Piadina
For the dough
500 g all-purpose flour
10 g salt
25 g baking powder
70 ml extra virgin olive oil
250 g water
For the filling
Prosciutto di Parma
Squacquerone, or another fresh, soft cheese (such as stracchino cheese or cottage cheese)
arugula
Piadina is traditionally made with pork fat. Our piadina is a lighter version made with extra-virgin olive oil.
Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl, then mix in oil and water.
Knead dough for about 10 minutes until smooth in consistency.
Cover dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for an hour.
Note:If the dough is being prepared in advance, you can keep the prepared dough in the refrigerator.
Lightly flour the countertop and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until very thin, around a tenth of an inch.
Cut out 7-12 inch circles and poke holes in it with a fork.
Cook in a non-stick pan over medium heat without added fat for 1-2 minutes each side.
Serve warm, either alone or as part of a sandwich.
Piadinas are usually stuffed with salted and savoury ingredients. The most famous in Italy is with Prosciutto di Parma and squacquerone, a fresh, soft cheese. If unavailable, squacquerone can be replaced with stracchino cheese or even cottage cheese. The cheese and prosciutto are placed on the piadina with greens which is then folded up and served.
Buon appetito!
Chef’s tips
A piadina is typically filled with cheese like squacquerone, sheep’s or goat’s milk cheeses, mixed-milk cheese or aged cow’s milk cheese. Piadine are also eaten with lardo, pancetta (Italian-bacon), ciccioli(fried pork meat) or saba(cooked grape must).
It is also an great accompaniment to vegetables like cabbage, nettles, and radicchio or other sautéed with garlic, onion, shallots, pancetta, lard and natural flavorings.
Come and Discover the Ancient Practice of Making Pasta and Bread
| You learned how to make Piadina with our chefs, but do you want to learn more about the typical regional baked goods of Italy? Academia Barilla awaits you in Parma, a city rich in art and culture, to discover pasta, bread, and homemade desserts, the heart of Italian cuisine. Find out more about the Baking Parma Food Tour! |
Food History
Filled with local culinary specialties and sold in the food stalls along the coast, the piadina is without a doubt the most famous food from Romagna.
Already known and prepared back in the 16th century when it was considered to be a bread-substitute and baked from one week to the next, the piadina is the focus of many fun anecdotes. The original story, told by Filippo Gandi, is similar to the one told in the film I soliti ignoti(Big Deal on Madonna Street) with Maistroianni and Totò. Gandi recounts how six robbers enter into the house in the countryside one September night in 1839. They searched for something valuable to steal and couldn’t find a thing. Instead they ate the piadine that were left in the kitchen and washed them down with wine.
All stories and jokes aside, there is no doubt that the piadina has earned its place in the gastronomic hall of fame, becoming one of the most loved and enjoyable Italian foods.
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