Sicilian Pizza Food

SICILIAN PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Coat a large bowl with teaspoon of olive oil and set aside.
• Stir first three ingredients together and let sit for 10 minutes, until nice and foamy.
• Place three cups of flour in large bowl and mix in salt.
• Place one cup of flour on work surface.
• Mix pour olive oil into yeast mixture and then pour yeast mixture into bowl with flour.
• Stir until as combined as possible.
• Turn out onto floured surface.
• With well floured hands, knead dough to work in the cup of flour on the board.
• Continue kneading until nice, smooth dough-ball is formed.
• Place in oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel and let sit for 30 minutes.
• Dough should double (at least).
• Use half the dough to form a pizza crust, crimp the edges, brush edges with olive oil and top as desired.
• Bake on pizza stone or ceramic tile at 425 F for approx 15 minutes.

SICILIAN PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Whisk the flour, sugar, salt and the yeast in a medium bowl. Pour the warm water into a large bowl, then add the flour mixture and stir until combined. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil to make a very sticky dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with more flour as needed, until the dough comes together and no longer sticks to your fingers, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Coat an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the dough and stretch it to fit the baking sheet. Brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until puffy, about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Make the sauce: Combine the tomatoes and their juices and the salt in a medium bowl and crush well with your hands or a potato masher. Uncover the dough and sprinkle with salt. Gently place the baking sheet in the oven (the dough might deflate if it is knocked). Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven, top with the sliced mozzarella and cover with 2 cups of the crushed tomatoes. Bake until the cheese is bubbling through the sauce and starts browning, 15 to 20 more minutes.
• Let the pizza stand 10 minutes, then remove from the pan using a spatula and transfer to a cutting board. Let cool 1 to 2 minutes before slicing.

SICILIAN CHRISTMAS PIZZA (SFINCIONE)

Steps:

• Pour warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Sprinkle yeast on top and let bloom. Add salt, sugar, olive oil, and flour. Knead, scraping down sides as necessary, until dough is very elastic and sticky, 6 to 7 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
• Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, until onions soften, sweeten, and turn translucent, 6 or 7 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, black pepper, tomato paste, oregano, and anchovies; mix until anchovies dissolve. Add marinara sauce, rinse out the container with water, and add the water. Stir and let simmer on medium-low heat until flavors come together, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Combine bread crumbs and Pecorino Romano cheese in a bowl; toss together with a fork. Add the reserved anchovy oil and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Mix until bread crumbs are well moistened.
• Generously coat a rimmed 13x18-inch sheet pan with up to 3 tablespoons olive oil. Oil your hands and turn dough out onto pan. Pull, stretch, and press it to the sides of the pan, pausing to let dough rest whenever it shrinks back too quickly.
• Spoon sauce over the dough and spread up to about 1/2 inch from the edges. Add mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture evenly on top; do not press down. Drizzle remaining olive oil on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pizza is well browned is bottom is cooked, about 35 minutes. Bake for as as long as you can without the crumbs on top burning so that the crust cooks as much as possible.
• Slide pizza onto a cooling rack to prevent the bottom from getting soggy. Transfer to a cutting board once cooled.

SICILIAN PIZZA (SFINCIONE)

Steps:

• First, make the dough. Mix the yeast and sugar with the warm water. Place the flour and salt in a mixer with a dough hook, or in a bowl, make a well in the middle and pour in the liquid and oil. Mix by hand for 10 mins or 5 mins in the mixer, until dough is silky. Tip into a well-oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and place somewhere warm for about 40 mins or until doubled in size.
• Tip the dough onto a work surface and knead for 2 mins, knocking out any air pockets. The dough should be soft but not too elastic.
• Dust a 25 x 16cm baking tray with a little flour and place the dough in the centre. Using the palms of your hands and tips of your fingers, push the dough to the edges of the tray. Leave it for 30 mins to rise. While the dough is rising, fry the sausage in a dry pan until crumbly.
• Heat oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Spread the tomato sauce over the base, followed by the sausage, ricotta, provolone and dried breadcrumbs. Finally, drizzle with olive oil. Put in the oven for 5 mins, then turn down the heat and cook at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 20-25 mins, until golden brown. Leave to cool slightly, then cut into 6 chunks and serve.