Crescia

Crescia (Italian: [ˈkreʃʃa]) is a thin Italian flatbread typically prepared in Marche and Umbria (Pesaro, Urbino, Ancona, Macerata, Perugia, and Terni). The crescia probably has a common ancestry to the piadina, to be found in the bread used by the Byzantine army, stationed for centuries in Romagna, in the north of the Marche (Pentapolis), and in the Umbrian Valley crossed by the Via Flaminia. The food is also known by the common name of "white pizza".

Local variants

Urbino area

The urbinate crescia, also called crescia sfogliata, crostolo or, more rarely, piadina sfogliata, typical of Urbino and Montefeltro, is made with flour, eggs, water, lard, salt and pepper. The dough obtained with a rolling pin is greased with lard and rolled up on itself, so that it releases pieces that integrate with the rest of the dough. Pressed into a disc and cooked, it takes on a characteristic layered structure, golden and crunchy. Typically it is eaten hot with sausage, wild herbs, ham, loin or cheese. A variant, the crostolo di Urbania, provides for the replacement of wheat flour with polenta which remains attached to the cauldron.

Pesaro and Fano area

The crescia of Pesaro, often called "piadina", is widespread in the Pesaro area, in the Fano area and in the surrounding countryside, does not require the use of yeast, is rolled high with a rolling pin, and contains a high quantity of lard. There are two variants: the crescia vonta and crescia sfojeta.