For part of our Easter supper this year, I made a couple of Easter pies that I found on the King Arthur flour site. These are savory pies that go together easily and can be eaten warm or cold. They involve a bread dough crust filled with a mix of ham, ricotta, parmigiano, and eggs - both hard boiled and raw. They really should be eaten out of hand as the wedges are quite solid and nothing oozes out of them. They were well received by family and guests. (For pictures and a bit of the story behind these, see this page from King Arthur.)
I made them as directed and ended up with smaller pies than they indicate and a lot of leftover filling (don't know what happened there). I'm doing them again today but will be making little pies more along the lines of pasties or empanadas. I'll be adding a little rosemary to the filling as I thought it needed a little something more in terms of flavor. I'll also sprinkle a little Maldon's on top of each as I think they'll benefit from a bit of salty crunch.
Crust
5 cups Italian-Style Flour or 4 3/4 cups (20 oz.) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons King Arthur Easy-Roll Dough Improver (optional, but very helpful); or nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water*
*If you use all-purpose flour, increase the water to 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces)
Filling
1 dozen large eggs
1 pound good-quality, full-flavored ham
2 cups ricotta cheese, part-skim preferred
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, lightly packed
salt, coarsely ground black pepper, and chopped fresh parsley, to taste
Glaze
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sugar
1) Mix and knead together all of the dough ingredients — by hand, in a mixer, or in a bread machine — until you've made a soft, smooth dough.
2) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow it to rise for 1 to 2 hours, until it's quite puffy, nearly doubled in bulk. While the dough is rising, make the filling.
3) Hard-boil and peel 6 of the eggs.
4) Place the hard-boiled eggs, ham (cut in chunks), and fresh parsley (1/2 cup or so) in the work bowl of a food processor. Process until chopped and combined. Don't over-process; the ham and eggs should still be a bit chunky. You can also simply dice the eggs and ham, and chop the parsley, if you don't have a food processor.
5) Combine the ham, boiled eggs, and parsley with the raw eggs, ricotta, and Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and about 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. If the ham is salty, you may not need any salt at all.
6) Deflate the dough, and divide it into four pieces.
7) Roll two of the dough pieces into rounds about 13" in diameter, and place them on lightly greased or parchment-lined 12" pizza pans. Or roll into ovals about 10" x 14", and place on two lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets. Note: If you're using parchment, it's easiest to roll right on the parchment, then lift the crusts, parchment and all, onto the pans.
8 ) Divide the filling evenly between the two crusts, covering them to within 1" of their edges. You'll use a generous 3 cups (about 27 ounces) for each crust.
9) Roll out the other two pieces of dough, and place them atop the filled crusts, gently stretching them, if necessary, to cover the filling. Seal the crust edges by rolling the bottom crust up over the top, and pinching together.
10) Using a sharp knife or pair of scissors, cut a 1" hole in the very center of each top crust; this will allow steam to escape.
11) Make the topping by whisking together the egg and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Paint each crust with some of the topping; this will yield a golden brown, shiny crust with mildly sweet flavor, a perfect foil for the salty ham.
12) Allow the pies to rest while you preheat your oven to 350°F, about 15 minutes. They don't need to be covered.
13) Bake the pies for about 25 minutes, until they're a deep, golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and carefully slide them off the pan/parchment and onto on a rack to cool.
14) Serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Yield: 2 large pies.