Pastorio's Piadine (pyah-dee-neh)
Makes 8 to 10, depending on how big you want them
This Italian flat bread is usually made with flour, salt, water and
lard and dry-fried on a griddle or cast iron pan. In more modern
times, the lard has given way to shortening or olive oil, but the old
way was more flavorful. I sometimes substitute a tablespoon of bacon
fat. It is wonderful as a sandwich base for cured meats and cheeses.
It can also be made into a dessert item as described below.
3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons of lard or shortening
1/2 cup warm water
Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the flour and
add the lard and the water. Mix well and knead on a lightly floured
surface until smooth and elastic, between 5 and 10 minutes. Cover with
a floured towel for about 20 minutes. Knead again and divide into 8 to
10 equal pieces. Sprinkle with flour and roll out into a 6- to 8-inch
wide circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Dock (pierce) with a fork and cook
on a dry griddle or cast iron frying pan for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Test the pan with a few drops of cold water. It's ready when the water
skips and skitters across its surface. If the water just sits and
boils, the pan is not hot enough to use. When it's ready, drop a disk
of dough onto the griddle . When cooked, little charred bubbles form
on the dough, it's ready. They need to be checked fairly regularly as
the process goes quickly. When cooked, stack the piadine under a
towel or tuck them into a paper bag so they stay warm.
Piadine can be used as a base on which other foods are piled. In that
case, serve warm with cured meats and fresh cheeses. A salad piled on
it goes well with the chewy, dense texture. Or, brush lightly with
olive oil, sprinkle with fresh chopped rosemary and salt like a foccacia.
Alternatively, spread filling on one half of the piadina, fold over
the other half and cut into two wedges, or sandwich the filling
between two piadine and cut into quarters called "quadrett" in the
Romagnoli dialect. Ancient Roman bread was also cut into wedges called
"quadrae". Fillings can be cheeses, meats like mortadella, grilled and
thinly sliced sausages or whatever else you'd like. Or brush lightly
with olive oil, sprinkle with fresh chopped rosemary and salt and
serve warm.
Or, for dessert, you can spread a thin layer of Nutella or something
like it on half the uncooked piadina. Fold the other half over and
crimp the edges. Cook as usual. Careful eating it, the filling will be
hot.
There's also a YEAST BREAD VARIANT. I do it in a food processor, but
it can be done with a mixer with bread hooks or by hand. I sometimes
roll these disks thicker so I can split them horizontally to fill.
Sorta like pita. But be sure to cook them a bit longer because of the
added thickness.
1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (110?F)
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
olive oil to finish
In a bowl, combine yeast, water and 2 tablespoons of the flour. Let
proof about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of flour, the oil, and salt, and
stir with a heavy spoon to make a dough. Turn out onto a floured
surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour if needed to make a
soft but still slightly moist dough. Shape into a ball, dust with
flour and cover with a floured towel to rise until doubled, about 45
minutes. Punch it down, knead, and cut into 8 equal pieces. Roll each
piece to a circle about 1/4-inch thick, 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
Dock the dough and cook on the griddle as above until golden with some
dark spots. Remove, brush lightly with the olive oil and repeat with
the remaining dough. Roll the bread around the toppings of choice and
serve warm
In a processor, I put the yeast, water and a bit of flour in the bowl
and let them work for 10 minutes or so. Then dump everything in and
run it for about 45 seconds. It forms a ball. The dough should be soft
and slightly sticky. I put it into sprayed bowl to rise. Cover with
plastic wrap. Finish as above.
Pastorio