A classic Italian bread from the North-Central region, 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 piadina 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; and it originated from the region of Emilia-Romagna.
Traditionally made with lard (or strutto), piadina 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 their piadina 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 the difference, Italian flatbread is excellent with stracchino cheese or cured meat — simply delicious!
IF YOU WANT MORE RECIPES FOR TRADITIONAL ITALIAN BREAD, THEN YOU WILL LIKE THESE POSTS!
Ingredients
- Olive oil – use extra virgin olive oil, if possible.
- Flour – if you don’t have Tipo ’00’, all-purpose flour will work just as well.
I use all-purpose flour for this piadina recipe because I ran out of Tipo ’00’ flour that my mother-in-law sends us here in Stockholm. (Yep, she does that)
- Baking powder – just use your favorite brand.
- Salt – you would only need a small amount for this piadina recipe.
- Milk – I believe most Italian flatbread 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 preparing your Italian flatbread 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 piadina dough in plastic and set aside for about forty-five minutes (photo 4).
Remove the plastic and cut it into eight equal portions (photo 5).
Start preparing the skillet for cooking your Italian flatbread by placing it on medium-high heat.
Use a rolling pin to flatten and form each 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 piadina 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 it aside for at least forty-five minutes, that is always enough.
- It 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 out your piadina.
FAQ
You can use piadina for making sandwiches.
Use your favorite salami (or, in this case, mortadella!), a bit of stracchino, 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.
Or serve this Italian flatbread as an accompaniment for some stew, like Pollo Romana or chicken cacciatore — they are great for cleaning the sauce off your plate. 🙂
See how easy it is? So start gathering your ingredients for preparing piadina tonight! 🙂
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 piadina 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 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 piadina dough.
Cooking piadina:
- Heat a medium-sized skillet or pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the skillet is ready, place the flatbread on it 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 piadina from the pan and serve.
Notes
- Cook’s Tip #1: Traditionally, Tipo ’00’ flour is used, but all-purpose flour is an excellent substitute for making piadina.
- Cook’s Tip #2: You can use water instead of milk, but milk adds more flavor to your Italian flatbread.
- Cook’s Tip #3: When not working on the piadina dough (or a portion of it), make sure you keep it covered with a clean kitchen cloth to prevent it from drying.
- Cook’s Tip #4: 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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