Gluten Free Italian Easter Pie

Being raised in a half Italian, Catholic family, surprisingly, I wasn’t familiar with Italian Easter Pie until I ran across a recipe couple of years ago. It contains a sandwich filling which bakes right inside the bread dough. I’ve had it on my list of to do’s ever since. I finally created a gluten free Italian Easter pie. The dough is much like flatbread or rustic Italian pizza. The filling is traditional using ricotta cheese, ham, and eggs. I hope you enjoy it. It’s perfect for an Easter brunch. However, traditionally, it is served on Easter Saturday, the day before Easter.

Gluten Free Italian Easter Pie

Yield: Makes 9-inch 1 pie

Gluten Free Italian Easter Pie

A traditional and delicious gluten free Easter pie filled with ham, egg, and ricotta cheese. They make a delicious sandwich-style meal or snack.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup sorghum flour, plus more for dusting (millet and rice flour work well, too or a combination of them)
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons potato starch
  • 1/4 cup tapioca flour/starch (or more cornstarch)
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2- 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (SAF brand)
  • Scant* 1 cup water, heated to 110 - 115°F
  • 1 teaspoon neutral-flavored oil (light olive oil), plus more for basting
  • For the Filling:
  • 3 large hard-boiled eggs, sliced or diced
  • 1/2 pound good-quality, full-flavored ham, sliced or diced
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) gluten-free part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (fresh or Kraft canister)
  • 3 large raw eggs, beaten
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper (or black)
  • Salt, to taste (omit if ham is already very salty)
  • 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
  • 1 large egg, beaten for egg wash

Instructions:

    To Make the Dough:
  1. Oil two 9-inch round cake pans or pie dishes and dust with sorghum or rice flour. Line the bottom of one with parchment paper and oil the top of the parchment.
  2. Whisk together the sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, salt, sugar, and yeast; set aside.
  3. Pour warm water and oil into the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat on low speed just until blended. Add dry mix and beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl and beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
  4. Divide the dough between the two prepared pans, and distribute evenly using a rubber spatula dipped in water, as needed.
  5. Cover each with a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm environment (80ºF) for about 40 minutes. The dough should double in height.
  6. While the dough rises, prepare the filling: You can either add slices of hard boiled egg and ham or chop them both up. Either way, add them to a bowl along with the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses and black pepper. Set the mixture aside.
  7. The last 15 minutes of the dough rising, place a rack in lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
  8. Once the dough rises, working with the pan that is not lined with parchment paper, gently press the edges of the dough up the sides of the pan.
  9. Add the filling, and place the second dough on top of the filling, pinching edges together.
  10. Whisk together the egg and baste on top of the dough.
  11. Bake for about 20 minutes (25 minutes if you're using an 8-inch pan) or until golden brown on top.
  12. Remove bread from oven and pan, and transfer to a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Tips

*Scant = a little less than (In this case, about 1 tablespoon less than one cup.)

2 Replies to “Gluten Free Italian Easter Pie”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.