Sfincione

A thick, spongy, bread-like Sicilian tray pizza traditional to Palermo, typically topped with a robust tomato-onion-anchovy sauce, breadcrumbs, and caciocavallo or similar cheese, historically associated with Christmas Eve and festive occasions though eaten more widely today.

• Thick, spongy, bread-like crumb, notably taller and more open than Sicilian-American pizza
• Topping usually applied under, within, or lightly over a breadcrumb layer rather than as a conventional cheese-forward top layer
• Traditionally uses caciocavallo or similar semi-hard Sicilian cheese rather than mozzarella

Hydration

70-80 percent of flour weight (typically 75 percent of flour weight)

Salt

2-2.5 percent of flour weight (typically 2.2 percent of flour weight)

Oil

4-8 percent of flour weight (typically 6 percent of flour weight)

Bulk fermentation

2-4 hours (typically 3 hours)

Ball/cold fermentation

1-2 hours (typically 1.5 hours)

Mixing: Hand or machine mixed to a soft, enriched dough

Kneading: Moderate kneading; the dough is soft and forgiving

Shaping: Pressed by hand directly into a generously oiled tray

Expected crumb: Very open, soft, bread-like

Tolerance: A forgiving, enriched dough relatively tolerant of handling

Calculate this dough with the dough calculator →

• Semolina rimacinata (finely re-milled durum semolina)TraditionalGenerally accepted

  Gives the thick, spongy Sicilian base its characteristic yellow colour and slightly denser, coarser crumb, usually blended rather than used alone.

• Bread flourCommonly usedGenerally accepted

  Provides the gluten strength the semolina-only dough would lack on its own.

  Usually blended with semolina rimacinata rather than used as the sole flour.

1. Press dough into an oiled tray
2. Proof briefly
3. Apply tomato-onion-anchovy sauce and cheese
4. Top with breadcrumbs
5. Bake

Traditional method: Domestic or bakery oven, moderate-high heat

• Rolling pin shapingCommonly usedLimited evidence

  Evenly fills the tray while keeping the thick, spongy crumb intact.

  Domestic alternative: Hand-pressing, which is at least as traditional.

A robust, savoury tomato-onion-anchovy flavour over a thick, soft, bread-like base, finished with a crumbly breadcrumb topping

Served cut into squares, often at room temperature or warm

Cut into squares · Sold by the square or piece

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

1. Sauce: Cooked tomato sauce
2. Melting cheese: Provolone
3. Primary topping: Onion, Anchovies
4. Oil or seasoning before baking: Oregano (dried)

• Sfincione — Palermo's spongy tray pizza with onion-anchovy sauce and breadcrumbs

  Sicily's other tray pizza — a thicker, spongier crumb than Sicilian-American, built on a robust tomato-onion-anchovy sauce and finished with a breadcrumb topping rather than a conventional cheese-forward layer.

Straightforward in a standard domestic oven

• Confusing sfincione with Sicilian-American pizza — sfincione is generally spongier, uses different cheese, and has a breadcrumb topping

• Parent style of Sicilian-American pizza

  Sicilian-American pizza was loosely inspired by sfincione and other Sicilian tray breads, though it has diverged into a denser, less spongy American style.