Sicilian Pizza (American-Style)

Thick, airy, focaccia-style pizza with a crispy oil-fried bottom. Sized for a 12x12x1" steel pan.

Best started the day before you plan to bake.

Dough

Total dough weight: ~580g

Ingredient	Weight
Crushed San Marzano tomatoes	300g
Garlic, minced or microplaned	6g (~2 cloves)
Olive oil	14g
Fine sea salt	3g
Dried oregano	2g
Black pepper	1g

Ingredient	Weight
Low-moisture mozzarella, diced into 1cm cubes	225g
Pecorino Romano, finely grated	25g
Crushed red pepper (optional)	to taste
Fresh basil leaves (optional)	to taste

Ingredient	Weight
Olive oil (for pan)	30g

Add 320g bread flour and 7g salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk briefly to distribute the salt.
In a separate bowl, combine 230g warm water, 1.3g instant yeast, and 7g sugar. Stir to dissolve.
Pour the wet mixture into the flour along with 16g olive oil.
Mix until no dry flour remains, then knead by hand for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough will be tacky due to the high hydration — resist adding flour. (Stand mixer: 5–6 minutes on medium with a dough hook.)
Lightly oil a container that holds at least 3x the dough volume (~1.7L or larger). Place the dough inside and cover tightly. Let it ferment at room temperature for 1.5–2 hours, until visibly puffed but not yet doubled.
Refrigerate for 18–24 hours.

Pour 30g olive oil into the pan and spread it evenly across the bottom and up the sides.
Turn the cold dough out into the oiled pan. Gently press and stretch it toward the edges. It will resist — let it rest 15 minutes, then stretch again. Expect 2–3 stretch-rest cycles over 30–45 minutes before the dough relaxes enough to fill the pan.
Cover loosely and proof at room temperature for 2–2.5 hours, until the dough is puffy and jiggly. It should fill the pan to just below the rim.

In a bowl, combine 300g crushed tomatoes, 6g minced garlic, 14g olive oil, 3g salt, 2g oregano, and 1g black pepper. Stir well. If the tomatoes are whole, crush them by hand or with a fork. Taste and adjust salt.
Let it sit at room temperature while the dough proofs.

Preheat oven to 260°C (500°F) with a rack in the lower third. If using a baking steel or pizza stone, place it on the rack and allow at least 45–60 minutes of preheat time so it fully saturates with heat. Without a steel or stone, preheat for at least 20 minutes and expect to add 3–5 minutes to the bake time.
With oiled fingertips, gently dimple the proofed dough all over, pressing down to the pan without fully deflating it. Maintain an even thickness.
Spread about 150g of the mozzarella evenly over the dough, edge to edge — no border.
Spoon the sauce over the cheese in an even layer. A 1cm border is optional if you prefer a visible crust edge.
Scatter the remaining 75g mozzarella over the sauce.
Bake for 15–18 minutes, until the top is bubbling and the edges are deeply golden. The bottom should be dark and crispy — lift a corner to check.
Remove from oven, scatter 25g Pecorino Romano over the top, and let it rest in the pan for 3–5 minutes.
Transfer to a cutting board. Finish with fresh basil and crushed red pepper if desired.
Cut into squares and serve.

Yeast amount is intentionally low. At 0.4% with a long cold ferment, the dough develops complex flavor without over-proofing. 1.3g is hard to measure precisely — a kitchen scale with 0.1g resolution helps, or round up to 1.5g.
Don't skip the generous pan oil. The oil essentially fries the bottom of the dough during baking, creating the signature Sicilian crispy bottom. 30g is a minimum; up to 40g is fine.
The cold dough will be stiff. Be patient during the stretch-and-rest cycles. Forcing it will tear the gluten.
Cheese goes on first, sauce on top. This is the traditional American Sicilian assembly. The cheese layer seals the dough and prevents it from getting soggy under the sauce.
Watch the proof height. With a 1" pan, the dough should proof to just below the rim. If it starts cresting over, dimple and top it immediately.
Oven temp matters. 500°F is the target. If your oven maxes at 475°F, extend the bake time by 2–3 minutes and watch the bottom closely.
Scaling for other pans. Target ~4g of dough per square inch of pan area. For a 12x18" pan, scale all dough ingredients by 1.5x.
Reheating leftovers. A dry skillet over medium heat for 3–4 minutes with a lid on gives you a crispy bottom and melty top.