Piadinas (Italian wraps)
These are fun and so easy to prepare. The dough is unleavened (no yeast) and quite sturdy. I start it in the food processor and finish by hand. You need to roll the dough very thinly but don’t worry, it’s a very easy dough to work with, it doesn’t tear and doesn’t fall apart. I use the piadina rounds to wrap around different fillings. Any sandwich filling would do. If you make the piadinas ahead they can be warmed up in the microwave a few second (5-10) to soften again, then fill them and enjoy. You can also serve the bread rounds with curries, instead of chapatis that are similar.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cups water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until the dough barely comes together.
Remove from processor bowl onto the counter, gather the dough with your hands and knead a few minutes until it is smooth and develops elasticity.
Rub the ball of dough with olive oil and let rest on the counter or in a bowl, covered for 30 minutes or more to relax the gluten.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Using a rolling pin roll out each piece into an 8 inch round. It doesn’t matter if it is not quite round or not quite 8 inches. This dough is easy to handle and will roll very thin, almost see-through, without tearing.
Heat a grill pan to very high heat. Lightly oil it and when it’s very hot place a piadina on the grill. Let it cook about 1 minute. The top should start to bubble if the grill is very hot. Lift the underside to check the colour. After a minute flip it over using tongs and cook about a minute longer. Using tongs remove to a serving dish and repeat with remaining pieces.
4 Comments
Hello dear Dina,
What does the lemon juice offer to the dough?
Hi Kathy, nice to have you here and good question. The explanation that I “bought” while researching the piadina post (a while back) said that it gives the dough a slight sourdough flavour. This is an unleavened dough, made without yeast so any help with deeper flavour would be good. I believe that even commercial bread makers add some ascorbic acid to their dough for the same reason. I am sure the recipe works without it. I hope this helps. Ciao.
Love the alternative way of serving sandwiches. Have you ever made this with whole wheat, would it change the nature of the dough, less easy to handle? Do these freeze well, like pitas? Are those roasted red peppers for fillings? Looks tempting.
Hi Dori,these are fun to make and very easy. I haven’t made them with whole wheat and would probably try them with 50/50 first to see how they behave.They freeze fine, just like pita bread. The roasted peppers are one of the fillings I used when making them. The possibilities are endless. I made them as a self serve make-your-own piadina when I had a few friends over. I had a stack of piadinas with various toppings and each person made their own. Thanks for visiting the blog.