A classic bread from North-Central Italy, Piadina Romagnola is a delicious, no-yeast flatbread that is perfect for making sandwiches or as an appetizer! You don’t even need any special ingredient or equipment to make it at home — just a rolling pin!
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If you are not familiar with Piadina Romagnola, it’s an Italian flatbread with no yeast; it originated from the region of Emilia-Romagna.
Traditionally made with lard (or strutto), it is now commonly made with olive oil.
There is still some noticeable difference in how each city is preparing theirs within its region of origin.
Take Ravenna, for example; they make theirs slightly thicker than what you will find in Rimini — or if you continue close to the border to San Marino, not as thin as Rimini’s either.
Regardless of that difference, one thing is for sure; they are always delicious!
Ingredients
- Flour – if you don’t have Tipo ’00’, all-purpose flour will work just as well.
I use all-purpose flour for this recipe because I ran out of Tipo ’00’ flour that my mother-in-law sends us here in Stockholm. (Yep, she does that)
- Milk – I believe most recipes are using water with olive oil.
However, I decided to use milk instead because that is what my mother-in-law uses for piadina (they live near Rimini). She said water is excellent with lard, but with olive oil, milk would add more flavor.
As always, she is right. 🙂
Instructions
Start by mixing the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl (photo 1).
Add the olive oil and milk (photo 2).
Use a fork to mix everything until a dough begins to form (photo 3).
Transfer the mixture to a flat surface and knead until you get a smooth ball of dough.
Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside for about forty-five minutes (photo 4).
Unwrap the plastic from the dough and cut it into eight equal portions (photo 5).
Start preparing your skillet for cooking the flatbread by placing it on medium-high heat.
Use a rolling pin to flatten and form each dough portion into a piadina, no more than 25-cm in diameter (photo 6).
Use a fork to prick the piadina (photo 7).
Once your skillet is ready, place the flatbread in the middle of it (photo 8).
Cook each side for two to four minutes, or until parts of the bread has turned slightly darker in color.
Your piadina romagnola is now ready for serving!
Helpful tips
- Keep the dough covered with a clean kitchen cloth when you are not kneading or rolling them. It keeps it from drying.
- If the dough springs back when you’re rolling it, it has not rested enough. From my experience, if you set the dough aside for at least forty-five minutes, that is always enough.
- This is not a sticky dough, but it still helps if you dust your board with a bit of flour and on your rolling pin when you start rolling them out.
FAQs
- You can use them for sandwiches. Use your favorite salami (or, in this case, mortadella!), a bit of fontina, or any soft cheese and some greens.
- Serve them as appetizers on their own. I love dipping them on fruity extra virgin olive oil with a dash of sea salt.
- Serve them as an accompaniment for some stew, like Pollo Romana or chicken cacciatore — they are great for cleaning the sauce off your plate. 🙂
IF YOU WANT MORE IDEAS FOR MAKING BREAD, THEN HEAD STRAIGHT TO MY BREAD COLLECTION!
Italian Flatbread (Piadina Romagnola)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or Tipo '00')
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 & 1/3 cups milk
Instructions
Preparing the Dough:
- Using a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine and mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the olive oil and milk.
- Mix and knead until you get a smooth dough.
- Form dough into a ball and cover with plastic.
- Set aside for about 45 minutes.
Rolling your Italian flatbread:
- Remove plastic from dough and divide the dough into 8 equal portions.
- Form a small ball of each portion, then use a rolling pin to form a circle of about 23-25 cm in diameter.
- Use a fork to prick the dough.
Cooking piadina:
- Heat a medium-sized skillet or pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the skillet is ready, place the dough of flatbread and adjust the heat to medium.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until you see darker portions on the bread.
- Turn and cook the other side for another 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and serve.
Notes
- Traditionally, Tipo ’00’ flour is used, but all-purpose flour is an excellent substitute.
- You can use water instead of milk, but milk adds more flavor to the flatbread.
- When not working on the dough (or a portion of it), make sure you keep it covered with a clean kitchen cloth to prevent it from drying.
- When you’re rolling them out, make sure you dust your board with a bit of flour — same goes for your rolling pin. It is not a sticky dough, but this trick still helps a lot!
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