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 to smoked pizza. There is just so many possibilities out there.
Inspired by a local favorite restaurant in Baltimore, Joe Benny's, this Sicilian-style pizza has become a go-to of ours over the years. And while it takes some work, you'll quickly realize having focaccia bread as the base for your pizza is what you've been missing out all of your life.
Why This Recipe Works
- Pizza - the homemade focaccia-style dough leads to that perfect crust which is crispy and airy at the same time.
- Gooey - by using burrata cheese, you get that gooey cheesy factor you want with a pizza.
- Flavorful - this pizza has everything from peppers, to meatballs to pepperoni. It's a pizza lovers dream.
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Ingredient Notes
- Pizza dough - while I like to make my own, store-bought dough works fine.
- Pizza sauce - I highly recommend taking the time to make your own but store-bought works as well.
- Veggies - adds additional flavor to the Sicilian-style pizza.
- Cheese - I like burrata for the extra creaminess but regular mozzarella cheese can be used too. Also use some Parmesan cheese for a slightly nutty flavor.
- Meat - take the time to make your own homemade meatballs if possible. As for the pepperoni, slice in strips so you have more pepperoni throughout.
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...
Step-by-Step Instructions
Please note full ingredient list and instructions can be found in recipe card below.
Start with making the pizza dough. Mix together all of the ingredients and cover with plastic wrap, placing in a warm area for 24 hours.
Pour ¼ cup of olive oil to a 13x18 sheet pan. Add the pizza dough and cover it in the oil. Slowly spread with your hands as much as possible before letting it sit for an hour, covered.
Now stretch the dough to just past the edges of the pan before letting it sit another 30 minutes.
While dough is resting, cook the veggies in a skillet with some olive oil until the onion is translucent. As it cools, bake the pizza dough in a 450°F for 20 minutes.
Spread the sauce evenly before adding the toppings. Turn on broiler and broil for 4-5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
FAQs
Sicilian-style pizza comes from Siciliy. Shocker I know. It is called sfincione, 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.
Focaccia dough is quite easy to make for this Sicilian-style pizza. 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-style 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.
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.
To reheat the Silician-style 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.
Equipment
The equipment you use is important to how the Sicilian-style pizza recipe turns out. What is needed is the following:
- Large bowl - used to mix the for the pizza dough
- Baking sheet - you want a 13x18 sheet pan so it is big enough for the pizza.
- Pizza stone - while it's not baked directly on a pizza stone, the stone imparts heat into the sheet pan.
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 450°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 Recipes
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 ½ cups)
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ oz instant dry yeast (about 1 ½ tsp)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups warm water (105°F to 110°F)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Pizza
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup pizza sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- ½ sweet onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 5-6 meatballs, cut in half
- 1 lb burrata mozzarella cheese
- 10 slices pepperoni
- ¼ 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 ¼ 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.
Pizza
- While dough is resting, add a pizza stone on a rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 450°F.
- With about 10 minutes left before dough is ready, in medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon 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.
- 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 450°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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