What is a piadina?

Picture a summer kiosk near the beach, a hot plate inside and somebody rolling out discs of dough to order. That is the piadina, or piada, and it is the region's answer to the sandwich: warm, slightly crisp at the blistered spots, soft and pliable, folded around whatever you like.

What it is

The Treccani dictionary describes the piadina as a round, flattened flatbread typical of Romagna, made from flour, water, salt and lard without yeast, and traditionally cooked on a testo, a terracotta disc heated over a wood fire. Wikipedia's piadina entry adds that the dough today is usually made with lard or olive oil, that flat pans and electric griddles have largely replaced the terracotta, and that Piadina Romagnola received EU Protected Geographical Indication status in 2014, covering the provinces of Rimini, Forlì-Cesena and Ravenna and part of the province of Bologna. The poet Giovanni Pascoli was so fond of it that he helped make the word piada official, adapting it from the local dialect.

Two styles

Treccani notes a thinner, crisper version common around Rimini. Broadly:

• Thicker and more compact: more substantial, good torn and shared.
• Thinner and softer, the Rimini style: flexible and easy to fold.

Both are made the same way; the difference is how thickly they are rolled.

The dough

A piadina dough is simple and forgiving:

• Flour, ordinary soft wheat flour.
• Fat: lard is traditional and gives tenderness. Olive oil is the common substitute and makes a vegetarian piadina that is just as good, slightly crisper.
• Salt.
• Liquid: water, or a mix of water and milk for a softer dough. Some cooks add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda for tenderness, but there is no yeast and no long rising.

Knead until smooth, rest it briefly so it relaxes, divide into balls, and roll each one out into a thin round.

Cooking on a hot pan

You do not need a testo. A heavy, dry frying pan, a cast iron skillet or a griddle works.

• Heat it properly. The pan should be very hot before the dough goes in.
• No oil in the pan. The fat is in the dough.
• Cook quickly. Lay the disc down. It will bubble and develop brown blistered spots on the underside. Prick any big bubbles with a fork. Turn once, and cook the other side until spotted.
• Keep it soft. Stack cooked piadine under a clean cloth to stay warm and pliable while you make the rest.

Overcooked piadine go dry and cracker-like, so err on the side of soft.

Classic fillings

Fill it while warm, fold it in half, and eat at once. Combinations we love:

• Soft fresh cheese and rocket: stracchino, or any creamy, tangy fresh cheese, with peppery leaves.
• Grilled vegetables: aubergine, courgette and peppers, with a soft cheese.
• Sautéed greens: chard, spinach or wild greens cooked with garlic and chilli.
• Prosciutto, with or without cheese, for those who want it.
• Sweet: jam, chocolate spread, or ricotta with honey.

The same dough can also be folded and sealed around a filling and cooked into a half-moon turnover.

At home

Piadina is a great holiday-kitchen meal and a fine weeknight one: everybody fills their own. Ready-made piadine from the shop are excellent too and save all the rolling; warm them in a dry hot pan for a moment on each side.