P
Italian · Palermo, Sicily
Sfincione Palermitano
Palermo's thick-crusted focaccia-pizza: a high, soft, spongy-crumbed base topped with a sauce of cooked onions, tinned tomatoes, and salted anchovies, then covered with tuma cheese (young Sicilian sheep's milk), more sauce, and toasted breadcrumbs. Sfincione means 'sponge' in Sicilian dialect — the deep, airy crumb is achieved through a slow, 24-hour rise. Sold from street carts (sfincionari) and bakeries throughout Palermo. The onion sauce is cooked down until sweet and jammy before being spread on the dough; the breadcrumbs provide textural contrast and a toasted crust.
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the dough
500 g
strong white bread flour
Origin · CanadaNot yet stocked in British Columbia
350 ml
cold water
Your own market
7 g
instant dried yeast
Your own market
10 g
fine salt
Your own market
30 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
Your own market
For the onion sauce
600 g
white onions
thinly sliced
Your own market
60 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
Your own market
400 g
For the topping
200 g
tuma cheese
sliced 5 mm thick
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
8
salt-packed anchovies
desalted, rinsed, and filleted
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
100 g
coarse dry breadcrumbs
Your own market
45 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
to toss breadcrumbs; plus extra to drizzle at serving
Your own market
1 tsp
dried oregano
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
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II
The Method
1
Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold water and olive oil. Mix to a shaggy dough, then knead by hand or on a medium-speed machine for 8–10 minutes until the dough is smooth, supple, and pulls cleanly from the bowl. The hydration is 65–70 percent; the dough will feel softer and stickier than a lean bread dough — this is correct. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 12–24 hours. The dough is ready when it has at least doubled in volume and the surface shows a network of bubbles.
2
Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over low heat. Add the thinly sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. This step is where the dish lives or dies: the onions must collapse entirely into a pale-gold, jammy mass with no residual sharpness — if they retain texture or any raw bite, the sauce will never achieve the characteristic sweetness that anchors the sfincione. Add the mashed tomatoes, raise the heat briefly to combine, then reduce to a simmer and cook a further 10 minutes until the sauce is thick and cohesive. Taste: it should be sweet, with no acidity remaining.
3
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Generously oil a 30 × 40 cm rimmed baking tray. Transfer the dough to the tray and, using oiled hands, press it gently outward to fill the tray. Do not force it; if it springs back, rest it for 10 minutes and continue. The dough is ready for topping when it holds its pressed shape without retracting and the surface feels airy and pillowy to the touch.
4
Arrange the sliced tuma evenly over the dough surface. Lay the desalted anchovy fillets over the cheese. Spread the onion-tomato sauce over everything in an even layer, covering the cheese and anchovies completely. The anchovies will melt and infuse the sauce during baking.
5
Toss the breadcrumbs thoroughly with the 45 ml of olive oil until every crumb glistens — dry crumbs will scorch before the dough is cooked through. Scatter the oiled crumbs evenly over the sauce. Sprinkle with dried oregano. The assembled sfincione should show an even, pale-gold crumb layer with no dry patches.
6
Bake at 220 °C (conventional oven, lower-middle shelf) for 25–30 minutes. The sfincione is done when the breadcrumb crust is deep golden and crackling-firm to a light tap, the edges of the dough have pulled slightly from the tray sides and are well coloured, and the kitchen carries a strong smell of toasted bread and caramelised onion.
7
Remove from the oven and drizzle immediately with a thread of extra-virgin olive oil — this is the traditional sfincionari finish. Allow to rest in the tray for 2–3 hours before cutting. Served hot, the oil burns the palate; served cold, it congeals. At room temperature the crumb relaxes, the flavours consolidate, and the crust retains its contrast.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Genuine tuma fresca from a Sicilian producer; salt-packed whole anchovies from Sciacca or Cetara, desalted to order; stone-milled strong flour; single-estate Sicilian extra-virgin olive oil with low acidity.
02
Estate — Young pecorino fresco as a close substitute for tuma; quality salt-packed anchovy fillets in oil; good-quality Italian tinned San Marzano tomatoes; reliable strong bread flour.
03
Market — Young firm sheep's milk cheese available locally; anchovy fillets in oil, drained; standard tinned chopped tomatoes, drained; supermarket strong white flour; a fruity olive oil.
04
House — Dry mozzarella or mild provolone in place of tuma; tinned anchovy fillets; any plum tomatoes; plain white flour blended with a little semolina for structure.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. Pressed dough holds its shape without springing back and feels airy and pillowy under oiled fingertips.
◇Taste. Onion sauce is sweet throughout with no residual sharpness or acidity — a spoonful should taste gently jammy and rounded.
◇Sight. Breadcrumb surface is deep, even gold with no pale or scorched patches; dough edges have pulled from the tray sides.
◇Sound. A light tap on the breadcrumb crust returns a dry, hollow knock, confirming the crumbs have set and crisped through.
◇Smell. The kitchen carries a clear scent of toasted bread and caramelised onion — the signal that baking is complete.
◇Where it lives or dies. The onion sauce must cook the full 30 minutes until every trace of sharpness is gone and the onions are entirely jammy and sweet — a sauce made from under-cooked onions cannot be corrected by baking and will ruin the dish.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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