Thick Crust Sicilian Pizza

Servings 12 |Prep Time: 30-40 min | Cook Time: 45-55 min

 

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 packages (1 1/ Tbsp / 14g) active dry or instant yeast
• 4 cups Better Batter Flour (560g Bread / 640g Original / 540g Artisan)
• 1 tsp (5.6g) salt
• 1 tsp (4.2g) sugar
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups (530 - 710 ml/g) warm water (110F)
• Generous amount of extra virgin olive oil for pans
• Additional Flour for rolling

Sauce

• 2-3 c canned tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp (5.6g) salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder or 1 small clove fresh garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 16 oz whole milk mozzarella or DF cheese
• 2-3 c additional toppings, as desired

Special Tools

• baking sheet

Instructions

Preheat and Prepare. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425F. Pour a generous amount of oil into the bottom of  a 12-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheets - the oil should cover the surface entirely.

 

Combine dough. In a large bowl, or the bowl of your electric mixer, stir together 2 1/2c water, sugar, salt, and yeast.  Allow to sit 5 minutes. Add flour. If using an electric mixer, peat on medium speed for 3 minutes. If combining by hand, knead together until dough forms a cohesive, slightly sticky mass, about 8 minutes.  If using Artisan Blend, set aside for 20 minutes to hydrate. If dough seems too dry, add up to 1/2 c extra water  and mix again until absorbed. Dough texture will be slightly different depending on the flour blend you used, ranging from a thick cookie dough/drop biscuit texture, to a workable, sticky dough.

 

Place dough in pan.  Spread dough into prepared pan. If your dough is too sticky/wet to roll out, you may spread with a spatula. If the dough can be worked, you may roll or press it out and place in pan. Spread out so it fills the pan evenly. Some of the oil may leak over the surface of the dough - this is fine!

 

Proof the dough. Let the crust rise in a warm place (90F) for 20 minutes.

 

Parbake Crust. Place crust into oven and parbake for about 35 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.

 

Make sauce. while crust is baking, place the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer together for 10 minutes. Set aside.

 

Top Pizza. Remove crust from oven. Top crust with prepared sauce and cheese, plus any toppings you wish. 

 

Bake Pizza. Return pizza to oven. Lower heat to 350 and bake for about 35 more minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling and toppings are cooked to your liking.

Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving

 

This recipe was was originally published by Naomi Poe in October of 2010. It was revised April 2024. Original photo replaced with photo by De Newsom 2024 (edited and enhanced with AI-assisted photo editing software).