How to Make Crescione, Stuffed Italian Flatbread Recipe

Crescione is, as the name suggests, a crescent shaped bread.

This simple Italian flatbread is so easy to make, and the best part is that you can customize it with various fillings. You could fill it with mozzarella and tomato sauce and have yourself a little pizza pocket or you could go all out with different kinds of cheese for a gooey stretchy and super tasty treat.

They can be fried in a pan with a little bit of oil or dry, if you don’t want the fat content. Alternatively, you can bake them in the oven, but then they will not have that nice char on the surface. But that is the beauty of bread making, you can change things and there is always more than one way of doing something.

With this dough you can make 4 large crescione. If you want to make more simply multiply the amount of ingredients.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the dough –

250g (8.8oz) strong white bread flour

5g (0.17oz) salt

3g (0.1oz) instant dry yeast or 3.6g (0.12oz) active dry yeast or 9g (0.3oz) fresh yeast

20g (0.7oz) olive oil

145g (5.1oz) water at around 5C (41F), if your kitchen is around 23C (73F).

To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

For the filling –

250g (8.8oz) ricotta

250g (8.8oz) fresh spinach, blanched and sliced. *See video.

100g (3.5oz) mozzarella

Salt & pepper to season

Olive oil for frying

Method

1. In a bowl combine the water, yeast, salt & olive oil. Mix well to dissolve any large salt crystals and to hydrate the yeast. Add the flour and mix to a dough.
2. Tip the dough out on your table and knead it for around 6 minutes. *Desired dough temperature 25-26C (77-79F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust proofing time accordingly. If your dough came out really cold, then simply knead it for longer to bring it up to the right temperature.
3. Cover and ferment for 1.5 – 2 hours or until almost doubled in size.
4. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape into tight balls.
5. Cover & ferment for 1 hour or until almost doubled. Again, if your dough is warmer, the final proof may take less time. Keep an eye on it.
6. Roll the dough balls out to around 2mm (in) thick. The thinner the better basically. Just make sure they will fit your pan. Fill each dough disc with a quarter of the filling and seal up. Press any air out as you are sealing the dough. Crimp the edge with a fork and optionally trim it with a pizza cutter to make it nice and neat although that does not change the taste lol.
7. Cook in a pan with a bit of oil on medium heat for around 6 minutes per side or until nicely coloured all over. You don’t want the heat too high as the dough will not cook before it gets too dark. Be careful when flipping them as the side can tear. Handle it from the crimped edge.

Let them cool down a bit and enjoy!

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.