Italian Easter Pie

I saw a recipe for Italian Easter Pie a couple of weeks ago - and I wanted to try it.
I made it to take for social hour after church on Easter Sunday.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 6 ounces warm water
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  (I used 3 teaspoons for a speedier rise)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 8 ounces sourdough starter (or 4 ounces more each water and flour)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 16 ounces all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 tablespoons nonfat dry milk

Filling:

• 12 large eggs (6 raw, 6 hard boiled)
• 1 pound full-flavored ham
  (or 12 ounces cooked sausage, and 4 ounces diced pepperoni which is what I used)
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
  (or 2 cups cottage cheese, whirred through food processor to break up curds)
• 3.5 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese, lightly packed
  (or other strong cheese -- I used 3.5 ounces feta)

Glaze:

• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions:

1. Place yeast in warm water with sugar, let proof in stand mixer while gathering other ingredients.
2. Hard boil 6 eggs, then chill in ice bath.
3. Add sourdough starter to water in stand mixer, then mix in oil.
4. Mix in 1/2 of flour, then knead in salt, powdered milk, and rest of flour.
5. Scoop dough out of bowl, grease bowl, return dough and allow it to rise for 1 to 2 hours.
   (If you in a hurry, add an additional teaspoon of yeast, and place bowl with dough in a larger bowl of 110 degree water for 20 minutes or so.)
6. Cook, cool, and drain sausage if using. Cut meat(s) into ~ 1/4” chunks.
7. Peel the hard boiled eggs.
   (Try placing them unpeeled in a small bowl with a lid, and shake them against each other and sides of bowl for a minute or so to break shells and make them easier to peel.)
8. Dice hard boiled eggs into chunks.
9. Whip raw eggs briefly, then combine with ricotta. Stir in the meats, boiled egg chunks, and spices.
10. Divide dough into four pieces. Roll two pieces into 10 x 14 rectangles on top of parchment paper. The dough will be fairly thin maybe pie crust thick, but will rise in oven.
    (I baked mine inside of 9 x 13 casserole pans because my filling was very soft, but you can bake on cookie sheets, and use a more oval shape.)
11. Split filling evenly between the two crusts, covering them to within 1" of their edges. 
12. Roll out the other two pieces of dough (you can also use parchment paper for ease of positioning) to same sizes, and place them over the filling topped crusts. 
13. Seal the crust edges by pinching together. Cut a 1" hole in the center of each top crust, or 4 or 5 one inch slits. 
14. Whisk the egg and sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Brush each crust with the egg topping for a golden brown, shiny crust.
15. Let the pies to rest while oven preheats to 350°F, about 15 minutes. 
16. Bake the pies for about 25 to 30 minutes, until they're a deep, golden brown. Remove pies from the pan/parchment and place on a wire rack to cool.
17. Serve warm or at room temperature.
    (I cut mine into brownie sized pieces for sharing at social hour. They worked fine as finger food.)

Carole's Notes:

We liked these, and they were also a hit at social hour, and worked as finger food. I liked the way they looked with chunks of sausage and hard boiled eggs.

 
The recipe is lightly adapted from http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2011/04/08/easter-pie-a-tradition-worth-savoring/