Originally from the northern region of Emilia‑Romagna but now popular all over Italy, piadina (“little plate”) delivers a moist, tender chew that falls somewhere between the texture of a flour tortilla and that of an unpuffed pita. Traditionally, the dough was made from flour, salt, lard (Emilia‑Romagna is pig country), and water and the breads were baked on earthenware disks over an open fire. Contemporary recipes often call for leavening the dough with baking powder and cooking the rounds in a cast-iron skillet on the stovetop, but the process is just as quick (about an hour) and straightforward: Mix the ingredients to form a smooth dough, let it rest briefly, roll it into disks, poke them with a fork to prevent puffing, cook them until spotty brown on both sides, and eat them warm—usually folded around sandwich fillings such as meats, cheeses, greens, or spreadable sweets such as Nutella or ricotta with honey.
A few ingredients, an hour’s work, and endless versatility? No wonder this bread enjoys a cultlike following (it has even been the subject of poetic verse). I could feel myself joining in the fervor even before I started cooking.
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