Piadina Romagnola – Italian Flatbread

Piadina Romagnola, is by far one of the best Italian Street Foods! A simple dough quickly put together with flour, water and lard or EVOO, is then placed on a hot surface where it acquires the typical charred markings, and when filled with savory ingredients this flat bread is enjoyed by all. In no time at all a simple, delicious and satisfying meal can be served. Make sure to give these a try. You will not be disappointed! Let’s get started!

You will need:

Ingredients:

500 grams All-Purpose flour
6 grams or 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
8 grams salt
80 grams good quality lard at room temperature (recipe shared with us uses 100 grams lard and no olive oil) Just using good olive oil is also a great option.
20 grams extra virgin olive oil
240 grams water

Toppings:

Arugula
Prosciutto Crudo – slices of Italian cured ham or other cold cuts
Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
Sliced tomatoes
Soft cheeses
Cayenne pepper powder
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

STEP 1:

Preheat The Marinara Pizza Oven to 400°-435°F – 200°-225°C.

STEP 2:

Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

STEP 3:

Make a well in the center and add the lard, olive oil and water.

STEP 4:

Begin mixing the lard and wet ingredients into the flour by squeezing the ingredients with one hand until the flour has been mostly incorporated.

STEP 5:

Transfer the dough on a clean work surface and knead until mostly uniform.

STEP 6:

Cover the dough and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

STEP 7:

Work the dough once again for just a few minutes making sure not to stress it by over-kneading. When the dough ball has come together into smooth ball, cover and let rest an additional 30 minutes to allow the gluten strands to relax.

STEP 8:

Divide the dough into 6 or 8 equal portions. We chose to divide them into 6 portions. Shape each into small dough balls, place them on a lightly floured surface, and cover with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap.

STEP 9:

With the help of a rolling pin stretch each into a round disk. Interesting fact: In the coastal area of Emilia Romagna along the Adriatic Sea, Piadine (plural of piadina) are stretched to about 2-3 millimeters in thickness. Moving away from the coast and into the center of the region, Piadine are left thicker and obviously smaller in diameter.

STEP 10:

Traditionally Piadine are cooked on the stovetop in a hot pan large enough to hold the stretched dough. We baked ours by preheating a cast iron skillet in the oven where we placed the dough directly on the hot cast iron.

STEP 11:

Allow the piadina to cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side making sure to pop any air bubbles that might form. The famous dark spots will be indicative of a well cooked Piadina. Since we used the pizza oven we chose to place the dough directly on the Saputo stones to bake. Once again each piadina was baked for about 1-2 minutes on both sides.

STEP 12:

When the markings are visible the Piadina can be removed from the oven. Now the best part begins! Immediately fill it with the toppings of your choosing, fold the bread in half and serve immediately. Enjoy!