Piadina Romagnola: Lard-Enriched Flatbread with Squacquerone and Prosciutto

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add lard in small pieces and rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse, sandy crumbs — about 2 minutes. There should be no large clumps of fat.

Add 130 ml warm water and mix to a shaggy dough. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead for 3–4 minutes until smooth. The dough should be firm, not sticky. If it feels dry and tears, add water a teaspoon at a time.

Wrap the dough tightly in cling film and rest at room temperature for 20–30 minutes. Gluten relaxes during this rest, letting you roll the dough thin without it springing back.

Divide the rested dough into 4 equal pieces (about 120 g each). On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a round 25–28 cm in diameter and 2–3 mm thick. Keep the thickness even throughout.

Pierce each raw round all over with a fork at roughly 2 cm intervals. This prevents large steam pockets from ballooning up during cooking.

Heat a dry cast-iron skillet or testo over medium-high heat for 3 minutes until very hot. No oil, no butter — the pan must be completely dry.

Lay one piadina in the pan. Cook for 90 seconds until the underside shows scattered dark char spots (not black, but brick-red to brown). Flip and cook 60–90 seconds on the second side until the surface looks dry and blistered.

Remove from the pan and hold the piadina upright for 30 seconds so residual steam escapes and the texture firms. Stack finished piadine under a clean cloth to keep them pliable while you cook the rest.

To fill: spread 50 g squacquerone across one half of a warm piadina. Lay 3–4 slices of prosciutto crudo on top, then scatter a small handful of arugula. Fold in half and serve immediately.