Pizza Ala Siciliana
Submitted by RozV
Thin-crust pizza alla Siciliana loaded with briny black and green olives, capers, anchovies, and parmesan on a simple tomato base. Salty, intense, and ready in 8 minutes from a hot stone.
YIELD
1 pizzaPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
1 hrsPizza alla Siciliana in its briniest form: no sausage, no peppers, no fussy toppings. Just good tomato sauce, a tangle of black and green olives, a few rinsed anchovies, a scatter of capers, and a shower of parmesan baked on thin crust. Every flavor is salty, acidic, or umami, which is exactly what makes this style so Sicilian.
The secret is a screaming-hot pizza stone. Preheat at maximum heat for 30 minutes before the dough ever touches it. That initial blast is what gives the crust puffed, blistered edges and a cracker-crisp bottom in just 6 to 8 minutes.
Don’t be scared of the anchovies. Rinsed and melted into the sauce, they don’t taste fishy; they just make everything around them taste more like itself.
Pro Tips
- Dust the peel generously with semolina or cornmeal, not flour. Flour burns on the stone and leaves a bitter char.
- Go easy on the sauce. A light layer keeps the crust crisp; too much and you’ll get a soupy center that never sets.
- Pat olives and capers dry before topping. Wet garnishes steam the pizza instead of roasting.
- Slide the pizza on with confidence. Hesitate and the dough sticks. One quick pull of the peel and it lands where you want it.
Variations
- Swap parmesan for shaved pecorino romano for a sharper, funkier finish.
- Scatter fresh oregano or torn basil over the pizza as it comes out of the oven.
- Add thin shavings of red onion for sweetness and crunch.
Ingredients
Directions
Place a pizza stone, baking tiles or an inverted baking sheet on the lowest rack of a cold oven; preheat for 30 minutes to 500 degrees F or the highest setting.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and pat into a disk.
Use a rolling pin or your hands to roll or stretch the dough into a cicle that is ¼ inch thick and 10 to 12 inches in diameter.
Transfer to a semolina or cornmeal dusted pizza peel or inverted baking sheet.
Brush the dough with a little of the olive oil.
Spread tomato sauce over the dough to within ½ inch of the edge.
Distribute olives, anchovies and capers over the sauce.
Sprinkle with cheese. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
Carefully slide the pizza onto th heated pizza stone and bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until the bottom is crisp and browned and the top is bubbling.
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