone, chopped hard-boiled eggs, mix it well but don’t over mix. Just be sure all the meats and cheese are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. There is so much salt in deli meats, so adding salt is not necessary but I sometimes add 1/4 teaspoon.

Pour the entire mixture into the dish and spread with the back of a spoon. Then on a clean wood surface, add a little flour, and roll out the dough. You want to make about 8-10 long strips of dough. You can cut them with a pastry cutter or pizza cutter. Carefully place 4-5 long strips vertically and then criss-cross the remaining strips. Use my photo as a guide. You will have to cut some pieces so they fit on the corners. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Once it cooks, it will all form together.

Put it in the oven for 1 hour. Then turn off the oven and leave in for an roughly 25 minutes or until it’s firm to the touch and starts to brown.

Take it out and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Getting it out of the pan may be tricky because it’s so heavy, so enlist someone’s help and carefully slide it onto a cooling rack to cool for up to one hour or you can leave it in the baking dish to cool, if you are concerned with it breaking.  I serve this cold, so if you make it for company, let it cool completely and refrigerate.  Enjoy!