Sicilian pizza

Sicilian pizza, or sfincione, is a deep, soft, dimpled focaccia with a generous topping of tomato, onion and anchovies.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 500g/1lb 2oz soft wheat flour
• 20g/¾oz fresh yeast (or 8g/¼oz dried yeast)
• 350ml/12fl oz warm water
• 10g/⅓oz salt
• 1 tsp honey
• 30ml/1fl oz extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

For the topping

• 1 medium brown onion, finely sliced
• 45ml/3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling and greasing
• 400g/14oz plum tomatoes
• pinch sugar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 50g/1¾oz Parmesan (or pecorino), grated
• 3 tbsp fine breadcrumbs
• 6–8 anchovy fillets (optional)
• salt and black pepper, to season

Method

1. To make the dough, put the flour in a bowl, crumble over the yeast (or add the dried yeast), then stir in the warm water to make a sticky dough. Add the salt, honey and olive oil and mix again. Rub your hands with oil and knead the dough for a few minutes, scraping any excess dough from the sides of the bowl and bringing everything into a ball. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, then oil your hands again, gently fold the dough a few times, and leave to prove for another hour or until tripled in size.

2. Oil your hands and press the dough gently into an oiled 40x32cm/16×12½in baking tray. Make deep dimples in the dough with your fingertips. Leave to prove for 30 minutes.

3. While the dough rises, make the topping. Gently fry the onion in 30ml/1fl oz olive oil over a medium heat, until soft. Add 50ml/2fl oz water and simmer for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes along with a pinch of salt, sugar and oregano. Mash the tomatoes with the back of a spoon and simmer for 15 minutes, then leave to cool.

4. Mix the grated cheese with the breadcrumbs, the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the rest of the oregano.

5. When the dough is risen, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 with a baking tray inside.

6. Oil your hands again, refresh the dimples in the proved dough, then drizzle with olive oil and spread over the tomato and onion mixture. Lay anchovy fillets over the top, if using, then sprinkle over the cheesy breadcrumbs. Finish with a final drizzle of olive oil and bake on its tray, placed on top of the preheated baking tray, for 45–50 minutes, until the pizza has risen and the crust is golden brown.

Sicilian pizza