Sfincione (Sicilian-style focaccia pizza)
By:
Emily Gussin
Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.
- Published: 31 Aug 24
- Updated: 11 Sep 24
Sfincione is a Sicilian-style focaccia pizza. The pillowy base is topped with a rich anchovy, garlic and tomato sauce, cheese and breadcrumbs. It’s great to make at home as you don’t need the ferocious heat of a pizza oven.
Discover more delicious Sicilian recipes and traditional dishes in our full food lover’s guide to the region.
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Serves 8
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Hands-on time 45 min, plus 2-4 hours proving. Oven time 25 min and simmering time 30 min
Before you start
- When making bread dough in a stand mixer, start on a low speed and increase to medium once a dough forms. If, after a few minutes, it hasn’t come together, use your hands to press the dough together and give it a quick knead.
- When it’s ready for its first rest, your dough should be bouncy to the touch. Press lightly with a finger and the dimple should gently rise back in line with the rest of the dough. If it’s not ready, keep kneading.
- Use a clean shower cap to cover the bowl while the dough rests. It creates a better seal than a tea towel. If you’re resting a tray of dough, an unused bin bag is ideal – slide the tray inside, flap the bag to fill with air, then tuck the opening under the tray to seal. You can keep this bag to re-use for dough.
- To shape dough into a ball, pinch one edge and pull it into the centre. Repeat all the way around, then pinch the pulled ends together. Turn the dough over and use a scooping action with cupped hands to gently lift up the dough and turn it about 45 degrees. Repeat a few times and you should have a tight ball of dough.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 300ml lukewarm water
- 7g sachet instant dried yeast
- 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra to dust
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 8 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
For the topping
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 15g anchovy fillets in oil (drained weight)
- 2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 50g fresh breadcrumbs
- 200g caciocavallo cheese, coarsely grated (see Know How)
Specialist kit
- 30cm x 40cm baking tray
Method
- Put the water in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir in the yeast, then add the flour, salt and 2 tbsp of the oil. Mix at a low speed for about 2 minutes or until starting to form a dough. Turn up to medium and mix for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. (Or knead the dough by hand for 10-12 minutes – it’s soft and sticky, but don’t be tempted to add extra flour.)
- Shape into a rough ball. Lightly oil the bowl, add the dough and cover. Leave at room temperature for 1-3 hours (depending on how warm it is) until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, for the topping, heat the oil and garlic cloves in a large pan for a few minutes over a medium heat to infuse. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook for about 15 minutes or until light golden and really soft.
- Add the anchovies and stir until they start to dissolve. Add the tomatoes and use a small splash of water to rinse out the tins, adding this too. Add the sugar and oregano, then use a wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and use a stick blender to whizz until smooth. Season to taste. In a bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs and cheese.
- When the dough is ready, brush 3 tbsp oil over the baking tray. Transfer the dough to the tray, then pour the remaining oil on top. Use lightly oiled hands to coax and stretch the dough into a rectangle about three quarters of the size of the tray. Cover with a clean damp tea towel and leave somewhere warm to prove for about an hour or until the dough has filled the tray and puffed up.
- When the dough is nearly ready, heat the oven to 240°C fan/gas 10 with a baking stone or large oven tray/baking sheet inside.
- Spread the sauce thickly over the dough, then top with the breadcrumb mixture. Drizzle with a little more oil. Slide the tray onto the hot stone/tray/ baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes or until crisp on the base and golden on top.
- Recipe from September 2024 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 503kcals
- Fat
- 24g (6.8g saturated)
- Protein
- 16g
- Carbohydrates
- 54g (6.5g sugars)
- Fibre
- 3.8g
- Salt
- 2.2g
delicious. tips
At the end of step 2, prove the dough in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
Look for caciocavallo in Italian delis, or use another Italian cheese, such as provolone or pecorino.
Buy ingredients online
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Recipe not fit for purpose. The final instructions to prove the dough before adding sauce did not work and ended up with dough stuck to the damp tea towel. You should offer to pay me back the cost of the flour and the cheese.
Oh no. So sorry to hear the dough stuck to the towel. Some possible reasons from our head of food, Tom: If your baking tray is very shallow or your environment very warm, there could be a chance the dough proves above the tray and sticks to the towel. You could always cover it with an upturned box or large bowl instead. The second prove is key to get the fluffy dough (just like a focaccia), so it’s something that can’t be skipped.