The Italian piadina is by far one of my favorite types of flatbread, both to prepare and to eat. Very easy to make, it requires only a few ingredients and not even too much time.
Versatile, cheap, and easy to make, piadina is perfect for a casual meal at home or to take with you at work, for a picnic, or when traveling. Given the huge array of possible fillings and how simple is to eat it as a sandwich, everybody in the family will like it.
By learning how to make piadina flatbread, you are sure you will always have a simple and nutritious meal handy.
The softness and elasticity of the piadina depend on the amount of oil you are willing to use. Sometimes I use more oil to make it more elastic, but when I feel like staying lighter, I use less oil and the result is as delicious.
This type of bread is typical of the Emilia-Romagna region so if you are visiting Bologna, be prepared to see piadina in many eateries.
How to make piadina – ingredients
- The flour. I’m very picky about the flour in every type of bread I make. I always opt for organic whole flour of ancient grains. By making the bread at home, I save quite a few bucks so I prefer that the few ingredients that are needed for the recipe are high-quality. Obviously, you can use your favorite flour, but I wouldn’t recommend all-purpose flour because, with the amount I give for the liquid ingredients, I think the dough would become too sticky. After a few trials and errors, I reached my perfect mix which is 200 grams of semi-wholegrain and 100 grams of wholegrain flour. Remember to leave out some flour to work when kneading.
- The oil. You can use any vegetable oil, better if organic and cold-pressed. For cooking, I always use high-quality extra-virgin olive oil.
Making Italian piadina flatbread – Instructions + tips
- Prepare your ingredients. The process is not difficult but requires a few steps, especially when making the dough, that go pretty fast, so make sure you have the oil and the water easily available.
- Start with a spoon. This is very much personal. I start mixing the ingredients until ready to knead with a spoon because I don’t like the feel of loose flour in my hands and the initial stickiness all over the place. So I start with the spoon and when it becomes more lumpy and easier to work, I knead with my hands.
- The pan. Make sure the pan is very hot when you place the piadina to cook otherwise, it sticks and breaks. The cooking time is really short, so make sure you don’t leave the room!
- No oil to cook. It might be tempting to avoid the piadina to stick to the pan but really not necessary. Just properly heat up the pan and don’t add oil to eat, the oil is already in the dough.
Variations
There are not many variations you can think of when making Italian piadina flatbread. Apart from your favorite vegetable oil or to skip the salt if you are on a low-sodium diet, I wouldn’t really suggest changing more of it.
Especially when it comes to the flour, I wouldn’t change it with a much different type because they all have their consistency and texture. The one most similar to wheat is probably farro spelt, for which you can keep the same ingredient measures.
The main variations you can bring to your piadina are flavor-wise.
- With herbs. You can add any herbs you like. I found the piadina tastes delicious when adding oregano and rosemary to the dough. But you can let your imagination go wild and try new flavors. The next herbs I’m trying I think will be dill and thyme.
- Spicy. You can even add some of your favorite spices. Especially depending on the fillings you have in mind, you can add some hot chili pepper, curry, or smoked paprika.
Reasons to make your own piadina
This recipe for how to make piadina flatbread Italian style at home is fantastic for many reasons.
- It’s cheap. I counted around 5€ to make this recipe just to have some round figure but it can easily be less than that. A pack of good organic flour costs around 4€ and for this piadina recipe I use 300 gr. The rest of the ingredients are easily found in every home. The price obviously changes depending on the fillings you choose.
- It’s healthy. You know exactly which and how many ingredients were used to make it, so you know what you are actually eating. Plus, the ingredients are a few and this also indicates it’s a healthy, uncomplicated dish.
- It’s easy. At first, you might need to read the process carefully while making it, but with time, it will become automatic. With practice, it will also become easier to make perfectly round piadina. When I started, each of my piadina had the shape of a different country!
- It’s quick. Once you get the hang of it, you will go very fast. In the beginning, I used to pause to double-check every step. Now I just make my dough in 10 minutes and then let it rest for an hour before proceeding with the kneading.
- It’s lighter than bread. Because it’s cooked in the pan and not in the oven, I find it lighter than regular bread.
- It’s delicious and versatile. You can use the piadina in many ways, either as a sandwich with different fillings or simply as bread. Its mild taste makes it perfect for every occasion.
Piadina fillings – A few suggestions
The piadina itself has a very mild flavor, so you can literally fill it with whatever comes to your mind.
- Salmon and avocado. This is possibly the most classic filling for a piadina. I use smoked salmon and avocado usually smashed and make it like a sort of guacamole with crushed garlic. With this filling, I like to add some fresh arugula for some crunch or spread a bit of homemade pesto sauce instead of the guacamole.
- Cannellini cream. Blend your boiled cannellini with some oil, sun-dried tomatoes and oregano, and you have a delicious, healthy, and cheap piadina filling.
- Your favorite cold cuts. In Italy, you can often find piadina filled with Parma ham. This is very typical because Parma is in Emilia-Romagna and that’s where piadina flatbread is from. Wherever you are, though, you can stuff your piadina with any type of cold cuts you are used to.
- Veggies. Whether it’s grilled zucchini or boiled chard with potatoes, almost all types of veggies can make for a great filling.
- Tuna and tomatoes. For a very quick and makeshift lunch, you can fill your piadina with canned tuna and fresh cherry tomatoes. If you add also fresh onion and a leaf of salad, your meal is complete.
- Frittata. Any type of frittata makes for a great piadina filling to form a complete meal.
Piadina Italian Flatbread
Equipment
- 1 Large bowl
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 non-stick pan
- 1 large wooden pastry board
- 1 kitchen cloth
- 1 large spoon
Ingredients
- 300 gr semi-whole and wholegrain flour mix
- 150 gr water
- 1 tsp salt I use unrefined sea salt but you can use the salt of your choice
- 40 gr extra virgin olive oil You can add even 30 or 35 if you want your piadina more crunchy instead of soft and more elastic.
- some flour for the pastry board
Instructions
- Add the flour and the salt to a large bowl and give a quick mix.
- Add the water and the oil and start mixing everything with the large spoon.
- Continue mixing and kneading with your hands inside the bowl and then transfer the flour to the pastry board.
- Once on the board, keep kneading for some 10/15 minutes until you have a smooth dough without lumps, slightly elastic and easy to work.
- When ready, cover it for about 30 minutes to an hour to rest and settle.
- When the resting time is over, go back to your dough and give it an elongated shape similar to a loaf. Cut it into 4 to 6 pieces.
- Give each piece a round shape and set them aside while you work on each of them.
- Grab your rolling pin and make flatbread of around 5 mm out of each piece, giving them a shape as round as possible.
- Heat up a non-stick pan or even better a grill pan specifically for flatbread. Once it's very hot, place the first piadina and cook it for roughly a minute on each side.
- Remove it from the pan and cover it with a kitchen cloth before moving on to the next piadina to cook. Once ready, place all the piadina on top of each other under the kitchen towel.
WANT TO READ IT LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR BOARD!
