Jump to Recipe

Learn how to make piadina bread with olive oil and assemble this classic Italian flatbread sandwich. 

Two piadina Romagnola Italian flatbread sandwiches with tomato and mozzarella on a cutting board.

Here’s a fun and easy Italian recipe you probably already have the ingredients for at home. It’s a bit like our Pizza Dough recipe, but this flatbread requires no yeast and is cooked in a skillet on the stove rather than in the oven. Fill your piadina bread with your favorite fillings, or see our suggestions at the bottom of this post. 

What is a Piadina Romagnola? 

A piadina (piadine plural) is an Italian flatbread sandwich originally from the Emilia-Romagna region. We’ve noticed these sandwiches throughout Italy at cafes and even gas stations. There, they are usually pre-made and reheated when taken to-go. They remind of an Italian quesadilla. 

How to Make Piadina Bread

Piadina Romagnola bread is typically made with flour, lard, and salt. We use olive oil instead of lard. 

A ball of dough for homemade piadina bread sits in a food processor on a marble counter.

Use a food processor or mixer with a dough hook to combine the flour (I like to use Italian 00 flour but all purpose is fine), salt, baking powder, water, and olive oil. 

A ball of piadina bread dough rests under a glass bowl.

Let the piadina dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour covered with a bowl or a damp dish towel so it doesn’t dry out. 

Piadina bread dough is cut into 8 pieces.

Cut into 8 pieces and form each into a ball of dough. 

A ball of piadina bread dough is rolled into a disk on a cutting board.

Roll into 8-inch rounds. 

Rounds of piadina bread dough layered on wax paper are ready to be cooked.

You can layer with wax paper so they don’t stick together. Now you’re ready to cook! 

Piadina Romagnola Italian flat bread bubbles as it cooks in a cast iron skillet on the stove.

Cook the piadina bread dough in a hot skillet until bubbly and browned on the bottom. 

 

Homemade piadina romagnola Italian flatbread on an Italian pottery plate.

Piadina Filling Ideas 

While most of the piadine we found in Italy was filled with cheese and prosciutto, the options are endless. Enjoy them grilled with melty cheese, or cold. 

  • Mozzarella (use Miyoko’s for dairy-free), tomato, and basil. 
  • Goat-style cheese (I love Treeline) with grilled or sautéed veggies (zucchini, eggplant, spinach, mushrooms). 
  • My youngest daughter likes hers grilled with mozzarella only, and dips it into pizza sauce. 

Piadina Italian flatbreads are filled with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella on a cutting board. How to make Italian flatbread sandwiches.

Yield: 8 flatbreads

Piadina Romagnola

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Learn how to make piadina bread with olive oil and assemble this classic Italian flatbread sandwich. 

Piadina bread on a cutting board being filled with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. These are Italian flatbread sandwiches.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)

Instructions

  1. Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a food processor or mixing bowl with a dough hook. Pulse a few times to combine.
  2. With the processor running, add the olive oil through the feed tube, and slowly add the water until the dough forms a ball. You may need ¾ to the full cup of water. Continue to blend or mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about a minute longer.
  3. Knead the dough by hand for a minute or two and form it into a ball. Set under a bowl or a damp dish towel to rest for 30 minutes to an hour.
  4. Cut the dough into 8 pieces. While working with each piece, keep the remaining pieces covered with the bowl/damp towel so they don't dry out.
  5. On a lightly floured surface, stretch and roll the each of the pieces of piadina dough into a 7-8" disk.
  6. Preheat a nonstick skillet (I like a cast iron skillet and use the le creuset linked below) over medium-high heat until a drop of water splashed on the skillet sizzles.
  7. Cook each dough round for about 1 minute, until it is bubbly on top and has some brown spots on the bottom. Use tongs or a fork to flip and cook the other side for another minute longer, until it also has some browned spots.
  8. Remove from the pan and keep warm in a 150° oven until ready to use.
  9. To make your flatbread sandwich, top half of each piadina bread with your desired fillings (see ideas below in notes). Fold over and enjoy right away or grill like a quesadilla.

Notes

Filling Ideas:

  • Soft goat-style cheese + arugula
  • Soft cheese + grilled veggies
  • Mozzarella + tomato + basil

Recipe adapted from New York Times

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 231Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 261mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your favorite calculator. For this particular recipe, nutrition is calculated for the piadina bread only and will vary depending on fillings.

© Marina Delio
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Sandwiches