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This Sicilian-style pizza is made with thick focaccia-like crust and topped with roasted tomato sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice. I mean what is not to like?
Oh how I love pizza. From Chicago-style deep dish pizza to four cheese white broccoli pizza to buffalo chicken pizza. There is just so many possibilities out there.
However I've never tried my hand at a Sicilian pizza until today? So why am I making it? Well I've been inspired but my favorite restaurant in Baltimore - Joe Benny's. I had never even had Sicilian pizza until my wife and I went there about a year ago.
But after one bite, we both looked at each other and just said "Wow!" Yelp calls it one of the best restaurants in the country and for good reason. Not only is the pizza fantastic, but Joe, the owner, knows you by name after just a couple of visits. And believe me when I say we've visited multiple times.
With our love of pizza, I decided I wanted to tackle this focaccia pizza myself. We used one of our favorite pizzas from Joe Benny's for inspiration and put burrata cheese, meatballs, pepperoni, peppers and onions on it. But the great thing about this Sicilian pizza recipe is you can really put whatever toppings you want on it.
What makes this Sicilian-style pizza recipe unique is the focaccia bread as the base, so if nothing else, that is what you need to follow. After that, go crazy with this focaccia pizza.
Jump to:
Recipe Ingredients
- Bread flour - has higher protein content than all-purpose flour which creates more gluten.
- Sea salt - enhances the flavor.
- Instant dry yeast - gets working quickly on rising the dough.
- Granulated sugar - helps active the yeast.
- Olive oil - used for the Sicilian pizza dough to create a nice crust.
- Pizza sauce - use homemade roasted tomato sauce or store-bought.
- Green bell pepper, onion, garlic - adds additional flavor to the pizza.
- Crushed red pepper flakes - gives a little kick.
- Meatballs - take the time to make your own homemade meatballs if possible.
- Burrata mozzarella cheese - can also use regular mozzarella cheese too.
- Pepperoni - slice in strips so you have more pepperoni throughout.
- Parmesan cheese - gives a nice salty/nutty finish.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and add the water and olive oil, mixing with a wooden spoon or hands.
- Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and place in a warm area, allowing it to rise for 24 hours.
- Use a 13x18 sheet pan and pour 1/4 cup of olive oil. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and cover it in the oil. Slowly spread with your hands so it stretches as much as it can to almost fill the sheet. Cover with some plastic wrap for 1 hour.
- Gently stretch the dough with oiled hands so it is just past the edges of the sheet. Then let rest for about 30 minutes and it should pull back to just the edge of the sheet.
- While your dough is resting, move a rack in the upper third of the oven and then preheat to 500°F. Now heat a medium skillet with some olive oil over medium heat and add the peppers and onion. Cook for about 5 minutes and then stir in the garlic, cooking for 30 seconds.
- Reduce the heat of the oven to 450°F and bake the pizza dough for 20 minutes or until golden.
- Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the dough and add the peppers, onion, garlic and meatballs. Top with some burrata and Parmesan cheese.
- Turn on broiler and broil for another 4-5 minutes or until the burrata cheese has melted.
What is Sicilian Pizza?
Sicilian-style pizza comes from Siciliy. Shocker I know. It is called snfincione, which translates to "thick sponge." It is know for a fluffy, sponge-like bread base and is topped with a meatless sauce and covered in breadcrumbs. The original version doesn't have cheese, but I can't have a pizza without cheese.
It is also baked in a rectangle sheet pan and not a circle as we traditionally associate with pizza.
What is Burrata Cheese?
Burrata is an Italian cow milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is mozzarella, while the inside contains stracciatella and cream, making it almost like ricotta cheese on the inside. I love using burrata cheese on pizza but mozzarella works just as well.
Pizza Topping Ideas
For this Sicilian-style pizza you really can use whatever toppings you like. Some include:
- Meatballs
- Sausage
- Pepperoni
- Salami
- Vegetables - peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, zucchini, broccoli, eggplant, etc...
What are Keys to No-Knead Focaccia Dough?
Honestly not much. Make sure you use lukewarm water for the yeast and then after you mix, just give it time to rise overnight. Probably the most important thing would be in a warm area, preferably around 72°F. After the dough has risen overnight transfer to an oiled sheet pan.
However if you don't want to make a no-knead version, you can make the Sicilian pizza dough in the food processor. Just Combine flour, salt, yeast, sugar, olive oil and water in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade or dough blade attachment. Process until the dough rides around the blade and then continue to process for 30 more seconds. From there proceed to transferring the dough to the oiled pan.
How to Reheat Pizza
To reheat the pizza, preheat your oven to 350°F and add the pizza to a pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until hot. You can also microwave, but the crust will soften.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Use Great Dough: Take the time to make your own pizza dough. It is not difficult and you will notice the difference in taste. You can do no-knead or use a food processor.
- Spread Sauce Evenly: You will read a variety of opinions on sauce, but I’m a firm believer in lightly spreading the pizza sauce evenly. A sauce should complement the pizza, but not be the star.
- Use a Pizza Stone: Place the pizza stone in the upper third of the oven. Turn the oven to 500°F. You want to place the stone in a cold oven, otherwise it could crack. The stone holds heat which allows you to get a golden brown crust on the bottom.
- Broil Pizza: After the focaccia has become golden brown you want to add the sauce and toppings and increase to broil. By broiling for 4-5 minutes, you get bubbly cheese and slightly charred edges.
Other Pizza Recipe
- Broccoli Rabe Pesto and Sausage Pizza
- Hot Honey-Drizzled Salami Pizza
- Pumpkin Pizza
- BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Charred Brussels Sprouts Pizza
If you’ve tried this Sicilian-style pizza or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Sicilian-Style Pizza
Ingredients
Focaccia Pizza Dough
- 500 grams bread flour (about 3 1/2 cups)
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 oz instant dry yeast (about 1 1/2 tsp)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F to 110°F)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Sicilian Pizza
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup pizza sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 5-6 meatballs, cut in half
- 1 lb burrata mozzarella cheese
- 10 slices pepperoni
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Focaccia Pizza Dough
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt, yeast and sugar. Add the water and olive oil and mix with a wooden spoon or your hands. It should be sticky, but not lumpy.
- Cover with saran wrap and a towel in a warm place, allowing it to rise for 24 hours. Use when ready.
- Pour 1/4 cup olive oil in 13x18 sheet pan. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet and turn it so it is covered in the oil. Spread gently with your hands so it stretches as much as it can to fill in sheet pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour.
- With oiled hands, gently stretch the dough (to avoid tearing) across length and width just past the edge of the baking sheet in an even layers. Let rest for 30 minutes and it should pull back just to where the dough is at the edge of the pan.
Sicilian Pizza
- While dough is resting, add a pizza stone on a rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 500°F.
- With about 10 minutes left before dough is ready, in medium skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add peppers and onion and cook for 5-7 minutes or until onion is translucent. With 30 seconds left, add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Remove and set aside.
- Reduce heat to 450°F and bake the dough for 20 minutes or until the pizza dough is golden.
- Evenly spread the pizza sauce over the pizza dough. Add the peppers, onion and garlic mixture as well as meatballs throughout the pizza. Add burrata cheese and Parmesan cheese.
- Turn on broiler and broil for another 4-5 minutes or until the burrata cheese has melted.
Notes
- Use Great Dough: Take the time to make your own pizza dough. It is not difficult and you will notice the difference in taste. You can do no-knead or use a food processor.
- Spread Sauce Evenly: You will read a variety of opinions on sauce, but I’m a firm believer in lightly spreading the pizza sauce evenly. A sauce should complement the pizza, but not be the star.
- Use a Pizza Stone: Place the pizza stone in the upper third of the oven. Turn the oven to 500°F. You want to place the stone in a cold oven, otherwise it could crack. The stone holds heat which allows you to get a golden brown crust on the bottom.
- Broil Pizza: After the focaccia has become golden brown you want to add the sauce and toppings and increase to broil. By broiling for 4-5 minutes, you get bubbly cheese and slightly charred edges.
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