Piadina (Italian Flat Bread)

Let me just say that this is a recipe that every bread baker should make! It was easy, delicious and can be made fresh in minutes when needed. I needed some flatbreads for a recipe in Tyler's book so I located this recipe. This is a yeast dough that is rolled into rounds and cooked in a skillet in about 5 minutes. My recipe made 8 flat breads. I cooked half for lunch and left the remaining dough out for dinner so they could be made fresh. My cookbook on bread says that these flat breads were served in the Romagna region of Italy in bars where it is usually served warm and wrapped around a filling such as prosciutto and basil. I have used my for the Tyler recipe (posted below), to wrap around salad, and this morning I wrapped one around my scrambled eggs. This is by far one of my favorite bread recipes and I will be making them a lot.

Ingredients:
2 tsp. dry yeast
5 tbsp. water
3-1/4 cup bread flour
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup carbonated water - I used club soda

1) Sprinkle the yeast into the water in a bowl and let stand 5 mins. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the dissolved yeast, the oil, and 2/3 cup of carbonated water
2) Mix in the flour. Stir in the reserved carbonated water as needed, to form a firm, moist dough.
3) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 10 minutes. ***I used my kitchenaid mixer to do this and it turned out wonderful*
4) Put the dough in a clean and oil bowl, then cover with a dish towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch down, then let rest for 10 minutes.
5) Divide dough into eight equal pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each piece to form a round, 6 inches across and 1/2 inch thick. If the dough resists rolling out, let it rest for 1-2 minutes, then continue.
6) Heat a heavy frying pan or griddle over medium-low heat until very hot, about 10 minutes. **Recipe does not say to oil or butter the pan each time, but I found that I needed to do this*
7) Place one of the dough rounds in the hot pan and prick all over with a fork to prevent air bubbles. Cook until golden brown on both sides, flipping it over frequently to avoid scorching and to aid even cooking, about 5 minutes.
8) Repeat with the remaining dough rounds as directed in step 7. Stack the rounds on top of one another and cover with a dish towel to keep soft and warm.

Enjoy!!