Sicilian Pizza, Lo Sfincione

Sicilian Pizza aka Lo Sfincione made with a thick, soft rectangular pizza crust, a rich tomato sauce flavoured with onions and anchovies and topped with breadcrumbs. Learn how to make this Sicilian street food at home with easy step by step photos and video tutorial!

If you've never tried Sicilian pizza then you're missing out.

The crust is thick more like focaccia and it's baked in a rectangular baking tray with the most good tomato sauce.

The sauce consists of tomato, slow-cooked onions a ton of anchovies and caciocavallo cheese.

It's then spread thick on top of the soft, pillowy pizza crust and then topped with crunchy breadcrumbs and dried oregano.

Yup, it's pizza heaven!

Fun Fact: Sfincione comes from the Latin word Sfincia which means sponge. See the photo below that shows the thick, spongey base!

Sicilian Pizza Vs Regular Pizza

There are two well-known types of Italian pizza; the Neapolitan style pizza which has a thick outer crust and then the thin and crispy pizza crust.

Sicilian pizza is completely different, here are some key points that makes it so unique:

• There is no outer border – usually when you make pizza you leave a border around the edge when you add the toppings but not with Sfincione, instead, the toppings are spread out right to the edge.
• The dough is proved twice – regular pizza is proved only once in a bowl after kneading but Sicilian pizza is prooved a second time in a large baking tray with the toppings on so it develops a thick, light and spongey crust.
• No mozzarella – Traditionally Sfincione isn't made with mozzarella, it's made with caciocavallo cheese which is mixed into the sauce or sometimes sprinkled on the pizza base before the tomato sauce.
• There's a thick layer of sauce – traditionally pizza should have a thin layer of sauce so the pizza stays nice and crisp. Since Sfincione has such a thick crust there needs to be a thick layer of sauce on top!
• It's topped with breadcrumbs – Sfincione is topped with breadcrumbs and oregano, so good!

What if we can't find Caciocavallo cheese?

Caciocavallo is a teardrop-shaped cheese made from cows or sheep milk.

You should be able to find it in Italian delis but if you can't the taste is similar to aged provolone cheese so that's a great substitute to use.

Other cheeses you could use that work well are scamorza (unsmoked), semi-hard pecorino or a mild gouda.

How to make Sicilian pizza – step by step

Add the flour to a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, salt and yeast making sure to not place the yeast directly on the salt (photo 1).

Stir to combine the dried ingredients then make a well in the center and add the warm water and olive oil (photo 2).

Stir to form a dough then tip out onto a clean work surface lightly dusted with flour.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic then place in a clean bowl lightly greased with a little olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to prove for around 3 hours or until tripled in size (photos 3-6).

Meanwhile, make the sauce, add the olive oil to a large pan or skillet on a medium heat.

Add the sliced onion and saute slowly until soft and translucent (5-10 minutes). Once soft add the anchovies and stir, breaking them up as they cook. Saute the onions and anchovies for 5 minutes (photos 7 & 8).

Add the tomatoes and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes (photo 9).

Next, add the cubed cheese with a pinch of salt and pepper and continue to cook the sauce for another 10 minutes, set aside to cool (photo 10 & 11).

Lightly grease the baking tray with olive oil and place the dough in the tray. Top with half of the prepared sauce making sure to spread it out to the edges. Repeat with the second pizza (photos 13 & 14).

Cover with plastic wrap and leave to prove for a second time for two hours or until doubled in size (photo 15).

Pre-heat the oven to 450F/230C.

Mix the breadcrumbs, grated pecorino, dried oregano and olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle over each pizza (photo 16).

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, let rest for 5 minutes then cut into slices and serve (photos 17 & 18).

Other variations and topping ideas

Like any pizza you can top Sfincione with whatever you like although we recommend trying the traditional topping first, here are some other ideas:

• Tuna, capers & smoked scamorza cheese
• Anchovies, capers and mozzarella (pizza Napoli)
• Salami or cured meats
• Gorgonzola and taleggio are suited to pizza
• Olives
• Veggies such as artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, bell peppers

Keeping leftovers

This recipe makes two pizzas with sauce so if you don't want to bake two you can cut the dough in half, roll them into two separate balls and freeze one while you let the other half prove.

You can also freeze leftover sauce and thaw as needed. Making a big batch is a great way to meal prep for a later date!

If you have leftover pizza then it will keep well for around 1-2 days or you can freeze the cooked pizza in slices and bake from frozen in a pre-heated oven until cooked through.

Top tips for making Lo Sfincione (Sicilian Pizza)

• let the dough prove for long enough it needs to triple in size with the first prove then rise again in the baking tray for at least 1-2 hours. This will ensure your crust is thick and light.
• When you move the dough to the baking tray to prove, add the toppings at the same time so you don't knock any air out later.
• Bake this pizza at the highest temperature your oven will go for best results!
• This recipe makes enough dough and toppings for two pizzas so if you don't want to use it all you can freeze half the dough and sauce.
• Make sure your baking tray has tall edges at least 3 inches tall.
• After baking, let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
• You can use chopped or plum canned tomatoes or passata (pureed tomatoes) to make the sauce.
• If you can't find caciocavallo cheese you can use aged provolone, pecorino, unsmoked scamorza or a mild gouda.
• If you don't have a 13×9 inch baking tray then you can use any deep baking tray you have make sure the dough is around 1/2 inch thick in the tray before the second prove.

Also if you love making pizza check out our fun and simple guides for the best flour to use and the best tools to use for making all kinds of homemade pizza. These guides are the solid way to take your pizza night to the next level!

More Italian pizza recipes you might like

• Anchovy Pizza with Capers (Pizza Napoli)
• Cheesy Potato Pizza With Thyme
• Quattro Stagioni Pizza – Four Seasons Pizza
• Basil Pesto Pizza with Mozzarella & Roasted Tomatoes
• The Best Basic Pizza Dough Recipe – suited to making traditional pizzas
• Instant Pizza Dough – No Rise No Yeast – a quick pizza dough that makes thin and crispy pizzas

Ingredients

Makes 16 thick slices

For the dough

• 4 cups 00 flour ((500g))
• 1 ⅓ cup lukewarm water ((320ml))
• 2 tsp fast action yeast ((7g))
• 2 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for greasing)
• ½ tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt

For the sauce

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 white onion (thinly sliced)
• 7-8 salted anchovies
• 28 oz canned plum tomatoes (can also use pureed tomatoes or canned chopped tomatoes (800g))
• ½ cup cacciocavallo cheese (cubed, can also use provolone, pecorino or mild gouda (100g))
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Breadcrumb topping

• ¼ cup breadcrumbs ((30g))
• ¼ cup freshly grated pecorino or parmesan ((30g))
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp olive oil

Equipment

• 2 baking trays 13x9 inch

Method

1. Add the flour to a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, salt and yeast making sure to not place the yeast directly on the salt.

2. Stir to combine the dried ingredients then make a well in the center and add the warm water and olive oil.

3. Stir to form a dough then tip out onto a clean work surface lightly dusted with flour. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic then place in a clean bowl lightly greased with a little olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to proof for around 3 hours or until tripled in size.

4. Meanwhile, make the sauce, add the olive oil to a large pan or skillet on a medium heat.

5. Add the sliced onion and saute slowly until soft and translucent (5-10 minutes). Once soft add the anchovies and stir, breaking them up as they cook. Saute the onions and anchovies for 5 minutes.

6. Add the tomatoes and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes.

7. Next, add the cubed cheese with a pinch of salt and pepper and continue to cook the sauce for another 10 minutes, set aside to cool.

8. After the dough has risen, tip it out into a clean work surface lightly dusted with flour and divide into two. Roll each half of dough out into a rectangle big enough to fit a 13x9 inch baking tray, it should be around ½ inch thick.

9. Lightly grease the baking tray with olive oil and place the dough in the tray. Top with half of the prepared sauce making sure to spread it out to the edges. Repeat with the second pizza.

10. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to proof for a second time for two hours or until doubled in size.

11. Pre-heat the oven to 450F/230C.

12. Mix the breadcrumbs, grated pecorino, dried oregano and olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle over each pizza.

13. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, let rest for 5 minutes then cut into slices and serve.

Kitchen notes

• let the dough prove for long enough it needs to triple in size with the first prove then rise again in the baking tray for at least 1-2 hours. This will ensure your crust is thick and light.
• When you move the dough to the baking tray to prove, add the toppings at the same time so you don't knock any air out later.
• Bake this pizza at the highest temperature your oven will go for best results!
• This recipe makes enough dough and toppings for two pizzas so if you don't want to use it all you can freeze half the dough and sauce.
• Make sure your baking tray has tall edges at least 3 inches tall.
• After baking, let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
• You can use chopped or plum canned tomatoes or passata (pureed tomatoes) to make the sauce.
• If you can't find caciocavallo cheese you can use aged provolone, pecorino, unsmoked scamorza or a mild gouda.
• If you don't have a 13x9 inch baking tray then you can use any deep baking tray you have make sure the dough is around 1/2 inch thick in the tray before the second prove.