Sfincione Siciliano is a Sicilian style pizza unlike any other you’ve tried before. Topped with crispy bread crumbs, grated cheese and oregano for a satisfying crunch with every bite!
Let’s talk about Sfincione Siciliano or sfinciuni as it is referred to in the Sicilian dialect. Have you ever heard of it? Neither have I until recently.
But Sfincione Siciliano looks just like pizza!
You might say it looks just like pizza. In fact I refer to it as Sicilian style pizza but I know some Sicilians may not agree with that.
Sfincione Siciliano has a thicker crust (just like a focaccia) and is traditionally baked in rectangular shaped pans.
The sfincione dough is usually covered with anchovies fillets. However, you’ll notice that I did not include any in my step by step images. This is due to a strong dislike of anchovies in my home!
The anchovies (if using) are covered with a fragrant tomato sauce with onion and oregano. The sauce is topped with either shredded aged caciocavallo cheese or grated Pecorino Romano cheese as well as a crispy, lightly toasted breadcrumbs.
This is definitely not your average layer of thick cheese topped pizza!
I’ve probably eaten Sfincione all my life!
I realize that I’ve been eating some form of sfincione since I was born. Raised in Montreal, I’m used to the thick crusted rectangular tomato covered pizza that is common in all Italian bakeries. I think perhaps this pizza evolved from sfincione?
In the case with sfincione, the crisp breadcrumb coating absorbs some of the tomato sauce thus preventing it from becoming greasy and overly saucy. You know the kind I’m talking about! 
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
How to make Sfincione Siciliano (Sicilian Style pizza)
Proof the yeast: Place active dry yeast in a bowl. Warm water until lukewarm and pour over the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
With a stand mixer: add flour and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and combine. With the mixer running on low speed. Pour in the yeast mixture. Switch to medium speed and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
By hand: Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Once the yeast is ready, stir in sugar and olive oil. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the yeast. Use a wooden spoon to stir together until a raggedy dough is formed.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
Let the dough rise: Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for 2 hours.
Prepare the toppings: 
In a large skillet, sauté a thinly sliced onion in olive oil until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute longer. 
Pour in 1 can of whole plum tomatoes which you have crushed by hand. Or add to the skillet and use the back of a wooden spoon to break down the tomatoes. Add oregano and salt, to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a dry skillet toast unseasoned breadcrumbs on medium high heat until lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and aside.
Assemble the sfincione: Generously grease a 10 X 16 inch baking sheet with olive oil. Punch down the dough, transfer to the prepared pan and use your finger tips to spread out the dough to cover the pan. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cover the dough with the prepared tomato sauce. Sprinkle the sauce with grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Top with the toasted breadcrumbs and dry oregano. Drizzle the surface lightly with olive oil.
Bake for 25 minutes until golden underneath and the breadcrumbs on top are crisp. 
Cut into squares and serve hot or at room temperature.
Tips and suggestions:
- Tomato passata (tomato purée) may be used instead of canned whole plum tomatoes.
- In place of aged caciovallo cheese which is traditionally added to sfincione, alternatives include Pecorino Romano, aged Provolone or in a pinch Parmigiano cheese.
- Sfincione Siciliano may be frozen once baked. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and place in the oven to warm before serving.
If you try out this recipe, please let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below. Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later! Buon appetito!
Check out more recipes made with pizza dough!
- Easiest No Knead Pizza Dough Recipe
- Olive and Cheese Buns
- Parigina Pizza
- No Knead Skillet Focaccia Bread Recipe
- Scacciata with Cauliflower and Black Olives
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 package active dry yeast 8 grams
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
For the sauce:
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 14 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- salt to taste
Other toppings:
- 1/2 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese or aged caciocavallo cheese
- anchovy fillets packaged in oil, optional
- 1/2 tsp dry oregano
- olive oil for greasing the pan and for drizzling over the sfincione
Instructions
Prepare the dough
- In a small sauce pan, warm the water until lukewarm. Place the yeast in a small bowl and cover with warmed water. Let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and salt.
- When the yeast has proofed, stir in the olive oil and sugar. With the mixer running on low, pour the yeast mixture into the flour. Mix until combined.
- Switch to medium speed and knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. If necessary, knead by hand for a few minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover in plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk, about two hours.
Prepare the sauce
- Meanwhile prepare the toppings. Heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet and sauté the onions until golden, about five minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook two minutes longer.
- Add the peeled tomatoes and break them down with a wooden spoon. Stir in the oregano and salt, to taste. Lower to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
- Toast the bread crumbs in a dry pan on medium heat until lightly browned, about two minutes. Set aside.
To assemble and bake
- When the dough has risen, oil a 10x16 inch baking sheet generously. Using your finger tips, stretch out the dough to cover the entire pan. Cover with a tea towel and let sit 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. If using, distribute anchovy fillets evenly over the dough. Cover with the prepared tomato sauce. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the sauce, then cover with toasted breadcrumbs. Sprinkle with oregano and lightly drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake for 25 minutes until the bottom is browned and the breadcrumbs are crisp. Cut into squares and serve hot or cold.
Notes
- The dough for sfincione may be prepared by hand. Check out the full post with step by step images on how to make the dough without a stand mixer.
- Tomato passata (tomato purée) may be used instead of canned whole plum tomatoes.
- In place of aged caciovallo cheese which is traditionally added to sfincione, alternatives include Pecorino Romano, aged Provolone or in a pinch Parmigiano cheese.
- Sfincione Siciliano may be frozen once baked. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and place in the oven to warm before serving.
- Please note that the nutritional information provided may vary according to exact portion size and ingredients used.
Nutrition
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Awesome recipe! Having lived in Montreal for many years, I know those delicious rectangular Italian bakery Pizzas very well. Definitely brings back memories. My mother is from Siracusa, Sicily and I try to go back there at least once a year. Your recipes bring me great joy in the meantime.
Hi Elisa, thank you for your kind feedback! So kind of you!
Absolutely delicious, hands down!!! & just what my partner from Montreal remembers. He too ate this style of pizza bread his entire childhood & dreamed of the day when I could find this gem/one of a kind – homemade recipe.
Thank you so much for sharing this! You ROCK!!
You have made him one happy guy! 👍🏼☺️
Especially during Covid, when these recipes matter more than ever.
ECL -appreciative in Rocky Mountain Foothills of Alberta👌🏿🇨🇦
Hi Eva, so thrilled to hear you enjoyed it! It is a unique topping that works so well, so flavorful. I’m glad to know your partner enjoyed it as well. Keep on cooking!
Hi there, I am also Sicilian. My parents came from Castella Mare Del Golfo. I also managed to make a trip there. It is a very beautiful Island. My mother also was a very good cook and baked very well. She didn’t bake all recipes, whatever she baked was outstanding. She also made fig cookies, but did a bit of art work w/ hers. Whatever fig cookies I see on line don’t compare to how she made them. The ones on line just look like fig newtons loaded down w/ white icing that to me would kill out the the taste of the figs.and becomes very unhealthy.
Also she made her own pizzas Sicilian style with onions and anchovies. Been looking for a recipe for it and am glad I found you today. I plan to try this one out.
I see you are looking for a black bake pan like they use in Italian restaurants. I thought I would google for you and see what I could find, and voila! there it was.
You need to type in lionsdeal.com It is a 16+16″ black pizza pan. The product code is SPP1616 Am hoping that is what you are looking for, they call it a Sicilian pizza pan. A lot of time has lapsed since lost my mother.. I am 92 yrs. old and still love to bake the foods and goodies she did. Hope you enjoyed your last trip to Sicily. Mary
Hello Mary, I definitely know where Castella Mare del Golfo is! Indeed it is a very beautiful island and I can’t wait to get back there. Although I have never made those fig cookies before, I know of the fig newton type you are talking about. I must try making the authentic ones one day. Yes, I am looking for that pizza pan! I so regret not purchasing one when I was in the Puglia region. But I will check out this website. Thank you, I appreciate you doing this research!
Can’t wait to try. When I was young use to get pizza at Reliable Bakery in Brooklyn ( still there but no longer make pizza in the 1950s the pies were mad in the big black pans. They made anchovy pizza and later mozzarella and later they combined if you wanted. It was the best I ever ate.
Have you heard of them, if yes is there anywhere that still makes something close and do they ship. In my late 70 s. And ranking out of time.
Hello Barry, I actually dream of getting my hands on one of those black pans. Still searching! I have not heard of this bakery as I am from Canada but it sounds amazing. Unfortunately I don’t know of any places that ship sfincione but I do invite you to try out my recipe, it’s really not that difficult. Let me know if you do and thanks for reaching out to me!
I grew up in Montreal too, eating pizza from the Italian bakeries. But then my family moved West to Toronto and then to Red Deer, Alberta. Unfortunately they don’t make the same pizza at the Italian bakeries in Edmonton where I live now. So we either import it with relatives coming for a visit (lots of jokes about flying on the plane with pizza in your carry on) or we attempt to make it ourselves. I will have to try this recipe!
I totally understand what you mean, I’ve heard this from other friends who have moved away from Montreal. There’s just something about Montreal bakery pizza! I think you’ll enjoy this sfincione, the onions elevate it to a whole new level, and then there are the crispy breadcrumbs on top. Hope you enjoy it and thanks for stopping by my blog!
Can 14 oz of diced peeled tomatoes be substituted for whole tomatoes in this recipe?
Hi Vincent, you can definitely substitute peeled tomatoes in this recipe without affecting the final result. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Thanks for providing such a nice information
Hi Kavita, it’s my pleasure! Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Hi Nadia,
I have just discovered your website and I love it! There are a few recipes I’d like to try,
I was wondering if you have a recipe for stuffed baked eggplant and/or zucchini.
Thank you.
Hi Maria, thank you, how kind of you! Unfortunately at the moment I don’t have a recipe for those but they’re definitely on my to do list! I do have a recipe for eggplant parmigiana as well as baked eggplant with potatoes in tomato sauce. Thanks for your comment!
Hi Maria, how silly of me to forget that I have a recipe for my mom’s best stuffed peppers in the blog as well!
Hi Nadia!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!! My grandfather used to make this all of the time! Unfortunately, I was unable to get his recipe before he passed. So excited to make this tonight! Would it be okay to substitute instant yeast for active dry?
Best Wishes
Samantha
Hello Samantha, you’re very welcome! You can definitely use instant yeast for this recipe, no problem at all. Hope you enjoy it and stay well!
Hi Samantha,
I read your comment about your Grandpa making this pizza. Well that’s my experience also. I’ve been making this for years except I bought my dough
at the Italian bakery. Next time I’m going to make the dough myself. It does
bring back warm memories though! Good Luck!
Virginia
Hi! I’ve grown up eating this as our Christmas tradition. My grandpa makes it every year! I tried your dough recipe twice but I think I am doing something wrong. Please help! My crust is bubbling and turns out very tall instead of flat and dense as it should be, and like your photos. The edges end up huge! How can I fix this?
Hi Domenica, by your description it sounds quite good! This is a focaccia type dough so it will double and be a bit taller than a regular pizza. However, it may also depend on what size of pan you are using? Perhaps you can try a larger pan so that it will spread out and not become as tall when you bake it. It’s hard to say since I have not seen your dough but I hope this can help!
Love reading your recipes and hearing about your mother’s experiences. Makes me think of my grandmother. She was from Sicily and has been been with our Lord for some time now. She always made the cuccidati at Christmas and has become a favorite of the family’s since as far back as I can remember. I don’t ever recall her making the pignolata but my next door neighbor from Italy did and always sent us over some. Our family always tries to do the cuccidati and they come out fine, but not like hers. But we at lest have the memories of hers and her little coffee pot she always made her coffee in. I may just give pignolata a try. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Arlene, thank you so much I appreciate your kind words! It’s interesting to see how much Sicilian cuisine varies from one province to another. For example, my family has never made cuccidati but I have tasted them and they’re wonderful. In my family, my aunt made pignolata each year for Christmas. Unfortunately we did not get the recipe from her before she passed away and so this recipe came from my cousin in Sicily. Hope you enjoy it, let me kow how it turns out!
Thank you for posting this recipe. Since my mom got sick, I’ve been wanting to make this, but so afraid it wouldn’t be like her’s. I think I’ll try now.
You’re welcome Tina, hope you give it a try and please let me know how it turns out. Sending you positive vibes for your mother!
Thank you for sharing such sacred family recipes. I just prayed for her and you and will honor these recipes that you have so kindly shared. God bless you. Brenda DiCocco.
Hi Brenda, thank you very much for your kind comment! It is my mission to preserve these precious recipes that would otherwise be lost one day and I’m so glad to hear that you appreciate this as well. Have a great day!