Romagnola Italian flatbread

Italian flatbreads have ancient origins: it was a substitute for bread for land workers, because compared to ordinary bread, flatbread was more filling and kept better. From the dining tables of the peasants of old, these flatbreads have now arrived on our supermarket shelves, where today it is rightly considered a specialty of the Romagna region. Today we are going to teach you how to make them. To explain how to make the basic dough for these flatbreads we have called on Mrs. Lella to be our chef, a genuine citizen of Romagna - then you can fill and eat them in any way you wish. Please note that the flatbread is excellent filled both with sweet and savoury ingredients, or alternatively you simply eat it instead of bread, perhaps combining it with a lovely, fresh summer salad. Are you ready to add a touch of joy to your dining table, especially when you have guests with healthy appetites who love good, wholesome food?

Combine all the ingredients (except the sparkling water) in a bowl. Mix well until the dough firms up. Now add the water and continue to knead until the dough is smooth. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead vigorously for 10 minutes until the surface is very smooth to the touch. Let it stand for 15 minutes, then work it again into the shape of a salami. Divide the dough into 12 balls of equal weight. Leave the balls to rest, covered with a clean cloth, for 30 min. Now roll out the flatbread: you can do this to a lesser degree and leave it about 1cm thick in traditional Emilia Romagna style, or make them thinner and wider. Now it’s time to cook them: Italian flatbreads, according to tradition, should be cooked on a large clay hotplate supported on a cooker or stove. There are now metal hotplates readily available, which also very suitable for cooking flatbreads. Cook the flatbread for about 5 minutes per side if you want to eat it right away (be careful that the flame is not set too high); if you want to prepare them in advance and then keep them in the freezer, cook them until just done, let them cool and then freeze them. This allows you to finish off the cooking when the flatbreads are defrosted, simply by warming them in a frying pan. These flatbreads are great with meat or mature cheeses!