Recipe Piadina Romagnola - Emilia Romagna's flatbread

[MypinchofItaly]

Piadina Romagnola, aka “piada“, is a specialty from Emilia Romagna, in particular from the seaside city of Rimini.

Piadina is actually made of simple, easy ingredients to source, thus feasible at home as well. There are of course many variations in terms of how the dough should be prepared but we have preferred to show you the classical traditional ones.

Makes 6 Piadine | Preparation time: 1 hour | Cooking time: 20 mins

• Italian 00 flour or All Purpose flour, 500 g
• Lard / Strutto: 120 g or EVOO – Extra Virgin olive oil, 120ml
• Salt: 1 tsp
• Baking soda: 1.5 tsp
• Room temperature Water: 150 ml

Method

Mix the flour, lard, baking soda and salt in a bowl, start kneading the dough on a lightly floured work surface by adding the water little by little, until you get an elastic and smooth dough. Cover it with a clingfilm and let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Shape the dough as a sausage

then divide the dough in 6 chunks

shape them into balls

and put them in the fridge again for 30 mins again, clingfilm covered.

Use a rolling pin to flatten each of them into a disc 2-3 mm thick and with a diameter of 20 to 30 cm.

Heat up a non-stick pan; cooking Piadina 1-2 min on both sides until it browns slightly. It should take about 3-4 minutes for each Piadina to cook through.

Tip: it is probable that during cooking, the piadina will swell, just make a small hole with the fork while it is still in the pan: once removed the air will return to its original thickness.

Ready.

Fill Piadina whilst it’s still hot, then fold it in half.

Tip: Generally they are filled with Squacquerone, a fresh cheese specialty from Rimini. Other alternatives are stracchino or crescenza, cheeses which have a thicker consistency, or gorgonzola or mozzarella, or just your favourite cheese spread.

 

[Burt Blank]

Beautiful Bravo.