Piadina Romagnola is the most classic and famous Italian flatbread recipe. Hailing from the region of Emilia-Romagna (hence the name), this easy-to-make flatbread can be used in a variety of ways: cut it into small triangles for eating with your favorite dip, or stuff it like you would a sandwich!
Regional Flatbread Variations
Like so many Italian dishes, piadina is made in a few different ways depending on where you look. Lard is the traditional fat of choice for the dough (and our personal recommendation) but it’s not uncommon to see olive oil used as a substitute.
Perhaps the biggest variance is in the thickness. Piadine (plural of “piadina”) can be very thin (think like a soft tortilla) or a little bit thicker (closer to pita bread). We personally prefer the versatility of the latter style, a flatbread which is hardy enough to scoop up thick dips or to be used like sandwich bread.
Tips for Making the Best Piadina
Piadina is very simple to make, but it requires a little bit of intuition. There’s no correct amount of water to add into the dough, as this depends greatly on the flour used, the humidity, etc. The only way to make a good dough is to add a little bit of water at a time, until you achieve a dough texture that is soft, moldable, but not sticky. Because it’s a fat dough, it won’t be springy. When you push a finger in, the indentation should remain.
Once you have a good dough texture, the rest is a piece of cake!
How to Serve & Eat Piadina Romagnola
The sky’s the limit, here! You can really use it any way you would another type of flatbread. Most commonly in Italy, piadina is filled like a sandwich. You can really put anything you like inside. We enjoyed prosciutto cotto (essentially ham) and mozzarella, a beloved combination in Emilia-Romagna.
You can also use piadina for dipping, or even just as a bread for soaking up the sauce from your favorite dish. There’s actually a word for this action in Italian: “scarpetta.”
Storing & Saving Piadina
Once cooked, piadina can be stored in a plastic bag for a few days. Don’t keep it in paper, it will dry out completely. We recommend reheating it in a pan or warm oven before eating, if possible! For longer storage, the cooked flatbread can be frozen.
Watch the Pasta Grammar video where we make Piadina Romagnola here:
PIADINA ROMAGNOLA RECIPE
Makes: 4 10-inch flatbreads
Cook Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
For this recipe, you will need:
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp (5g) salt
1/4 tsp (1g) baking soda
4 tbsp (50g) lard
Water, as needed
Mixing bowl
Plastic wrap
Rolling pin
Bench scraper or knife
Kitchen scale (optional)
Large non-stick skillet or flat griddle
Fork
Spatula
In a bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking powder together. Pour the mixture into a pile on a large work surface. Use your hand to form a hollow in the center of the pile, like a small volcano. Add the lard into the center and, by hand, begin folding flour into it.
As a dough starts to form, begin gradually pouring a small amount of water in. Knead the water in completely before adding more. Stop adding water as soon as all of the dry flour has been incorporated and the dough is soft and silky, but not sticky. If it does become sticky, dust with a little bit of flour as necessary.
Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest at room temperature for 20-25 minutes. Unwrap the dough and, using a bench scraper or knife, cut it into 4 equal pieces. If you have one handy, you can use a kitchen scale to weigh the pieces so they’re all the same size.
Time to roll out the flatbread! While rolling the dough, preheat a large nonstick skillet up to a high temperature on your stovetop.
Work on one piece of dough at a time and keep the others either wrapped in plastic or under a bowl so that they don’t dry out. With a rolling pin, roll each piece until it forms a rough circle that is approximately 10-inches (25cm) in diameter. We encourage you not to make the circle perfect. Every Italian can recognize a superior, handmade piadina from its irregular shape. Embrace the imperfection!
If the dough sticks to your work surface or rolling pin, you can dust it very lightly with flour but do so only if necessary and try to keep the added flour to a minimum.
Turn the pan heat down to medium/high once you have the first piece rolled out and you’re ready to cook. Gently place the flatbread dough flat into the pan. As soon as you lay it down, poke some holes in the top with a fork. Cook until the bottom side begins to brown in spots (about 2 minutes). Flip the piadina with a spatula, poke more holes in the other side, and cook until the new bottom begins to brown as well.
Remove from the heat. Repeat the process to roll out and cook the remaining pieces of dough.
Buon appetito!
Now that you've given piadina a try, why not take a shot at a beautiful Foccaccia Genovese?