Sicilian Pizza or as traditionally called Sfincione, is a thick crust pizza topped with tomato, onion, breadcrumbs, and sometimes hard cheese. Here is how to make it.
Here you can try some more similar recipes, that you can enjoy for your weekend meals or prepare it for your parties – Bread Pizza and Sausage Bread Rolls.
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About This Recipe
The authentic Sicilian Style Pizza originated in Palermo, Sicily, and is often called Sfincione, which means thick sponge. It is a sheet pan pizza where the crust is made directly in a sheet pan.
It has a spongy fluffy base smeared with a sauce made of tomatoes, onions, and herbs and is also topped with anchovies and hard cheese and is baked in a square baking tray.
A pizza’s crust can make or break a pizza. While ordering a pizza, one should wisely choose the crust. Depending on how you like the crust, you can choose between thin crust, regular, deep dish, and Sicilian crust.
Sicilian immigrants brought the Sicilian style pizza to the United States. The Detroit style pizza draws its lineage from it as well.
Traditional Sicilian Pizza doesn’t use mozzarella cheese because most of the milk used in Sicily comes from sheep and goat and not a cow.
However, york style; the version that’s sold in New York and other parts of the US have a topping of Mozzarella. This may be because when this Pizza came to the US, there was a generous supply of Mozzarella in this part of the world and it made it’s way on top of the Sicilian born pizza as well.
You will find Sicilian pizza or Sfincione in all the Italian bakeries or panificios.
Mostly a meatless version of this pizza is served on New Year’s Eve, Good Friday, December 7 (eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception), and Christmas Eve. In the warmer days, it is served at room temperature.
This Sicilian Pizza is,
- Lip Smacking
- Loaded with Cheese
- A family favorite
- Made from scratch
- Perfect for your special occasions
Ingredients
Pizza Base: The base of the authentic Sicilian pizza is usually made of thick spongy dough, consisting of flour, water, yeast, and olive oil.
You mix all these ingredients and leave it for some time to rise and then press it into a rimmed baking sheet or a square-shaped baking pan brushed with some oil.
If you are not making the pizza immediately; you can also keep the dough in a plastic wrap for a couple of days in the refrigerator.
Try my multipurpose Pizza Dough which works great in this recipe as well.
Minced Garlic: I have used minced garlic as it gets flaky and crispy in the oven and adds a crunch to the pizza apart from the superbly delicious flavor.
Pizza Sauce: In the authentic Italian version, pizza sauce or tomato sauce is not used. Instead of crushed tomatoes are slathered along with other ingredients.
I had my homemade Pizza sauce ready and it was a great addition to this pizza, so I decided to use it. It is much more flavourful than just plain tomatoes.
Mushroom and green bell pepper: I have used mushroom and green capsicum, instead of onions or tomatoes.
These toppings are not traditional but taste great. You can even use red pepper or yellow pepper.
Traditionally, onion sautéed in oil is also topped on the Sicilian pizza but I have skipped it. You can definitely top your pizza with some.
Boiled Chicken: Traditionally it is topped with anchovies, but I have used boiled chicken. You can use any meat you like. You can also top it with pepperoni.
Parmesan cheese and sliced mozzarella: In authentic Sicilian Pizza, hard strong cheese like caciocavallo and toma are used.
I have used a mix of parmesan and mozzarella cheese. You can just use mozzarella if you don’t have parmesan available.
Traditionally Mozzarella was not used to make this pizza, but the US version has it.
Breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs are an important ingredient in this pizza. It makes the pizza crunchy and crispy.
Basil leaves: Basil leaves give a unique flavor to the pizza and is one of my favorite flavors.
How to make Sicilian Pizza?
Add all the ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer.
Mix until combined.
Knead the dough on medium speed for 3-4 minutes.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and keep in a warm place for 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size.
Fermented dough.
Pre heat the oven to 500 Degrees F (260 Degrees C). Mix minced garlic with olive oil.
Brush a 9×13 inch rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Transfer the pizza dough on to it. Stretch the dough to fill the pan.
Drizzle olive oil mixed with minced garlic all over the dough and brush it all over.
Cover the baking sheet and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
Remove the cover and top the dough with pizza sauce.
Top with mushroom, chicken, bell pepper, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, mozzarella, salt and pepper.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven. Garnish with fresh basil leaves. Cut into slices and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
A normal pizza is typically round, whereas a Sicilian styled is rectangular.
The crust is thick and spongy unlike a normal pizza, where the crust is dense and thin.
The dough uses more oil than the regular pizza. The crust is heavy and fluffy, and its bottom is crispy because the pan is first seasoned with oil. It’s more like a focaccia.
Also, the Sicilian Style has a lot more tomato sauce than other Pizzas, which can also overtake the Cheese sometimes.
There is a very slight and subtle difference between these two types of pizza.
Neapolitan pizza is always baked in a wood-fired dome-shaped oven. The dough is hand-kneaded into a thin round.
The crust is slightly thinner than Sicilian. Whereas Sicilian style pizza is rectangular and the crust is thick and spongy. It uses more oil and is heavy and fluffy. The crust from below is almost fried due to the oil brushed on the pan.
While Sicilian Pizza has a denser and thicker crust nearing to the Focaccia, Grandma Pizza’s crust is thinner and has a strong flavor from the garlic. Also, Sicilian Pizza is a bit sweeter because of the use of lots of tomato sauce.
No Sicilian and deep-dish pizza is different. A deep dish is also known as Chicago-style pizza.
It is almost like a pie, but not really a pie. It is baked in a deep-dish pan this is oiled generously to get a crispy crust.
The slices can be 2-inch thick. The dough is usually made of cornmeal, semolina, and food color to get a yellow-colored crust. It has a unique texture.
Gluten Free & Vegan Sicilian Pizza
If you are looking for gluten-free and vegan versions, I have covered you for the same too. To prepare the dough, you can use Gluten-Free Bread Flour instead of All-Purpose Flour.
You can skip adding the Cheese as much traditional Sicilian Pizza is prepared without the same. It’s just the US version, which uses Mozzarella on top.
Skip adding chicken, and use veggies such as aubergines, bell peppers, onions and corn.
Storage Suggestion
Sicilian Pizza Dough will for last in the refrigerator for about 1 week. While storing, tightly cover it in its bowl with plastic wrap so that the surface doesn’t dry out.
You can also freeze it in the same manner for up to 3 weeks.
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Recipe Card
Sicilian Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
For the dough
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 1 cup Water
For the topping
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Garlic (Minced )
- ¼ cup Pizza Sauce
- ½ cup Mushroom (Sliced)
- ½ cup Chicken (Boiled and Shredded)
- ½ cup Green Bell Pepper (Sliced)
- ¼ cup Parmesan (Grated)
- ¼ cup Breadcrumbs
- 300 g Fresh Mozzarella (Sliced)
- Salt & Pepper
- 8-10 Basil Leaves
Instructions
For the pizza dough
- Add all the ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer.
- Mix until combined.
- Knead the dough on medium speed for 3-4 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and keep in a warm place for 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size.
Assembling the pizza
- Pre heat the oven to 500 Degrees F (260 Degrees C)
- Mix minced garlic with olive oil.
- Brush a 9×13 inch baking sheet with olive oil generously.
- Transfer the pizza dough on the baking sheet.
- Stretch the dough onto the baking sheet evenly.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil mixed with minced garlic all over the dough and brush it all over.
- Cover the baking sheet and keep it aside for the dough to rise for 30 minutes.
- Remove the cover and top the dough with pizza sauce.
- Top with mushroom, chicken, bell pepper, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, mozzarella, salt and pepper.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
- Remove the tray from the oven .
- Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
- Cut into slices and serve hot.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!