Authentic Sicilian Pizza
Sicilian Pizza deserves the spotlight. Essentially a souped-up focaccia, this pizza is just as delicious as it is easy to make. WHICH, is exactly why I've spent the last few months recipe testing this bad boy to bring you the ULTIMATE at-home Sicilian Pizza. I even called up my buddies at 100-year-old Chicago landmark Pompeí to give me some tips. So roll up your sleeves, roll up some dough, and let's get cookin’. 🤘🏼 Adam
Master Dough Recipe
Use this dough recipe for both of the pizzas below (or make up your own.)
Sicilian Pizza Dough
Ingredients
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water followed by sugar, yeast and bread flour. Mix on medium speed until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Cut the motor and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.
- Mix on medium speed until the dough forms into a smooth ball, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and roll it into a smooth ball. Plop the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
- If cold-fermenting, put the bowl in the fridge and allow it to develop for 24-36 hours. Remove it from the fridge at least 1 hour before you want to bake.
- If using the dough right away, allow it to bulk ferment on the counter at room temperature for 2 hours or until nearly doubled in size.
- Drizzle the inside of a 12x18 inch sheet pan or pizza tray with olive oil and rub around the clarified butter. Do not be afraid to use a lot of fat, we’re essentially frying the bottom crust to get crispy, we need plenty of fat for this to happen.
- Press the dough down into the oiled pan and flip to coat it in oil on all sides. Use the tips of your fingers to spread the dough as close to the edges as possible. You won’t be able to get it all the way there at first. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. Stretch the dough out a second time ensuring that it covers the entire pizza pan. If you’re having trouble, allow the dough to rest 10 minutes longer. When finished stretching, cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof at room temperature for 2 hours or until it rises almost to the edge of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 500F at least one hour before you want to bake. Situate a rack onto the middle section of the oven and, if available, place a pizza steel or stone on the middle rack to preheat.
- Bake the pizza dough for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes, releasing it with a spatula from the pan to ensure it isn’t stuck.
- For the double bake, add your sauce, toppings and cheese then bake for another 10 minutes, until the sides are dark brown and crisped.
- For the triple bake, add your cheese. Bake the pizza for 6 minutes then remove it from the oven and allow the cheese to cool. Add sauce and additional toppings then bake a third time for 5-6 minutes, or until colored to your liking.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Optionally, finish with dried oregano, chili flakes, parmesan cheese and a drizzle of good olive oil and CRUSH.
Adam's Notes
- Sicilian dough is very wet. Not easy to work with. VERY similar to focaccia. Does well with a long pan-rise for extra fluffiness.
- Dough is focaccia dough - same as Detroit Style. Difference is shape, no frico, cheese used. A bit thinner, wider and spread out.
Pizza Pompei
This is a take on my favorite pizza from Pompei Restaurant in Chicago.
Pompeii Pizza
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500F. Arrange the rack to be in the center position. Allow the oven to preheat for 1 hour before baking. If you have a baking stone or steel available, set it inside to preheat.
- Bake the proofed dough for 10 minutes, then remove and allow to cool.
- Top the par-baked pizza with black olives, breadcrumbs, giardiniera, chunky tomatoes then sprinkle with hard cheese. Bake for another 10 minutes.
- Garnish with more hard cheese, oregano, red chili flake and olive oil.
Scarr’s Sicilian Pizza
This is a take on my favorite Sicilian pie from Scarr’s Pizza in Manhattan, NYC.
Scarr's Pizza
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500F. Arrange the rack to be in the center position. Allow the oven to preheat for 1 hour before baking. If you have a baking stone or steel available, set it inside to preheat.
- Bake the proofed dough for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool.
- Top the par-baked dough with low-moisture mozz and bake another 3-4 minutes, just until the cheese melts. Remove and allow the cheese to cool.
- Top the pizza with the remaining cheeses, tomatoes and sauce. Bake for another 6-7 minutes until everything is melted together. The cheese should still be a little pale, this is due to the nature of the fresh cheese and will still have plenty of flavor.
- Garnish with torn basil and nice olive oil and CRUSH!
FAQ + Research pics
Which type of pan is best?
The Sicilian pan from Lloyd Pans seems to help the pizza bake into a better rectangle than a sheet tray. It’s also non-stick so you don’t have to worry about the pizza sticking, even though it’s not hard to release with a thin spatula. All in all, if you’re wanting to take on pizza making as a hobby I recommend the purchase of the Lloyd Pan, if not a regular non-perforated sheet tray will do just fine.
Which is the best fat to coat the pan? Why?
I tested Butter, Clarified Butter, Olive oil and Crisco for this pizza. Each has their own stats. Butter leaves the best aroma, but tends to burn on the bottom of the pan so clarified butter is the move. Crisco works well, but doesn’t have much of an aroma and leaves a similar texture when compared to butter. Olive oil leaves the most focaccia-like, delicate and almost brittle exterior that shatters with a nice, light aroma.
My favorite fat to coat the pan is a mixture of clarified butter and olive oil. We get the aroma from the butter without the burning solids AND the delicate crunch of the olive oil.
Which is the best flour to use for the dough? Why?
I tested multiple batches of pizza dough all with differing flours (and flour combinations. The tests included semolina, “00”, AP, Bread and mixtures thereof. Almost everybody said that they liked the straight bread flour pizzas in a blind test. It was the airiest and fluffiest but still had a satisfying crunch and texture.
The AP was a bit denser and the bread flour with semolina was somewhere in the middle. All in all, I didn’t find blending flours to be all that better than straight bread flour.
Par-baking vs. Topping the pizza...
I just like the control of the par-bake. It’s nice to be able to make dough, get it to the finish line, then bake it off fresh when you’re ready to in 10-12 minutes. I also like giving it the chance to rise without ingredients on top weighing the oven spring down. The par-bake is not only more convenient, but it allows for a fluffier, less dense end result.
Rolling out vs. Not rolling out...
Though they roll their dough out at Pompei, I shaped these pizzas by hand and they turned out gorgeous every time. Maybe in a restaurant setting, to ensure consistency and due to sheer volume, a rolling pin is a smart thing to use. In a home setting, your skin mittens are just fine.
The Crumb of this Sicilian-style pizza is similar, if not the same, as my focaccia.
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