Piada dei Morti: Traditional Romagna Sweet Bread for All Souls' Day

In Romagna, the beginning of November brings a special kind of baking. As autumn settles in and the days grow shorter, traditional recipes connected with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day return to our kitchens. One of the most characteristic is Piada dei Morti, a sweet, leavened bread enriched with raisins and pine nuts and topped with almonds, walnuts and more pine nuts.

Despite its name, Piada dei Morti is not the familiar savoury piadina Romagnola. It is a soft, slightly sweet bread, traditionally associated with the area around Rimini and the autumn celebrations held in the first days of November.

Like many foods prepared for All Souls' Day, this speciality belongs to a wider Italian tradition of making particular breads, cakes and biscuits to mark the time dedicated to remembering the dead. The ingredients may vary from region to region, but dried fruit, nuts and sweet doughs are recurring features of many seasonal recipes.

In my kitchen, Piada dei Morti is a lovely way to celebrate the flavours of autumn and keep local food traditions alive. If you enjoy discovering the sweets associated with this time of year, you can also try my Fave dei Morti, traditional Italian almond biscuits prepared for All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.

Piada dei Morti Recipe

Yield: 3 flat sweet breads
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Resting time: Approximately 5 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes per bread

Ingredients

For the dough

• 250 g all-purpose flour

• 250 g Manitoba flour or strong bread flour

• 60 g softened butter

• 55 g granulated sugar

• 8 g salt

• 1 medium egg

• 12.5 g fresh yeast

• 250 ml milk

• 1 sachet vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 tablespoon anise seeds

• 25 ml Moscato wine

• 40 g pine nuts

• 130 g raisins

• 75 g vanilla icing sugar

For the topping

• 100 g blanched almonds

• 100 g walnuts

• 40 g pine nuts

For the glaze

• 2 tablespoons icing sugar

• A little water

Method

1. Soak the raisins. Place the raisins in a bowl of hot water and leave them to soak for about 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly, squeeze out the excess water and pat dry. Toss them with a little flour just before adding them to the dough.

2. Prepare the dough. Sift the all-purpose flour and Manitoba flour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the salt, egg, vanilla, anise seeds, Moscato wine and icing sugar.

3. Add the milk and yeast. Warm the milk until lukewarm, then dissolve the fresh yeast and granulated sugar in it. Pour the mixture into the bowl and begin kneading at medium speed until the ingredients start to come together.

4. Incorporate the butter. Add the softened butter a little at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding more. Increase the mixer speed slightly and continue kneading for a total of approximately 15–20 minutes, until the dough becomes elastic and well combined.

5. Add the dried fruit. Reduce the speed and incorporate the pine nuts and drained, lightly floured raisins. Mix for another couple of minutes, just long enough to distribute them evenly throughout the dough.

6. Let the dough rise. The dough will be quite soft and sticky. Lightly flour your work surface and transfer the dough onto it. Use a dough scraper to help shape it into a ball, then place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for approximately 3 hours.

7. Shape the breads. Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into three portions. Shape each portion into a flat round, you should end with about three piade with this amount of dough.

8. Add the topping. Place the breads on baking trays lined with parchment paper. Arrange the almonds, walnuts and remaining pine nuts over the surface, gently pressing them into the dough so they stay in place.

9. Leave to rise again. Cover the breads loosely with cling film and leave them to rise for approximately 2 hours.

10. Bake. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F), conventional setting. Shortly before baking, brush the surface lightly with milk. Bake each bread for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Adjust the baking time according to the size of each bread and your oven.

11. Glaze the breads. Mix the icing sugar with a little water to make a thin glaze. As soon as the breads come out of the oven, brush the surface lightly with the mixture. Return them to the oven for about 1 minute to allow the glaze to dry.

12. Cool and serve. Transfer the breads to a wire rack and allow them to cool. Serve in slices, with coffee or tea, for an autumn breakfast or afternoon treat.

Notes

• The dough is meant to be soft. Resist the temptation to add too much extra flour during kneading; a soft dough helps produce a tender crumb.

• Adjust the shaping to your needs. You can make three breads as I did, or divide the dough into smaller portions. Smaller breads may need less time in the oven.

• Choose your favourite nuts. Almonds, walnuts and pine nuts are the traditional-style topping used here. Arrange them generously over the surface for a beautiful finish.

• A seasonal tradition. Piada dei Morti is particularly associated with the Rimini area and the first days of November. It is delicious on its own and is also lovely served with a cup of coffee or tea.

• Discover another traditional sweet. For another recipe connected with this season of remembrance, take a look at my Fave dei Morti, Italian almond biscuits traditionally prepared for All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.