Pita Piatta

For me, I can’t have Christmas without this traditional Calabrese Christmas bread. It has become my big Christmas thing and I love to make them for presents. My mother-in-law Bonnie (Oliverio) Tinnell contributed this recipe. It’s important to remember you have to prepare the filling a day ahead of when you plan to bake, allowing the mixture to sit overnight in a cool place so the flavors will intensify—the smell is heavenly. This bread is also called Pitta 'mpigliata and  comes from San Giovanni in Fiore, a Calabrian village from which many immigrants (including my husband’s family) came during the Industrial Revolution to work in the West Virginia coal mines. The earliest mention of Pitta 'mpigliata was in 1728 and originally was a traditional wedding cake served to celebrate the joining of two families. There are many ways to shape this bread. It can be rolled out in long logs and sliced into individual slices and baked like cookies, or the slices can be put in a pie dish and baked like cinnamon rolls. The bread can be shaped into wreath, candy canes or my favorite—a horseshoe shape with the ends pinched together to represent the arms of Christ. You can also drizzle honey over the pita piatta’s after baking.

Pita Piatta

2 large oranges
3 pounds of coarsely chopped nuts – usually walnuts
3 pounds of raisins
2 pounds of brown sugar
3 cups of granulated sugar
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
5 pounds flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups olive oil
1 large cake yeast
1 cup warm water (to dissolve yeast)
3 eggs
2 cups of wine
2 cups of melted butter

First, prepare the filling and let sit overnight. Use a food processor to grind up the two oranges in their entirety – peels and all and make sure to catch the juices. Add 3 pounds of chopped nuts to the orange in a large bowl. Next add three pounds of raisins. One pound of brown sugar follows, along with two cups of granulated sugar. Two teaspoons of cinnamon, one teaspoon of allspice are the final ingredients. Mix everything together and then allow standing over night in a cool place.

To prepare the dough first dissolve one large cake yeast in cup of warm water. Mix five pounds of flour, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of allspice, two cups of oil, three eggs, two cups of wine, and two cups of melted butter. Mix and knead to ensure the ingredients are properly combined.

Combine one pound of brown sugar and one cup of white sugar – this will be placed on the rolled out dough when the time comes.

Separate the dough into ten equal portions. Roll the dough out. Drizzle with olive oil. Add sugar mixture on the dough. Next spread fruit and nut mixture on the dough. Roll up into cylinders, then bring ends together like a horseshoe and pinch the ends. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Then brush egg whites wash onto the pita piattas and allow baking for another 20-25 minutes.

-Shannon

Comments

[Dominic]

This is the Calabrese dish I'm dying to try! I can't think of any comparable Sicilian pastry - the closest may be Cucidate - which are date-filled cookies. I'm presuming that the olive oil imparts a savory flavor to the sweetness of the Pita Piatta. It's great to know that there are still many Italian dishes to discover!

Must. Try. Pita. Piatta.

Grazie tanto, Shannon!

Buon Anno per te e tutta la famiglia!

[Carla]

I wanted to tell you that last Christmas I searched high and low for this recipe. Yours was the ONLY place on the internet I found it. I tweaked the recipe until mine tasted like my own grandmother's and gave it as gifts to my family. I love the story of the recipe because my grandfather's family was indeed from this region in Italy, and they moved to and settled in West Virginia to work in the coal mines. Thank you for sharing your heritage and giving me back a piece of mine.

[Frank Schipani]

Wow, my family has been making an almost identical version for years. My great grandparents are from San Giovanni and moved to West Virginia in the early part of the 20th century. Thank you for sharing it.

[Ben]

Amazing that I found this site. My mother made Pita every Christmas when I was growing up in West Virginia. I've never been able to find out where this tradition came from...never heard of any of Italian family who knew what it was...thanks so much for posting this.