Sicilian Sausage Bread or Bignolati is typical of the Agrigento region of Sicily. This savoury bread is a great appetizer for a holiday gathering and makes a stunning presentation!
I have long heard of this Sicilian Sausage Bread or Bignolati as the Sicilians in Montreal originating from the province of Agrigento refer to it. My mother has never made bignolati. The closest thing she makes are little buns filled with black olives and cheese. Once again, this goes to show how Sicilian cooking varies from one province to another within the island.
This is actually my first attempt at making this recipe. I was expertly guided by my dear friend Maria from Imparate cooking school (where I teach as well). It was she who first told me of this beautiful shaped version of bignolati as prepared by her nonna. I presented her with a sample and she gave me the thumbs up!
Sicilian Sausage Bread is served on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve or other special occasions. I decided to share the recipe with you just in time for New Year’s Eve!
Watch my video on how to make Sicilian Sausage Bread!
How to prepare Sicilian Sausage Bread (Bignolati)
Make a pizza dough:
The first step is to prepare a basic pizza dough. This is the same dough recipe I previously shared in my Pizza Party post. For this recipe, I made half the amount of dough.
In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine warm water and yeast. Let stand about 10 minutes.
Add olive oil, salt, sugar and flour. Mix by hand until a dough is formed. Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix the ingredients on low speed for 1 minute. Increase to medium speed and kneed for 7 minutes.
Transfer dough to a large bowl lightly coated with olive oil and turn it once to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
Prepare the filling:
While the dough is rising, prepare your filling. In a large skillet on medium heat, sauté thinly sliced onions until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
In the same skillet, brown mild Italian sausage without the casing until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a well floured counter top. Begin flattening the dough using the tips of your fingers to stretch it out. Next, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large rectangle, as shown.
Evenly spread out the onion on the dough, followed by the sausage.
Roll the dough in a jelly roll fashion beginning with the long end closest to you. Once rolled, I cut off about 2 inches of loose dough on each end shaped the excess dough into a small bun.
Transfer the rolled dough onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Connect both ends together to form a circle. Cut a few slits on the top and let sit, covered, for 1 hour.
And look how beautifully it puffs up!
Bake for 15 minutes at 400F, then reduce oven to 350F and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Let cool about 15 minutes before cutting into individual pieces.
A few tips and suggestions:
- Try spicy Italian sausage instead of mild for some extra kick.
- You can double the amount of sausage if you’re feeding a particularly meat loving crowd.
- Make a vegetarian version with black olives and cheese; spinach and ricotta; or use your imagination and choose your own filling!
- If you’re short on time, purchase a prepared pizza dough from your local Italian bakery and you’ll have bignolati ready in no time!
- Sicilian Sausage Bread can be frozen after baked. Simply cut into wedges, seal in an airtight bag or plastic wrap and freeze. Defrost in the oven.
You’re still in time to prepare some Sicilian Sausage Bread for your New Year’s Eve feast! If you do, don’t forget to tag me with @mangiabedda or #mangiabedda on Instagram and Facebook, and feel free to share this recipe with your friends on social media!
Until next year, my dear readers I wish you all Buon Anno!
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 1/3 cups warm water
- 1 package dry yeast (8 grams or 2 1/4 tsp)
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
For the filling:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced
- 1 pound (454 grams) mild Italian sausage, casing removed
Instructions
To prepare the dough:
- In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the warm water and yeast. Let stand about 10 minutes.
- Add olive oil, salt, sugar and flour. Mix by hand until a dough is formed. Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix the ingredients on low speed for 1 minute. Increase to medium speed and kneed for 7 minutes.
- Transfer dough to a large bowl lightly coated with olive oil and turn it once to coat both sides with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
For the filling:
- While the dough is rising, prepare onions and sausage. In a large skillet on medium heat, sauté the onions in olive oil until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
- In the same skillet, brown the sausage until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
- Preheat oven to 400F and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
To assemble:
- Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a well floured counter top. Begin flattening the dough using the tips of your fingers to stretch it out. Next, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into approximately a 24"x 16" rectangle, as shown.
- Evenly spread out the onions on the dough, followed by the sausage.
- Roll the dough in a jelly roll fashion beginning with the long end closest to you. Once rolled, cut off excess loose dough on each end and shape into a small bun.
- Transfer the rolled dough on the parchment covered baking sheet. Connect both ends to form a circle. Cut a few slits on the top and let rest, covered, for 1 hour.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven to 350F and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Let cool about 15 minutes before cutting into wedges.
Notes
- Try spicy Italian sausage instead of mild for some extra kick.
- You can double the amount of sausage if you're feeding a particularly meat loving crowd.
- Make a vegetarian version with black olives and cheese; spinach and ricotta; or use your imagination and choose your own filling!
- If you're short on time, purchase a prepared pizza dough from your local Italian bakery and you'll have bignolati ready in no time!
- Sicilian Sausage Bread can be frozen after baked. Simply cut into wedges, seal in an airtight bag or plastic wrap and freeze. Defrost in the oven.
Nutrition
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Great even for newbies. Third time making this.
Hi Charlie, so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Indeed it isn’t very difficult at all, thank you for your comment!
Recipe was spot on. Very simple and the end result very tasteful.
Just like my Grandmother used to make.
Hello Bob, thank you very much I’m thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
Haven’t made these yet but the sausage is ready to cook. The recipe I remember added fennel seeds to boost the flavor of the Italian sausage. It didn’t have onions. I’ll try making them both ways to see which I prefer.
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve been searching for it for ages. I wasn’t sure how to spell bignolati.
Hi Skash, you can definitely add fennel seeds or buy Italian sausage with fennel already added. Hope you enjoy it!
Ok I have NEVER left a comment on an online recipe, but I had to leave one here! This bread is AMAZING!!! I’ve made it several times and it’s always a hit. Sometimes I use prosciutto or salami, and I love it with escarole and provolone filling.
Made the sausage today and brushed some garlic butter on top halfway through baking.
I admit I’m not the best with rolling out dough, but this dough recipe is fantastic! It stretched so easily and holds up well with the weight of the filling.
Thank you so much for this recipe! Love your site!
Hello Maria, thank you I’m quite honored and grateful that you took the time to share how much you enjoyed my recipe! It is indeed quite a versatile recipe and you can make it over and over again with different fillings. Thanks again and all the best to you!
I made this recipe using store bought pizza dough and it came out excellent. Next time I will make the dough to see if you can tell the difference Thank you so much for this easy and delicious recipe.
Robert
Hello Robert, yes you can definitely make it in a hurry with store bought dough and I’m sure it was good. It’s always a great option when you want your pizza in a hurry! Thank you for your kind comment!
My Sicilian mother-in-law always made Briolate for holidays. She would make her own dough and roll it out very thin. Then she would Lightly brush the dough with olive oil. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the dough adding a lot small uncooked pieces of Italian sausage (no casing) hot or mild doting the surface like a pizza and then have diced onions and small pieces of potatoes all over. Then for seasonings adding dried basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste over the whole surface then topping it off with more grated Parmigiana Reggiano cheese again. She also added Hot or mild giardiniera doting the surface. Then rolling it up like a jelly roll and placing it in a baking pan for 1hr& 15 minutes at 350 degrees. I’m in my 70’s and I now make this every holiday using a few shortcuts by buying my-pizza dough. Everyone raves about it. If you don’t like it too spicy skip the hot Giardiniera.
Hi Chris, thank you very much for sharing your recipe for briolate. Sounds delicious and I’m sure other readers will appreciate this as well! All the best to you!
You can most definitely tell difference, especially given the fact that home made dough doesn’t have any added preservatives and/or flavoring. It also just plain tastes better.
I definitely agree Nicolas!
Dec 24, 2021- just found this recipe! My cousin in Montreal makes this, and I can’t wait to try your recipe! Our grandparents were from Joppolo Giancaxio – province of Agrigento. I want to try and keep our traditions. Thank you!
Hello Fran, indeed this recipe is quite popular in Montreal! I hope you enjoy it!