Ultimate Guide to Piadina
What is a piadina? It’s a delicious round Italian flatbread that is folded and can be loaded up with any of your favourite fillings. It’s a great choice at any time of the day. For example, you can’t go wrong with a breakfast piadina, especially when it’s stuffed with ingredients like ham, egg, and baby spinach! Piadina bread is made from soft dough using wheat flour (typically) and is at its best when handcrafted according to an authentic Italian recipe.
What is the History of a Piadina?
The origins of piadina bread trace all the way back to the ancient Etruscans of western Italy almost 3,000 years ago! They prepared unleavened (yeast-free) flatbreads from cereal flours and water. Later, during the Roman Empire, they valued its practicality and used it to feed their legions of troops. During the Middle Ages, in the region of Romagna in northern Italy, it rapidly became known as “the bread of the poor”. They knew how to make a piadina sandwich, starting with cheaper cereal flours as the main ingredient. In 1900, the famous local poet Giovanni Pascoli sang the praises of piadina and, after World War II, it became popular throughout the entire country.
Is a Modern Piadina Different Today?
The basic ingredients are similar. The first recorded piadina recipe is from 1371 and lists wheat flour, water, salt, and “a little lard” as key ingredients. Today, a good piadina bread might have ingredients such as wheat flour, water, salt, olive oil (instead of lard!), and depending on the recipe, might also include baking powder or milk.
How Do You Make Piadina?
This is how piadina is made:
- Assemble your ingredients, such as flour, olive oil, salt, water, and anything else included in the recipe.
- Mix your ingredients, add water, and stir to form a dough. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour.
- Knead the dough into a smooth ball, cover it with cling wrap, and let it stand for 20-30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into portions and roll each out into a thin, round, flatbread shape.
- Preheat a non-stick pan and cook each for about 2 minutes on each side, until your cooked piadina is golden with dark spots.
How Letizza’s Piadina is Better!
Letizza’s gourmet piadina bread is made from an authentic Italian recipe packed with traditional flavour. We use the finest ingredients for consistent results and quality texture. Our piadinas have a shelf life of 30 days in the fridge and 12 months in the freezer. This provides a convenient option during your busy day. All you have to do is thaw, fill, and toast!
How Do You Eat Piadina?
The simplest tip on how to eat piadina is to fold it and fill it with a selection of herbs, vegetables, meat, and cheeses. You can eat your piadina at room temperature (which tastes great), or you can heat it up in a skillet, then fill it and fold it. Top tip: cut it in half to make it easier to eat.
A very traditional way to eat piadina is with prosciutto (ham), baby leaf rocket, and Italian squacquerone (a fresh soft cheese). While piadina bread always tastes great with savoury fillings, you can also use sweet ones like Nutella in your piadina.
Is Piadina Healthy for You?
It depends on the recipe you use. It’s healthier to eat a piadina prepared with olive oil rather than lard, and it’s also healthier to use fillings such as lean meats or 97% fat-free cottage cheese. If you’re concerned about piadina calories, here are some nutritional facts for an average serving size (80g) of one type of piadina bread:
- The energy in this portion is 832 kJ or 199 calories.
- The protein amount is 7.68g.
- Total carbohydrates are 35.4g.
Of course, different piadina recipes will yield varying amounts of protein, energy, carbs, and fat per serving. So feel free to experiment with different recipes to reach your nutritional goals!
Types of Piadina Meals & Best Piadina Fillings
As a classic Italian street food, piadina is a versatile option for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! It’s fast, easy, and tasty. Here are some ideas for combining different fillings for your main meals. And, if you’ve got a sweet tooth, piadina with a sweet filling is great for dessert!
Breakfast Piadina
What are your favourite breakfast ingredients? Stuff them all in and toast in the sandwich press till browned on the outside of the piadina. Another way to start your day right is to fill your piadina with egg, tomato, ham, parmesan cheese, and baby spinach. Or, instead of parmesan, try it with mozzarella cheese balls!
Sandwich or Wrap Piadina
What is a piadina wrap? Well, it’s the perfect lunch sandwich! You can make a vegetarian wrap with mozzarella cheese, rocket, tomatoes, and onion. Or you could fill the kids’ wraps with chicken, lettuce, and grated cheese. There’s a huge range of lunchtime possibilities for the whole family!
Piadina Kebab
How do you make a kebab? Dice and cook your lamb, shred some iceberg lettuce, slice some tomatoes, and finely slice a white onion. Prepare your garlic sauce, then combine and place everything on a piadina and fold. Place the kebab in the sandwich press and toast until the outside of the piadina turns brown.
Dinner Piadina
If you’ve just come home from work and want a quick and easy dinner, here’s a great solution: slice up some salami and grill it, then grab a piadina out of the fridge and fill it with mozzarella, sliced tomato, and the grilled salami. Heat your dinner piadina in a sandwich press or on a hot griddle. Or, if you’ve got a bit more time to prepare dinner, you could make a sliced sausage and broccoli piadina with onion and provolone cheese. Mmm, tasty!
Nutella, Dessert Piadina
As a dessert, it’s best to think of piadina bread as a French crepe or a pancake! It tastes great with apricot jam. Or you can fill it with canned pear, then drizzle it with honey. And you’ll also find that filling your piadina with Nutella tastes delicious, especially when you top it with sliced banana or strawberry!
Where do you buy Piadina? Visit Letizza Bakery Today!
If you’ve been wondering where to buy piadina bread, Letizza makes it easy for you! Our delicious piadina bread is handcrafted to our original Italian recipe and has a shelf life of 30 days in the fridge and 12 months in the freezer. Perfect for busy people! Our bakery also provides vegan-friendly dough balls so you can shape your own pizza base. Plus, we have two convenient sizes of gluten-free pizza bases so everyone can enjoy great-tasting pizza! You can get them online, and at various independent supermarkets, greengrocers, and delis throughout Australia.
