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1
Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and salt in a wide bowl. Rub the lard into the flour with the fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse, slightly clumped crumbs and no visible fat remains. Add the lukewarm water gradually, mixing until a shaggy dough forms, then transfer to the work surface and knead briefly — three to four minutes — until the dough is smooth and homogeneous. This is not a bread dough; extended kneading is neither required nor desirable. The dough is done when its surface is smooth and it no longer tears when pulled gently.
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2
Shape the dough into a ball, cover with a clean cloth or inverted bowl, and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. After resting, divide into four equal pieces of 120–130 g each. Roll each piece on an unfloured surface into a disc of 25–30 cm diameter and 2–4 mm thickness — thinner for the Rimini tradition, thicker for Forlì and Ravenna. The dough is ready to cook when it holds its shape without springing back and the surface is uniformly smooth.
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3
This is where the dish lives or dies. Preheat the testo, or a very heavy cast-iron flat griddle, over a medium-high flame for a minimum of ten minutes — the surface must be uniformly and intensely hot before the first piadina goes on. Apply no oil or fat; the lard in the dough prevents sticking. Lay one disc on the dry, ungreased surface. Cook for 1–2 minutes per side. The piadina is ready to turn when the underside shows irregular dark blisters and lightly charred spots, the edges begin to lift, and the aroma of toasted dough rises clearly. Turn once and cook the second side identically. The finished piadina blisters on both faces, carries char in places, and remains pliable — it bends without cracking.
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4
Remove the piadina from the testo immediately and fill while warm. For the canonical filling, spread squacquerone generously over one half of the open disc and lay rocket over it; fold or roll closed. The warmth of the bread softens the cheese and releases the pepper of the rocket. The piadina is ready to serve when the cheese has begun to melt at the edges of contact and the flatbread yields to gentle pressure without resistance.