Sicilian Pizza – the Sicilian Way

Have you ever been to Sicily? The first time I visited Sicily, I knew nothing about the place outside of it being the island in the south being kicked by the boot of mainland Italy. This was before I had ever watched “The Godfather” and was right at the beginning of my pizza career. I had no clue about the different styles of pizza – let alone the impact simple things could have on food culture.

Sicily, to me, is one of the meccas of street food, and Sicilian-style pizza as we know it today got its humble beginnings among the simple people. Nowadays, when you see Sicilian-style pizza on a menu, it generally means a thick-crust pizza made in a rectangular pan cut into square slices. Beyond that, the range and application of toppings varies just as much as any other pizza style. Like other styles, the line between bread and Sicilian “pizza” has blurred tremendously, with techniques associated with other pizza styles blended into it. That said, Sicilian pizza traces its inception back to sfincione.

Sfincione, meaning “soft sponge,” is one of the OG street foods found in Sicily’s capital city, Palermo. It is topped with tomato sauce and a mixture of cacciocavallo cheese, breadcrumbs, anchovies, onions, olive oil, salt and oregano. Sfincione is easily found all over Palermo with different variations existing outside the capital city. Mozzarella did not find its way onto Sicilian-style pizza until it left the homeland. Mozzarella is not a cheese traditionally associated with Sicily since cows and water buffalo are not generally found on the island. Instead, sheep’s milk and goat’s milk cheeses are more common. It is hard for me to call sfincione “pizza,” in that it is something unique unto itself. Just how focaccia is focaccia no matter what’s on top, sfincione is in its own category with Sicilian-style pizza evolving from it.

When I first started thinking about Sicilian-style pizza and how to define it, I knew I would have to go to two masters of the style. Their names have become synonymous with Sicilian-style pizza, and their versions of this pan style wows everyone when they try it. Chris Decker and John Arena have developed a five-day fermented Sicilian that incorporates freezing to help additional moisture evaporate out of the dough, adding to the crispy final texture. When speaking with both Chris and John, they described their Sicilian pizza as “looking like a brick but feels like a feather.” Sicilian pizza typically is one of the thickest of the pan styles. It normally has a crispy bottom, is ¾ to a full inch in thickness and has a moderately open crumb structure. It can be confusing to talk about the interior crumb because the trend right now is big, open structure. Sicilians tend to have a more closed structure with many smaller bubbles as opposed to large, sporadic bubbles as in Roman-style pizza and even some versions of focaccia.

Sicilians land between focaccia and the Roman pan style in that focaccia is very closely related to the Sicilian in its original form. Roman techniques and flours have begun to creep into the Sicilian style, turning it into a sort of hybrid. Roman can take upwards of three days and have a high hydration leading to a very thin, crispy crust with a very large and airy open crumb structure. Since a lot of toppings are put on after the cooking process in Roman pans, it makes sense to have a large, open crumb structure. The Sicilian style is meant to carry a heavier, wetter ingredient load, so having a spongier texture that can hold everything without deflating it is ideal. Using long and controlled fermentation times – as Chris and John do – give the Sicilian a lightness to the interior.

Hydrations into the 70s and above are more common with Roman styles and breads, although they can be found with some Sicilians. When it comes to higher hydrations, cook temps and whether doughs are topped and baked from raw – or par-baked then topped and cooked – lends to very different finished products. The debate over par bakes or cooked form raw extends into Sicilians. For those looking for a slight crisp and a very soft interior, cooking from raw will give you that texture – albeit a longer cook time. Par baking is going to give you a soft interior, but the double bake is going to cook out more of the moisture, giving you a firmer outer crust. If you are making a New York-style dough that is cooked in a 500-550 F oven, the same dough can be used for a Sicilian.

Incorporating Sicilians into an operation is fairly easy, although time is going to be your biggest factor. Sicilians require a rising period after they’ve been pushed into the pan – and then a second period if they require an additional stretch to get the dough into the corners. This double-rise process as well as large quantities can take hours. Adding this into an operation could mean the addition of new equipment like a proofing cabinet and pans as well as an extra prep person on payroll. Although it may sound like a lot of work, Sicilians are one of the best pizzas for takeaway and delivery as they reheat impeccably and don’t become soggy as quickly as thinner pizzas. Sicilians also are a great catering style, as they can be par-baked in advance and transported to a site without worrying about your dough overproofing or having been mishandled.

The Sicilian style is one with a deep-rooted history but one that has evolved many times since its beginnings in the United States. I imagine it will continue to evolve as trends change, but the origins of the style make it worth traveling to Sicily.

LAURA MEYER is owner of Pizzeria da Laura in Berkeley, California.

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