This sourdough Sicilian pizza recipe yields two 9×13″ pans of New York-style, square, Sicilian pizza that you can bake in your home oven. The bottom and edges of the crust are crunchy, and even though the pizza looks heavy, the crust feels light and airy. Since it’s so easy to make at home, this might become a regular pizza-night recipe for you.

Why This Recipe Works

Unlike the large, round, New York-style pizzas with huge triangular slices, rectangular “Sicilian” pizzas (New York’s lesser-known pizza style) can easily be baked in a home oven. There’s no need for a pizza stone or extra large pizza oven.

Also, the crust for this style of pizza is made in a very similar way to focaccia, so if you can make something like my simple sourdough focaccia, you can easily make this sourdough Sicilian pizza.

What Type of Pan to Use

You can use any of the following pans to make this Sourdough Sicilian Pizza:

A basic 9×13″ metal baking sheet
My favorite non-stick 9×13″ cake pan

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Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients: The Main Dough

Bread Flour: Any brand of white bread flour will work fine. I used King Arthur bread flour which is around 13% protein.
Sourdough Starter: You’ll need a 100% hydration sourdough starter for this recipe (fed with equal parts water and flour by weight).
Water: It’s best to use filtered tap water or bottled spring water for this bread dough.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: I used a standard extra virgin olive oil for this recipe. The amount of oil in this recipe is relatively low, so the distinctive olive oil flavor is not too noticeable.
Salt: I used Kosher salt for this recipe, but sea salt or plain table salt will work just as well.

Ingredients: The All-Purpose Cooked Pizza Sauce

Whole Peeled Tomatoes: Use a can of high-quality whole peeled tomatoes for this recipe. I prefer the Cento brand of “San Marzano” whole peeled tomatoes – the organic and conventional varieties both taste great. Bianco di Napoli whole peeled tomatoes are a good choice too.
Fresh Garlic: Grating a whole clove of garlic gives this cooked pizza sauce a warm garlic flavor.
Dried Oregano: I used standard dried Italian oregano for this pizza sauce.
White Sugar: This brings a touch of sweetness to the cooked pizza sauce.
Salt: I used Kosher salt for this recipe, but sea salt or plain table salt will work just as well.

Ingredients: The Toppings

Low-Moisture Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese: I recommend shredding a block of whole milk mozzarella cheese instead of the more common “part-skim” mozzarella cheese. The whole milk variety is stretchier and creamier than the part-skim variety.
Pecorino Romano Cheese: Hard cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano work great for this recipe. For the best texture, grate the cheese yourself with the smallest holes of a cheese grater. You can grate it beforehand or grate it directly on top of the pizza.
Basil: I used fresh basil leaves to top my plain cheese sourdough Sicilian pizza.
Any Other Toppings That You Want

Note: Check recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and quantities.

How to Make Sourdough Sicilian Pizza

Ingredient Amounts

Sourdough Starter Feeding

Sourdough Starter, leftover – 25 grams
All-Purpose Flour – 50 grams
Water – 50 grams

Main Dough (For Two 9×13″ Pizza Doughs)

Bread Flour – 525 grams
Water – 230 grams
Sourdough Starter – 100 grams
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 12 grams
Salt – 13 grams

All-Purpose Cooked Pizza Sauce (Enough for Two 9×13″ Pizzas)

Whole Peeled Tomatoes – 28 oz can (794 grams)
Garlic, minced – 1 clove
Dried Oregano – 1 tsp
White Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp (5 grams)

Toppings (Enough for Two 9×13″ Pizzas)

Mozzarella Cheese, shredded – 1 lb. (16 oz.)
Prepared All-Purpose Pizza Sauce – 2 cups
Pecorino Romano Cheese, grated – 2 Tbsp
Fresh Basil – 12-18 leaves

Suggested Timeline

Time	Step
9:30 PM (Day 1)	Feeding the Sourdough Starter
5:30 AM (Day 2)	Mixing the Dough
7:30 AM	The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)
7:35 AM	Making the All-Purpose Cooked Pizza Sauce
1:30 PM	Shaping the Pizza Doughs
2:00 PM	The Final Proof
4:30 PM	Par-Baking the Pizza Crusts
6:30 PM	Topping and Baking the Pizzas
6:45 PM	Serving the Pizza

Note: You can shift this timeline backward or forward however you wish to fit your schedule. Use the suggested timeline as a guide.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Sourdough Sicilian Pizza

Feeding the Sourdough Starter

Take 25 grams of leftover sourdough starter out of the fridge. Feed the starter 50 grams of water and 50 grams of bread flour.
Mark the top of the starter with a rubber band, cover loosely with a lid, and let the starter rise at room temperature overnight for 6-8 hours, or until it roughly doubles in size. The next morning when your starter is nearly double in size, it will be ready to use.

Mixing the Dough

To a mixing bowl, add the water, active sourdough starter, and the extra virgin olive oil. Stir thoroughly to dissolve the starter into the water.
Add the bread flour and the salt to the bowl and mix the ingredients together until a stiff dough has formed. Keep mixing until all dry clumps of flour are gone.
Cover the mixing bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
30 minutes later give the dough the first set of stretch and folds. Stretch a corner of dough up into the air and fold it over the top of the dough. Repeat this process 10-12 times until the dough starts to resist being stretched. Cover the dough again and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Uncover the dough and perform a second set of stretch and folds. Stretch and fold the dough just four times this time around. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Uncover the dough and perform the third and final set of stretch and folds. Stretch and fold the dough another four times and then flip the dough out onto the kitchen counter.

The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)

Divide the dough into two equal pieces that weigh roughly 280-290 grams each.
Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place each dough ball into an oiled glass bowl and cover each bowl with an airtight lid or a sheet of plastic wrap.
Let the dough balls rise at room temperature for around 6 hours, or until they roughly double in size. When the dough balls double in size, you can begin shaping them in their pans.

Making the All-Purpose Cooked Pizza Sauce

While the dough is rising, prepare your cooked pizza sauce. Blend a 28 oz. can of San Marzano tomatoes with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. Give the tomatoes 3-4 quick pulses in a blender so that the tomato sauce is smooth but there are still a few chunks remaining.
Heat up a pan over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. When the olive oil is hot add the dried oregano and freshly minced garlic clove. Sautee for 30-60 seconds or until the herbs and garlic are fragrant.
Add the salt, white sugar, and blended tomatoes to the pan and heat up the sauce to a simmer. Cook on a low simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally. The sauce should reduce slighly but not too much.
Remove the sauce from the heat after 10 minutes and let it cool down. Store the sauce in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make pizza.

Shaping the Pizza Doughs

After the dough balls rise to double in size, begin shaping them in their pans. Take out two 9×13″ baking sheets or cake pans and grease each pan with 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil.
Place each dough ball into its own sheet pan and press it out with your fingertips until the dough fills about 75% of the pan. Cover the doughs with a kitchen towel and let them rest for 10-15 minutes. (The dough will want to shrink back in size, so you’ll have to let it rest before pressing it out again to fill the whole pan.)
After the short rest, press each dough out again until it reaches the edges of the pan and fills the entire pan.

The Final Proof

Cover each pan with a kitchen towel or a sheet of plastic wrap and let the pizza doughs rise in the pan for around 2 hours, or until each dough rises significantly and starts looking puffy and airy.

Par-Baking the Pizza Crusts

After the doughs have risen in the pans, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) with the oven rack in the upper half of your oven.
While the oven preheats, mix one tablespoon of pizza sauce with two tablespoons of water. Spread this watered-down pizza sauce on top of each risen pizza dough. (This watery sauce will help keep the dough from browning too much in the oven.)
Par-bake the pizza crusts for 10 minutes at 350°F (180°C). Par-baking the crusts at this lower temperature will allow the crusts to set fully, but they won’t be over-baked in the middle. They will finish baking and become crispy and crunchy once you top the pizzas and give them their final bake.
Remove the par-baked pizza crusts from the oven and take them out of their pans. Transfer the crusts to a wire rack to cool completely. (If you’ll be making pizza the same day, keep the crusts out on a cooling rack. If you’ll be baking pizza on a later day, wrap the cooled crusts completely in plastic wrap and store them in the fridge.)

Topping and Baking the Pizzas

30 minutes before you’re ready to bake your pizzas, preheat your oven to 550°F (287°C) and keep the rack in the top half of the oven.
Oil each 9×13″ pizza pan with 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil and return the par-baked pizza crusts to the pans.
Top each pizza crust with 8 oz. of freshly shredded whole milk low-moisture mozzarella cheese and spread out the cheese almost all of the way to the edges of the crust.
Add about 1 cup of all-purpose cooked tomato sauce all over each pizza in dollops on top of the cheese. (See “substitutions and additions” section for instructions on putting the cheese on top of the sauce. It’s a little bit different.)
Add 1 Tbsp of grated Pecorino Romano cheese on top of each pizza.
Slide the pizza pans onto the top rack of the oven and bake for about 10 minutes at 550°F (287°C). Pull the pans out of the oven when the cheese starts bubbling and before the oil separates from the cheese.

Serving Sourdough Sicilian Pizza

Transfer the pizzas to a wire rack or cutting board and top with basil leaves and more grated pecorino Romano cheese, if desired.
Slice each pizza into six pieces and enjoy in a few minutes once the pizza is cool enough to eat.

Substitutions and Addition

Putting the cheese on top of the sauce: Instead of adding the sauce on top of the cheese, you can put the sauce on top of the par-baked pizza crust first, and then add the cheese after the sauce. For this option, I recommend using a relatively light layer of sauce and a little bit less cheese (around 6-8 oz. instead of 8 oz.). Too much sauce can cause the cheese to slide off of the finished pizza after it’s done baking and the cheese-on-top method works a little bit better with light cheese in my experience.
Using alternative sauces: Experiment with using different sauces on top of the cheese like creamy vodka sauce or spicy marinara sauce. If you want to add pesto to your pizza, I recommend drizzling it on top of the pizza after it’s done baking since cooking pesto can sometimes cause it to loose its vibrant green color and fresh basil flavor.
Adding meats and other toppings: Add meat toppings like pepperoni, cooked sausage, or cooked sliced meatballs on top of the pizza after adding the sauce layer. Add thinly sliced mushrooms, peppers, or onions to the pizza in a very light layer on top of the sauce. You can also precook onions, peppers, and mushrooms by sautéing or roasting before adding them on top of the pizza to bake. Precooking watery vegetables is sometimes preferred since they tend to release liquid that makes the pizza more watery.

Pro-Tips for Making Sourdough Sicilian Pizza

Reheating Correctly: To reheat cold sourdough Sicilian pizza slices, cook 1-2 slices in the air fryer for 4-5 minutes at 400°F (204°C). You can also place your pizza slices on a sheet of parchment paper and then reheat them in the oven on a preheated pizza stone/baking steel for 2-3 minutes at 500°F (232°C). This second option is similar to how pizza slices and squares would be reheated in a New York City pizza shop.

Yield: Two 9"x13" Pizzas

Sourdough Sicilian Pizza

This sourdough Sicilian pizza recipe yields two 9x13" pans of New York-style, square, Sicilian pizza that you can bake in your home oven. The bottom and edges of the crust are crunchy, and even though the pizza looks heavy, the crust feels light and airy. Since it's so easy to make at home, this might become a regular pizza-night recipe for you.