Piadina is Romagna’s own everyday bread: a thin, soft flatbread with brown spots that is sold warm in small piadinerie in Rimini, Cesena and Ravenna, and eaten folded around ham, cheese and salad. The dough is as simple as it gets: flour, olive oil or lard, salt and water. There is neither yeast nor rising, only a short rest, and that makes piadina in the air fryer easier than many people think.
Advertisement: The page displays ads and contains advertising links (affiliate links). See our advertisers here.
Traditionally, piadina is baked on a testo, a flat, round griddle made of terracotta or cast iron. The air fryer comes surprisingly close: the dry, intense heat gives brown spots on both sides, while the bread stays soft enough to fold. I fill mine with the classic trio from Romagna – Parma ham, rocket and creamy squacquerone – and fold them together while the bread is still warm.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents:
Why I love piadina in the air fryer
Before I got an air fryer, I baked piadina in a dry frying pan, which meant standing at the stove keeping an eye on every single flatbread. In the air fryer, both sides get colour without any fat in the basket, and I can get the filling ready while the flatbreads bake.
I also love how little it takes: four ingredients in the dough and three in the filling. The result is a lunch that tastes of summer on the Adriatic, where everyone folds their own piadina at the table.
Air fryer, pan or testo?
On a testo or in a frying pan, the dark spots come from direct contact with the hot surface, and you have to keep turning and watching the whole time. In the air fryer, the hot air circulates around the whole disc, so the spots end up a little more scattered and the bread more evenly baked. You set the time, flip once, and in the meantime you can roll out the next flatbread.
My kitchen test: piadina
I tested the piadina in my Cosori Dual Blaze at 200 °C fan, and the sweet spot is 3 minutes, a quick flip and 2 more minutes. After those 5 minutes, both sides have brown spots, but the bread is still soft and pliable enough to fold without cracking. I bake one flatbread at a time directly in the basket, so the 8 flatbreads take around 40 minutes in the air fryer.
With kneading, rolling and a 30-minute rest, the whole recipe takes around an hour and a half, though much of that is waiting time. The large basket in my Philips XXL has room for a disc about 20 cm in diameter. If you have a smaller basket, roll the discs a little smaller so they lie flat. With an air fryer that has two baskets, you can bake two at a time and halve the baking time.
Prick the dough round all over with a fork. This little trick gives the nice brown spots instead of one big bubble rising up against the heating element.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The typical mistakes and how to avoid them
The first mistake is rolling the dough too thick. A piadina should be about 3 mm thin, or the centre will not have time to bake through in the short cooking time. The second mistake is skipping the fork pricks. Without them, the dough can puff up like a balloon and hit the heating element at the top of the air fryer. So prick the disc all over, and if it still puffs up in a powerful air fryer, you can place a small metal rack on top. The third mistake is baking the flatbreads for too long while chasing more colour. A piadina should be soft and pliable, not crisp like a cracker, so take it out once both sides have brown spots, and place the finished flatbreads under a clean tea towel so they stay soft and warm.
How to serve piadina
The classic piadina with Parma ham, rocket and squacquerone is hard to beat, but the soft flatbreads can carry many kinds of filling. Here are my favourites:
- Classic with Parma ham, rocket and squacquerone
- Grilled vegetables and mozzarella for a meat-free version
- Salami and pecorino for a richer, spicier version
- A fresh tomato salad on the side for lunch or a light dinner
- Cut into triangles as part of a platter of antipasti
Storage and reheating
Piadina tastes best fresh, so fill the flatbreads just before serving. Unfilled flatbreads keep for 1-2 days in a sealed bag, and after 1-2 minutes in the air fryer at 180 °C they are warm and soft again. If you would like to stock up, the unfilled flatbreads can be frozen for up to 3 months with baking paper in between. Thaw them at room temperature, and warm them briefly in the air fryer before filling.
Piadina shows that a good flatbread does not have to be complicated. With a simple dough, a rolling pin and your air fryer, you get warm, soft bread with brown spots, ready to be folded around your favourite filling.
Frequently asked questions
Squacquerone is a soft, slightly tangy fresh cheese from Romagna that can be hard to find outside Italy. Use stracchino or fresh cream cheese instead. Both are creamy and easy to spread on the warm bread.
Both are used. The classic dough from Romagna is often made with lard, which gives a more tender flatbread. To try that version, swap the 4 tbsp olive oil for 80 g soft lard.
Yes, but freeze only the unfilled flatbreads. They can keep for up to 3 months in the freezer with baking paper in between. Thaw them at room temperature.
Recipe
Piadina in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
Keep the screen on and follow the recipe step by step while you cook.
Step 1:
Avoid the screen turning off while you cook.
Step 2:
Start the guide and follow the recipe one step at a time.
Cost of the dish
Prices may vary depending on where you shop.
Our estimate is based on average food prices for the current year 2026.
Estimated price for the whole dish:
Airfryer size
All our recipes are tested in a Philips Airfryer 2000 Series NA230/00 – 6.2 L
Does the recipe fit my Airfryer?
If you’re unsure, you can always reduce by one serving in the recipe, or click the 0.5x button.
You can also Ask the AI Chef
It’s easy! Just press the Ask the AI Chef button you see at the bottom.
Shopping list
Ingredients
How to make it
Preparation
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5-8 minutes, until it’s smooth, supple and no longer sticky.
- Cover the dough, and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, so it becomes easier to roll thin.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Shape each piece into a ball, and roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured surface into a thin, round disc about 20 cm in diameter. The disc needs to lie flat in the bottom of the air fryer basket, so make it a little smaller if your basket is small.
- Prick the dough rounds all over with a fork, so they don’t puff up during baking.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 200 °C fan.
- Bake one flatbread at a time directly in the basket at 200 °C for 3 minutes.
- Turn the flatbread, and bake it for a further 2 minutes at 200 °C, until both sides have brown spots but the bread is still soft.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough rounds (5 minutes in total at 200 °C per flatbread), and place the finished flatbreads under a clean tea towel, so they stay soft and warm.
Serving
- Spread 250 g squacquerone over one half of each warm flatbread.
- Fill with 200 g Parma ham and 80 g rocket.
- Fold the flatbreads over the filling, and serve immediately, while they’re warm.
Our notes for the recipe
Roll the dough as thin as possible, about 3 mm, and prick it well with a fork. This gives the flatbread its characteristic brown spots without puffing up against the heating element. If it still puffs up in a powerful air fryer, you can place a small metal rack on top. Substitute for squacquerone:
Squacquerone is a soft, slightly tangy fresh cheese from Romagna that can be hard to find outside Italy. Use stracchino or fresh cream cheese instead. Variation:
The classic dough from Romagna is often made with lard. Swap the olive oil for 80 g soft lard for a more tender flatbread. Also try filling with grilled vegetables and mozzarella, or with salami and pecorino. Serving:
Serve the piadina warm as a lunch or light dinner, ideally with a fresh tomato salad on the side. Portion size:
The recipe makes 8 flatbreads, 2 per serving. If you have an air fryer with two baskets, you can bake two at a time and halve the baking time.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
Easily share the recipe with others:
Via email or on Facebook
Open the recipe on your phone
Scan the QR code with your phone and get the recipe directly on your mobile while you cook.
Author
Airfryerkogebogen.dk
