Elaine Cooks

“Palermo Street Food”, but with a Gluten Free Crust

Sfincione is a very popular street food in Palermo enjoyed by locals and tourists, sold in the squares, on carts at street corners and in the city’s bustling markets. Sfincione loosely translates as “thick sponge” and is traditionally a soft doughy pizza cut into squares, sometimes with toppings, such as a tomato sauce with onions, herbs, and maybe anchovies, and then covered with breadcrumbs and an optional grating of hard cheese (We will omit the breadcrumbs for this gluten free recipe!). Sfincione is considered a type of pizza, specifically a Sicilian pizza, that has a dough similar to focaccia.

I grew up eating Sicilian pizza, recognized by American teenagers as thick and doughy “square pizza” (as it is oven-baked in a square tray), not realizing its deep history! Sfincione is claimed to have been created sometime in the 1700’s by Sicilian nuns in Palermo who offered it as a tasty treat and alternative to bread during festivities. 

Sicilian pizza, as I remember enjoying as a teenager, in addition to its doughy and soft texture and thick crust, was topped with gooey, melted mozzarella cheese. Interestingly, as most of the milk produced in Sicily comes from sheep and goats (not cows), this recipe will not include mozzarella or other cow-based products. And so, Sfinzione in this recipe (versus the U.S. version during my teenage years) is different, not only because of the choice of cheeses added, but also because it is gluten free! In this recipe, I’ve attempted to create a gluten free recipe reminiscent of both my memories of Sicilian pizza enjoyed as a teenager as well as the authentic Silician Sfincione street food!

Mangia!

Gluten Free Flour and Mixture – some background

As many current Sicilian recipes for sfincione rely upon gluten-based ingredients, I am offering here my recipe using a dedicated gluten-free pizza flour blend to achieve a similar texture and taste to the more widely available gluten version. This recipe will provide the proper steps to reach as similar a consistency as possible. 

Key points to remember when making gluten-free sfincione:

• Use a dedicated gluten-free pizza flour: Seek out a mixed blend specifically designed for pizza crusts, as these often include xanthan gum which helps to mimic a gluten-like consistency (I like the Antimo Caputo brand, available on Amazon, see below). 
• Monitor liquid content: Gluten free flours tend to absorb liquids differently. I recommend carefully adding and mixing in water until the dough reaches a proper consistency. 
• Add active yeast, and baking soda and/or powder: Allowing the dough mixture and thereafter time under plastic wrap to rise is key.
• Add seasonings: I suggest adding salt, pepper, and perhaps, italian seasonings, to taste.
• Avoid overmixing: It’s never a good idea to over mix any dough, but certainly, in this case, overworking the gluten free dough could lead to a tough, gummy texture, so mix until just fully combined.
• Consider to use Cheese or not: Many sfincione recipes omit cheese. It depends upon your preference, but if you choose to add cheese, I’ve provided some recommendations below.

To prepare the gluten free dough

First, preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly oil a 9×12 baking pan.

To prepare a gluten free dough, I begin with Antimo Caputo’s Gluten Free Pizza Flour (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product). This is an all natural multi-purpose flour & starch blend for baking pizza & bread.

Recipe

• 2 1/2 c. Antimo Caputo’s Italian gluten free flour (see above, available on Amazon)
• 2 1/4 tsp Antimo Caputo’s Italian active dry yeast (also available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product)
• Grated cheese; a firm, sharp spicy cheese is recommended (in Sicily, caciocavallo is favored by street vendors)
• Grated parmigiano reggiano
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to brush the top of the sfincione prior to baking in the oven
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup water, warmed over medium heat
• Have plastic wrap available to cover the dough to allow for it to rise

Instructions

In a small bowl (or large measuring cup), dissolve sugar in the warmed water and add yeast. Lightly stir, and let mixture sit until frothy (approximately 5-10 minutes). Set aside. In a large bowl, mix 2 ½ cups of the gluten free flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and olive oil to flour mix. Stir until combined. Knead dough on a lightly oiled cutting board for 5 or so minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, leave in a warm dry area (consider placing bowl over a heating pad, set to warm, if you have one on hand), and let rise for 1 hour. Spread dough in the lightly oiled baking pan, brush the top with some olive oil, and place in the preheated oven. Check the bread after about 10 minutes and, if the texture appears firm with a slightly golden finish, add toppings (see my recipe for Sfincione tomato sauce, below) and maybe some more anchovies depending upon your preference. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the sfincione has a warm and glistening appearance.

Tomato Sauce

Sfincione calls for a lighter sauce with onions, anchovies and oregano than, lets say, what might go on pasta. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the anchovies and stir, breaking them up as they cook with the onions. Add the tomatoes and oregano, crushing the whole tomatoes and dried spice with the back of a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to low and simmer the sauce for 15 – 30 minutes until thickened. Keep an eye on the sauce as it simmers to avoid it becoming scorched.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, maybe a pinch of crushed pepper too, depending upon your taste.  Set aside. On to toppings….

Additional Toppings – To Meat or Not To Add Meat, that is the Question….

In addition to your choice of cheese or cheeses, further ideas to add to your sfincione may include meat or vegetables (and I recommend preparing your chosen toppings while the bread goldens in the oven – see below):

A note on meat toppings: Traditionally, only meatless sfincione is served to observe the following Christian holidays (New Year’s Eve is also recognized) – and this is pretty much all I recall from my Catechism classes every Monday night until my Catholic confirmation (other than my Our Father and Hail Mary prayers)!:

• December 7 (which is the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (celebrating the eve of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary)
• Christmas Eve, December 24, the night anticipating Christmas Day when baby Jesus was born (also referred by Italians as the Night to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes (“Festa dei Sette Pesci”)), the night before the birth of baby Jesus. The significance of the Feast of the Seven Fishes embodies, among other symbolic references, the seven days it took Mary and Jesus to reach Bethlehem before baby Jesus was born.
• Good Friday, the day of observation of the crucifixtion of Jesus, which precedes Easter Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead.

Below are some meatless topping suggestions:

• Sliced Olives
• Sauteed Mushrooms
• Sauteed Onions
• Sauteed Garlic
• Additional crushed Red Pepper (depending on how much spice you may enjoy)

As Sfincione is otherwise enjoyed in Sicily all yearlong (outside of the Christian holidays referenced above), below are some recommended tasty meat toppings:

• Prosciutto
• Salami
• Soppressata
• Pepperoni

While a gluten-based sfincione may be served hot or at room temperature, I recommend this gluten free recipe to be served warm.

Note: I would not top with ground beef or otherwise anything that could risk saturating (or otherwise over-powering) the fluffy bread.

Buon Appetito!