Sicilian-American pizza

Developed by Sicilian immigrants in the northeastern United States, loosely inspired by sfincione and other Sicilian tray breads but evolving into its own distinct American style: a thick, square-cut, focaccia-like pan pizza, generally denser and less spongy than true sfincione.

• Thick, square-cut, focaccia-like crumb
• Baked in a well-oiled rectangular pan
• Denser and less spongy/open than true Sicilian sfincione

Hydration

65-75 percent of flour weight (typically 70 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: Machine mixed

Kneading: Moderate kneading

Shaping: Pressed by hand into a generously oiled rectangular pan

Expected crumb: Dense, moderately open, focaccia-like

Tolerance: A forgiving, high-hydration dough, similar in handling to Detroit-style

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• High-gluten flourStrongly suitedGenerally accepted

  Gives the thick, focaccia-like pan crust the strength to hold an open, airy crumb under a heavy topping load.

• Bread flourCommonly usedGenerally accepted

  A widely available, only slightly less strong alternative to high-gluten flour.

1. Press dough into an oiled pan
2. Proof in the pan
3. Apply sauce and cheese
4. Bake
5. Cut into squares

Traditional method: Rectangular pan, domestic or commercial oven, 230-250C, 20-25 minutes

• BallingNormally requiredGenerally accepted

  Standard portioning and resting step before the dough is stretched to fill the pan.

• Rolling pin shapingCommonly usedGenerally accepted

  Fills the pan evenly for the style's thick, open-crumb crust.

  Domestic alternative: Hand-stretching directly in the oiled pan.

A crisp, fried bottom with a dense, focaccia-like crumb, sturdier and less airy than sfincione

Cut into squares and served from the pan

Cut into a grid of squares · Several squares per person, shared

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: Low-moisture mozzarella
3. Primary topping: Pepperoni

• Sicilian-American pizza in a rectangular pan

  A thick, focaccia-like square pan pizza built with standard sauce-then-cheese layering — the same oiled-rectangular-pan family as Detroit, but without Detroit's reverse-layered caramelised edge, giving a denser, more bread-like crumb.

Very achievable at home with a standard baking pan

• Assuming this is the same as sfincione — the American style diverged into a denser, less spongy result

• Similar to Detroit-style pizza

  Both are thick, rectangular, pan-baked American styles with a crisp, oiled bottom, though Detroit's brick cheese edge and taller pan are distinguishing features.

• Derived from Sfincione

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

• Similar to Grandma pizza

  Both are American rectangular pan pizzas from a similar immigrant-community lineage, but Grandma pizza uses a thinner, less risen dough than Sicilian-American.

• Thicker than Grandma pizza

  Sicilian-American dough is given significantly more rise time in the pan than Grandma pizza's deliberately thin, minimally-proofed dough.