The Story of God Bread
An Italian tradition that has been passed down through the generations
In my family we have a tradition of making a special bread just ahead of the Easter holiday and we call it “God Bread”.
The thing with traditions is that they are so engrained in our behaviors, that we don’t realize they are traditions — we don’t consider them unique or noteworthy — so we don’t document them in their moments. That’s why, sadly, I don’t have any first-person accounts or photos of this particular tradition in our family from my great-grandparents. Fortunately, my uncle — David Corbo — documented the story of the bread as he recalled it, and has allowed me to share his memory:
The story of this bread dates back to the birthplace of my Grandma Guiseppa (Josephine) Corbo, who was born in Benevento, Italy in 1897. She lived there with her family until she was twenty-three years old.
As Roman Catholics, there was no eating of meat during Lent. To observe the great joy of Easter, Jesus dying on the cross and then rising from the dead to save us from our sins, the people in Grandma’s town would prepare a special pie for the celebration. It was known as “God Bread” or Bread of God in Benevento.
The people of Southern Italy were part of a feudal system where they tenant farmed for the rich landowners who lived in the north. As such, they were quite poor. Meat was expensive and scarce. But, God Bread, although made with meat, was very special and a tradition.
On Easter, the people would go to church and worship, giving thanks to God. (As my Grandma told the story, the people would also be happy because they could now have meat). Following Mass, the families would go home and feast on God Bread and wine.
The bread contained meat (lamb, beef, or pork) along with several cheeses. One of the cheeses was a goat cheese, which we know as “basket cheese” in the United States. Traditionally, basket cheese can only be procured in the early months of Spring - it’s the first batch of cheese from the goat milk after they have delivered their kids.
The tradition of making the pie only at Easter carried with Grandma when she immigrated to America in 1920 to be with my soon-to-be Grandfather, Antonio.
As they married and settled on the East Side of St. Paul, along with other Italian families from the same Benevento Providence, the tradition continued and the “pie” was made among the families. Some would use pork, some beef, and some lamb, or combination thereof. But always the use of basket cheese as the main ingredient.
My recipe uses pork, pepperoni, basket cheese, and parmesan cheese, along with eggs and flour. — David Corbo (grandson to Tony & Josephine Corbo)
Josephine and Tony had seven children, who went on to have children of their own, and so on. Most of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren have made and/or continue to make this recipe annually. The original recipe calls for 10-12 cups of flour, four dozen eggs, three pounds of pork, four large hard pepperoni sticks, and a total of four pounds of cheese! Obviously, the recipe produces multiple pies, which are often traded between the families, or frozen to be taken out throughout the year as occasions present themselves.
My most treasured childhood memory is going to my Grandma and Grandpa Corbo’s house every Sunday after church. She always had God Bread out for everyone. All the Aunts, Uncles, and cousins would be there. It was a wonderful and warm feeling. I miss those days terribly.
— Kathy (Corbo) Petrasek (granddaughter to Josephine & Tony)
I’ve tried to do some research on the history of this tradition without too much luck. I’ve come across other names for similar recipes: Easter Pie, Easter Pizza, Pizza Rustica, Italian Meat Pie. Some information indicates that the tradition goes back to the 17th century, but I haven’t found the original source of that interesting nugget. And maybe it doesn’t matter. For me, it goes back to my great-grandmother and that’s good enough.
When the bread is introduced to family outsiders, it’s often met with hesitancy because who ever heard of bread that has chunks of meat and goat cheese? In truth, it is more like a quiche or torte than a bread. But every year, as fresh loaves are produced, there is an eagerness by these newbies to have a slice, proving that it’s an acquired taste. And it feels like family.
Sources:
The Italian Cultural Foundation at Casa Belvedere. “The Easter Pies of Italy.”
Gioletti: Fine Italian Market & Delicatessen. “Pizza Rustica, A Savory Torte to Celebrate Easter.”
I’ve never heard of God Bread. So interesting! In French Canada, where I grew up we had a meat pie called tourtiere (traditionally made with passenger pigeon!) and served on Christmas Eve to break the Advent meat fast after Midnight Mass.
I love all the regionally different recipes from Italy. In my Italian family, we made a frittata with similar ingredients as God Bread. Ham was a must ingredient.