It has been sold in local bakeries for decades.
In the last century, spongada was offered to the poor and the sick as a sign of good wishes for a speedy recovery.
It is also customary to eat spongada with salami, a marriage of sweet and savoury with excellent results.
According to tradition, spongada can be marked on the surface with a cross-shaped incision, brushed with egg white, sprinkled with aniseed or cumin or decorated with blessed olive leaves.

INGREDIENTS
160 g of brewer's yeast
800 g of sugar
2kg of white flour
560 g of butter (possibly fresh and local)
10 whole eggs
8 egg yolks
Milk as needed
Salt as needed
A pinch of vanillin

PREPARATION
Preparation of the yeast: mix 130 g of brewer's yeast, 200 g of white flour and enough milk for a consistent dough. Let it rise for at least 30/40 minutes in a warm environment.

For the first dough:
400 g of sugar, 280 g of butter, 5 whole eggs, 4 egg yolks, 900 g of white flour, a pinch of vanillin, salt as needed.
Work all the ingredients well, and finally add the yeast.
Work again and let it rest for at least three hours in a warm environment.

For the second dough:
400 g of sugar, 280 g of butter, 5 whole eggs, 4 egg yolks, 900 g of white flour, a pinch of vanillin, salt as needed, 30 g of brewer's yeast, white flour as needed.

Knead a dough without flour and add it to the previous one, which must have risen well in the meantime.
Now you can add the flour until you get a rather tender dough. This last process must last at least an hour.

Put everything into a non-metallic container and let it rise for a few hours.
When everything has risen well, cut pieces weighing 150 g and form the buns.
In a warm environment, let them rise until they are almost double the original size. Remove from the warm environment and put the buns into a cold environment for at least an hour. Then cut each bun in the middle with an almost total cut: the spongade are now ready to be put into the oven.
Bake at 180 degrees for about 20/25 minutes without opening the oven.
Once baked, sprinkle with icing sugar.

ANECDOTES
The weeks before and after Easter, in the evenings each family used to put their own basket with the dough into a shared warm place called a forno, where it would rise during the night.
The next morning the spongade were shaped and cooked.
Some families carried even 80/90 kg of dough to make enough spongade to be given to the various family members.