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Sfincione (Sicilian Christmas Pizza) | www.oliviascuisine.com | This deep-dish pizza is topped with caramelized onions, breadcrumbs and caciocavallo. It is usually served for Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve in Sicily, but available all year long. #sponsored

Sfincione (Sicilian Christmas Pizza)

4.25 from 4 votes

Ingredients  

For the no knead dough:

  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 500 grams or 17 1/2 ounces, plus more for dusting the counter
  • 1 teaspoon 5 grams active dry yeast
  • 2 teaspoons 10 grams fine sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, 350 grams

For the pizza:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 large sweet onion, chopped
  • 1 24 oz Ragu traditional sauce
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pound mozzarella, sliced
  • 2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, I use Panko
  • 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 8 anchovies fillets, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions 

Making the dough:

  • In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water and let it sit for 5 minutes or until foamy.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and olive oil and mix with the paddle attachment just until combined. The dough will be quite wet. Do not worry!
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and allow it to rise at room temperature for 18 hours or until tripled in size.
  • While the dough rises, you can also make the sauce and breadcrumbs in advance.

Making the sauce:

  • In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and butter, over medium high heat. Add the onions and sauté, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown, about 20 minutes total.
  • Add the pasta sauce, the oregano and the anchovies, if using. Stir constantly until fragrant, about one minute. Then, lower the heat and cook for 15 minutes or until thick and rich. Season with salt and pepper to taste and reserve,

Making the breadcrumbs:

  • In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Reserve.

Assembling the pizza:

  • Place a pizza stone directly on the bottom of your oven.
  • Preheat oven to 450F degrees.
  • Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray. Reserve.
  • Sprinkle flour on your counter and transfer the dough to counter. Shape the dough into a ball. Let it rest for 1 hour. If the dough is too sticky, dust with more flour. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Gently stretch the dough to fit the pan. If it keeps shrinking, just let the dough rest longer, until it is manageable. Once the dough has spread to fill the pan, let it rise for 30 minutes.
  • Carefully spread the sauce on the dough. Then, add the slices of mozzarella cheese and top the surface with the prepared breadcrumbs. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 25 minutes, rotating once.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Serious Eats.