When I think of the Italian flatbread called piadina romagnola, or just piadina for short, my mind inevitably brings me back to a trip in the early 90s to the beach at Rimini. I was actually living in Paris at the time, and the sun and surf and gentle breezes along Adriatic coast were a delightful break from urban life. As an impecunious English teacher, street food was all I could afford. So when I was feeling peckish, off I’d go to a street stand just a few blocks from the beach and order a freshly made piadina filled with prosciutto, cheese and arugula. Simple and cheap, but delightful eating!
Unfortunately you can’t buy piadina outside Italy so far as I know.* But you can make it at home, and it’s quite easy to do. A simple dough, slightly leavened and enriched with lard or olive oil, gets flattened out into rounds and griddled on both sides. Then you’re ready to serve your piadina with just about any filling you fancy.
It makes a lovely light lunch or mid-afternoon snack, and—even if piadina will always be tied in my memory to a lazy summer holiday a long, long time ago—one you can whip up any time of year. The sandy beach is optional…
Ingredients
Makes 6-10 piadine, depending on size
- 500g (1 lb) 00 or all purpose flour
- 1 Tb salt
- 5g [1/2 tsp] baking soda
- 100g (3-1/2 oz) lard (or olive oil)
- about 250ml (1 cup) water, or as much as you need
Directions
In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt and baking soda.
Add the lard (or olive oil) and mix until the fat is well incorporated into the flour, producing something that looks a bit like pebbly sand.
Now add the water, as much as you need to form a soft but not at all sticky ball. Knead well until you have a smooth and pliable dough.
Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes, wrapped in plastic wrap or a thick towel.
Divide the dough into little balls weighing anywhere between 75g (2-1/2 oz) and 140g (5 oz), pending on how large you want your piadine to be (see Notes).
Take each ball and flatten out with a rolling pin into round disks. Or, if you’re a lazy iconoclastic like me, you can use a tortilla press to do the job. And if you want perfect circles, you can trim your disks with a pastry ring. Personally, I’m fine with slightly misshapen piadine. It’s my way of saying, “I made these by hand!”
Lay your piadine out on a board, cover them with a towel and let rest them for another 15 minutes or so.
Now heat a griddle or non-stick skillet over a high flame. When it’s good and hot, lower the flame to medium and cook each piadina for about 2 minutes on each side. (Meanwhile, keep the rest under the towel so they don’t dry out.) They should be nicely spottled on both sides.
Serve slightly warm, with the fillings of your choice (see Notes).
Notes
As you will have seen, making piadina at home involves multiple steps, but all in all it’s pretty easy. The only tricky part is regulating the heat. Too high and your piadina will brown too much or even burn before they’re fully cooked on the inside. Aim for a flame that will produce light browning as pictured above after griddling two minutes or so on each side.
The traditional vessel for griddling piadina was the testo romagnolo, a flat terracotta disk that looks very much like a traditional comal for making tortilla. I guess it’s no wonder, since piadina are indeed very much in the same culinary family as flour tortillas, pita and other flatbreads. These days a cast iron griddle or non-stick skillet are more common and will do the job beautifully.
Tradition also tells us to use a rolling pin to form a piadina. But again, I find that my trusty tortilla press works just well, with a lot less work. Given the size of most tortilla presses, as mentioned above they’ll be a bit smaller than is typical, but they will be just as delicious.
Variations
Like a lot of Italian recipes, the basic ingredients for piadina romagnola stay constant but the measurements are all over the map. For instance, the amount of fat varies from recipe to recipe. Some call for as little as 50g (1-3/4 oz), others as much as 125g (4-1/2 oz) for 500g/1 lb flour. Obviously more fat means more savor (but also more calories!) And if you want that real authentic flavor, you’ll want to use lard. It gives a certain savory quality to your piadina that oil just can’t replicate. Unless you’re watching your cholesterol, of course.
You can also add more or less baking powder, or none at all, depending on how “fluffy” you like your piadina. And as to the amount of water, it’s a really a matter of quanto basta, as they say in Italian: as much as you need.
The size of a piadina can also vary quite a bit, with the smallest ones about 15cm (6 inches) in diameter and the larger ones ranging up as wide as 30cm (12 inches). Thickness varies, too, they can be as thin as 3mm (1/8 inch) and as thick as 5mm (1/4 inch). Bear this in mind as you divide up your dough into balls. They can weigh as little as 75g (for smaller, thinner rounds) or as much as 140g for “jumbo” sized piadine.
Fillings
You can fill your piadina with anything you like, really. Perhaps the most classic filling would be the one I had all those years ago at Rimini: prosciutto di Parma paired with some spreadable cheese and a few arugula leaves. The cheese of choice would be squacquerone, typical of the region, but good luck finding it. Otherwise, a nice soft spreadable cheese like robiola or taleggio should do fine. (Brie is obviously not typical of the region but could also work nicely here.) Other cured meats like coppa or mortadella also make a delicious filling, as does grilled sausage. Cooked ham and mozzarella is another popular combo, stuffed into the piadina while it’s still hot so the mozzarella melts just a bit.
There are also meatless fillings: grilled veggies again with a soft cheese, for example. In summer, a caprese filling of tomato and mozzarella would be lovely. Sautéed thinly sliced zucchini, perhaps enriched with some tunafish, makes a great filling, too. Grilled fresh anchovies or sardines are also a favorite. In the the colder months, what about chicory, escarole or broccoli rabe sautéed with olive oil and garlic, with or without cheese? You could even make a sweet piadina if you like, filled with Nutella, sliced fruit, or marmellade or jam.
Need I say more? The choices are limited only by your imagination.
Making piadina ahead
You can make piadina ahead of time and warm it up when you’re ready to eat, much as you would store-bought tortillas. They’ll keep for a few days in the fridge, just make sure to wrap them so they don’t dry out. Since they’re already cooked, when time comes for reheating them, use gentle heat.
Corrigendum
* With thanks to a reader, it turns out you can buy piadina (made with oil rather than lard) online. Haven’t tried them but it’s nice to know you can try them out if you want.
Piadina romagnola
Ingredients
- 500g 1 lb 00 or all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp salt
- 5g baking soda
- 100g 3-1/2 oz lard (or olive oil)
- 250ml 1 cup water or as much as you need
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt and baking soda.
- Add the lard (or olive oil) and mix until the fat is well incorporated into the flour, producing something that looks and feels a bit like pebbly sand.
- Now add the water, as much as you need to form a soft but not at all sticky ball. Knead well until you have a smooth and pliable dough.
- Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes, wrapped in plastic wrap or a thick towel.
- Divide the dough into balls weighing anywhere between 75g (2-1/2 oz) and 140g (5 oz), pending on how large you want your piadine to be (see Notes).
- Take each ball and flatten out with a rolling pin or tortilla press into round disks. If you want perfect circles, you can trim the rounds with a pastry ring.
- Lay your piadine out on a board, cover them with a towel and let rest them for another 15 minutes or so.
- Now heat a griddle or non-stick skillet over a high flame. When when it's good and hot, lower the flame to medium and cook each piadina about 2 minutes on each side. (Meanwhile, keep the rest under the towel so they don't dry out.) They should be nicely spottled on both sides.
- Serve slightly warm, with the fillings of your choice.
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Erbazzone (Savory Greens Pie)
Pastiera Napoletana
Frittelle di pasta cresciuta con zucchine (Zucchini Fritters)
Struffoli (Angelina’s Honey Balls)
Ndunderi di Minori (Ricotta Gnocchi)
Lampi e tuoni (Neapolitan Style Pasta and Chickpeas)
Schiacciata all’uva (Tuscan Grape Focaccia)
Taralli pugliesi
Spätzle di zucca (Winter Squash Spätzle)
Scrippelle ‘mbusse (Crepes in Broth)
35 Comments on “Piadina romagnola”
a cheese and prosciutto version sounds the bomb.
Absolutely! Thanks for stopping by, Sherry.
Lard makes every dough taste soooo goood! Love piadine and love Rimini even more! Happy Easter!
Oh I know exactly what you’re talking about when you describe that Italian street food! Impecunious or not, I might opt for Italian street food over a much more expensive dish – seriously! This piadina looks delicious, and the thought of it filled with prosciutto, cheese and arugula is making my mouth water. On a side (but somewhat related) note, have you tried your hand at schiacciata? I’ve made it a couple of times, and it always takes me back to Italy!
Ohh I never knew this bread, thanks for introducing this to us. That piadina filled with prosciutto, cheese and arugula sounds really good.
It really is, Raymund! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I love Piadina. It reminds me my summer vacation on the Adriatic costs. I also make the small ones and serve as aperitivo. Thanks for sharing your recipe! Paola
And thank you for stopping by, Paola!
Well, I cannot comment on the piadina until I have tried making your recipe but I cannot complain about the taste and texture of ours. All different flours, many seeded and usually tasty enough to eat without filling ! Had to laugh recently when my usual supermarket began offering rye and ‘black’ ones . . . somehow any ‘Italian’ feeling had disappeared . . . but they have proven tasty and practical !!!
Hi Franck!
It’s always a pleasure to read your delicious and authentic recipes! I’m an Italian (apulian) living in France and your website is for me and my husband a source of inspiration and a reliable reference for quality (we checked out that we can trust you by reading the “orecchiette and cime di rapa” recipe) ! Sometimes I prefer to look at your recipes instead of calling my mum back in Italy (but please don’t tell her :D).
Good job!
Greetings
Valeria
What a lovely message. I’m terribly flattered that you trust me for your cooking guidance. Coming from a real Italian living in Italy that’s quite the honor! And no worries about your mom, my lips are sealed! 😉
What an interesting story and easy recipe ! At the moment all kinds of flatbreads are hugely popular Down Under – lazily as always we just call them ‘wraps’ and yours is one I intend to make !! Altho’ lard is actually not one of the worst fats I rarely use it, so shall make ‘second-best’ with oil . . .
I have to tell you, Eha. I actually really dislike the “wraps”, at least the ones they make here in the US, but I love piadina. Again, the flour tortillas they generally use for wraps here in the US tend to be quite thin and tasteless. Piadina, on the other hand, have a beautiful chewiness and lovely flavor! Definitely worth a try, even if you’re not using lard.
Another great post Frank! I love piadine. I bought a testa made out of terra cotta but still haven’t used it. Do you have one? Terra cotta is magical.
It certainly is! I have a lot of terracotta cookware I brought back from Italy, and still use them! I have a round terracotta cooking vessel that was actually sold as for cooking pollo al mattone—it came with a weighted lid—but could no doubt be used as a testo. But I have to admit, I haven’t tried it out yet. I usually cheat and use a non-stick skillet… 😉
So do I! I use a griddle but I really need to try my testa!
My mother called these “gnoccs”…like a short form of gnocci. She used a yeast dough. We ate them as a snack and added home made butter (from our own cows). We lived on a farm in the rural south and there was no prosciutto or mozzarella or anything Italian in our Piggly Wiggly. This was 70 years ago! But it seems like yesterday.
Interesting story, Rosemary. Thanks so much for sharing! There’s a similar treat from the same region called gnocco fritto, which is fried rather than griddled. I wonder if that’s what your mother made?
Never had piadina, and now I want it. And I was thinking about making a trip to a nearby butcher for some lard anyway (this shop makes their own, and it’s fantastic). So now I’ll have an excuse to buy extra. 🙂
You’re lucky to have a source of homemade lard, John! And this would definitely putting it to good use. Hope you like it!
When in Italy, tuscany,, my cousing has a pizzeria and as he make focaccine olso if you order it in advance will make piadinas, your recipe bring me back to my lovely tuscany. As always your notes and variations tips are a huge healp. Thanks againg Frank, giving us the joy to spend time in the kitchen and make lovely food for our dearest one and friends. God Bless. Vittorio , from Florida U,S,A ( not florida a little village on the hills overlooking Siracusa, Sicily).
You’re so welcome, Vittorio! And I totally agree, food really is one of life’s greatest joys.
Someone gave me a book called something like pizzas and piadinis and paninis. I never did much with it. Now I want to go dig it up!
You should! I’m sure there are a lot of delicious recipes in there. But meanwhile do try piadina, I think you’d really like it.
I have never had a piadina, but have seen them. I love that they are so simple to make with no special equipment needed. On my ever-growing list of things I NEED to make! Thanks, Frank 🙂
I do hope you give them a try, Christina. They’re really very good and as you say, quite easy to make.
Mark and I had our first piadine in a small café on Ortigia, another beach town. So simple, but with the right fillings it makes a really fantastic meal. Since our trip to Sicily, I have thought of trying to figure out how to make them, and then you come along with the perfect recipe. Thanks for this! I may even try them tonight.
Happy to be of assistance! If you do give this a try, let us know how they turn out, David!
They look delicious and I’m reminded of something I read, which suggested Roman soldiers used to cook a basic form of pizza base over a wood fire, on the backs of their sheilds. Lard has got a bad, but unjustifiable reputation – it has less saturated fat and more unstaurated fat plus less cholesterol than butter!
Interesting, MD! I do have to imagine that piadine like other flatbreads must have ancient origins, so I wouldn’t be suprised if those soldiers were indeed making piadine (or at least something quite like them) on their shields. In fact, I just did a quick check in Italian Wikipedia and the article on piadina says there are “traces” indicating it goes back to ancient Roman times. Perhaps a reference to that story? Anyway, as for lard, I have to admit I’m addicted. Nice to know it’s getting a bad rap.
I can quite believe it – there’s a Catalan flat bread with toppings (very similar to pizza, though I think all the toppings are added after baking) called Coca. They make sweet and savoury versions. I’m sure this type of bread was consumed before the Roman Empire existed and then onwards throughout the Mediterranean. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca_(pastry)
I love to bake with lard! Your Italian flatbread looks so tender and soft.
They are! 😉 I do hope you give them a try, Angie! Thanks so much for stopping by.
Love this! I used yo make my own flour tortillas but have gotten lazy. That’s going to change for sure! These flatbreads look fantastic and other than a little time, so easy yo make.
So true, Eva! I do hope you give these a try. These are no harder than flour tortillas and, in my humble opinion, a lot tastier.