Scacciata (Tampa-style pizza)

A square, cold-served, thick-crusted tomato pie specific to Tampa's Ybor City, born from Sicilian immigrants working alongside Cuban, Spanish, and German cigar-factory workers in the early 20th century. Unlike a standard Neapolitan-descended dough, scacciata uses an egg-enriched dough that bakes into a thicker, cakey crumb, topped generously with tomato and oregano but comparatively little cheese, and is traditionally served at room temperature.

• Square-cut, cold-served, thick-crusted tomato pie — a distinct Sicilian-Cuban-Italian fusion tradition specific to Ybor City
• Egg-enriched dough producing a thicker, cakey crumb unlike a standard Neapolitan-descended pizza dough
• Generous tomato and a distinct oregano finish, with comparatively little cheese

Hydration

55–62% (typically 58%)

Salt

2–2.5% (typically 2.2%)

Oil

3–5% (typically 4%)

Bulk fermentation

2–4 h (typically 3 h)

Mixing: Machine mixed with egg worked into the dough for its characteristic cakey crumb

Kneading: Moderate kneading to a smooth, enriched dough

Shaping: Pressed by hand into an oiled rectangular sheet pan

Expected crumb: Dense and cakey from its egg enrichment, distinct from an open, airy crumb

Tolerance: A forgiving, enriched dough; the egg is the detail most often omitted by home cooks unfamiliar with the tradition, which changes the crumb toward a standard bread-like texture

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• All-purpose flourCommonly usedLimited evidence

  A moderate-protein flour suits this style's egg-enriched, cakey dough without the extra chew high-gluten flour would add.

1. Press the egg-enriched dough into an oiled rectangular sheet pan
2. Apply a generous layer of tomato
3. Apply cheese sparingly, in contrast to a standard American pizza
4. Finish with oregano
5. Bake
6. Cool to room temperature before cutting into squares

Traditional method: Commercial deck or sheet-pan oven, moderate-high heat

• Hand stretchingNormally requiredLimited evidence

  Evenly fills the rectangular pan corner to corner without tearing the enriched dough.

A tomato-forward, oregano-finished flavour over a dense, cakey, egg-enriched crumb, deliberately lighter on cheese than most American pizza traditions

Cut into squares and served at room temperature, often at gatherings

Cut into a grid of squares · Several squares per person, commonly served as party or potluck food

Less suitable: A generous cheese cover or heavy modern toppings move a pie away from the traditionally sparse-cheese, tomato-forward character that defines this style

Derived from this style’s own structural ingredient data — see the construction order & topping load guide for why order varies by style.

1. Sauce: Tomato pie sauce
2. Melting cheese: Low-moisture mozzarella
3. Primary topping: Oregano (dried)

Fully native to a standard domestic oven and sheet tray; the egg-enriched dough and room-temperature serving are the details most easily lost without deliberate attention

• Treating this as a standard Sicilian-American pan pizza — the egg-enriched dough and sparse cheese are defining differences
• Serving hot rather than at the traditional room temperature