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Recipe
5 min read
Sourdough Sfincione: The Thick, Saucy Sicilian Pizza You Need to Make This Spring
Sourdough sfincione is a fluffy, deeply savoury Sicilian pizza made with a slow-fermented dough. A proper weekend bake for spring — here's the full recipe.
Photo by Mohamed Marey on UnsplashThe first time I had a proper sfincione, it was from a street stall somewhere near the Ballaro market in Palermo, wrapped in paper, eaten standing up. Thick, spongy base. A sauce that had been cooking low and slow for what felt like hours. Onions, anchovies, breadcrumbs. It was nothing like the Neapolitan pizza I'd grown up romanticising, and it was completely brilliant.
Back in London, I've been chasing that memory for years. This spring, with longer evenings and more patience than I had in January, I finally landed on a sourdough sfincione that gets close. The slow ferment gives the base that airy, focaccia-like chew that's totally different from a thin-crust pizza. The sauce is rich and funky without being heavy. And unlike a lot of sourdough bakes, this one is genuinely forgiving , it rewards you for being relaxed about it, which suits me just fine.
Dough
- 450g strong white bread flour
- 50g fine semolina (plus extra for dusting)
- 375g water, room temperature
- 100g active sourdough starter (at peak)
- 10g (2 tsp) fine sea salt
- 20g (1.5 tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the tin
Sauce
- 3 medium white onions, thinly sliced
- 400g tin of whole plum tomatoes
- 6–8 anchovy fillets in olive oil
- 30g (2 tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Pinch of sugar
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Topping
- 80g caciocavallo or mild provolone, torn or grated (mozzarella works too)
- 40g (3 tbsp) coarse dried breadcrumbs
- 4–6 anchovy fillets
- Dried oregano, to finish
- Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
Baker's Tips
- The semolina in the dough is not just texture , it adds a subtle nuttiness and helps the base crisp underneath in the tin. Don't skip it, but don't go above 10% or the dough gets stiff.
- For the sauce, low and slow is everything. The onions need at least 30 minutes over a gentle heat. Rushing them gives you something bitter instead of sweet and jammy.
- If your bakes keep throwing surprises at you (timings shifting, crumb not quite right), the DoughRise Coach is genuinely useful , you can describe exactly what happened and get personalised guidance rather than trawling through forums at midnight.
METHOD
- Mix the dough. In a large bowl, combine the flour and semolina. In a separate jug, mix the water and active sourdough starter together until loosely combined. Pour the liquid into the flour and mix with your hand or a dough scraper until no dry flour remains. It will look shaggy , that's fine. Cover and leave to rest for 45 minutes (autolyse).
- Add salt and olive oil. Sprinkle the salt over the rested dough and drizzle in the olive oil. Work both into the dough by squeezing and folding for around 3–4 minutes until it feels cohesive and slightly smoother. The oil will resist at first , keep going.
- Bulk fermentation with folds. Cover the bowl and begin your bulk fermentation time. At room temperature in spring (around 19–21°C), this will take roughly 6–8 hours. Perform 3–4 sets of stretch and folds in the first 2 hours, spaced 30 minutes apart. After that, leave it alone. The dough should increase by around 60–70% and feel pillowy and full of bubbles by the end.
- Make the sauce. While the dough ferments, heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan over a low heat. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt, and cook slowly for 30–35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft, golden, and sweet. Add the anchovy fillets and stir until they dissolve into the onions. Tip in the plum tomatoes and crush them roughly with a spoon. Add the oregano, sugar, and a few grinds of black pepper. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes until thick and deeply flavoured. Taste and adjust. Leave to cool.
- Transfer to the tin. Generously oil a 30cm x 40cm baking tin (or similar) with olive oil. Use a light dusting of semolina on top of the oil. Gently tip the fermented dough into the tin and use oiled fingers to begin coaxing it towards the edges. Don't force it , if it springs back, leave it for 20 minutes then try again. It will relax. Cover loosely and leave to proof for a further 1.5–2 hours at room temperature until it looks puffy and pillowy.
- Preheat and top. Heat your oven to 220°C (fan 200°C). Spread the cooled sauce generously over the proofed dough, right to the edges. Scatter over the cheese, then lay the remaining anchovy fillets across the top. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over everything, add a pinch of dried oregano, and finish with a good drizzle of olive oil over the breadcrumbs.
- Bake. Bake on the lower-middle rack for 22–26 minutes until the edges are deeply golden and the base is crisped when you check underneath with a spatula. The breadcrumbs should be toasted and the sauce should be bubbling at the edges. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before cutting , this helps the base firm up slightly and makes it easier to slice.
- Serve. Cut into squares or rectangles and serve warm. Sfincione is traditionally eaten at room temperature too, which actually lets the flavours settle and deepen. It is excellent alongside a cold lager or, frankly, whatever's open.
Why this works
The combination of a relatively 75% hydration dough with a long, cool bulk ferment gives sfincione its signature open, airy crumb. The stretch and fold sets build gluten strength early on so the dough can hold gas as fermentation progresses, without needing aggressive kneading. Olive oil in the dough slightly coats the gluten strands, keeping the final texture tender rather than chewy.
INTO THE OVEN
Want to dial in this recipe? Use the free DoughRise Hydration Calculator to calculate exactly the right ratios for your flour and batch size.
Happy baking! Find everything you need at doughrise.store
Photo by Mohamed Marey on Unsplash