Yield: 4

Adapted from: https://thekellykitchen.com/sicilian-pizza-dough/#recipe

This isn’t just another pizza recipe; this is a gamechanger. Learn the secret to a foolproof, homemade Sicilian Pizza with a crust that’s unbelievably light and airy on the inside, but has a shatteringly crisp, golden, olive-oil-fried bottom. Sicilian pizza is often compared to grandma pizza — but this version is thicker, fluffier, and more bread-like. If you love grandma pizza, you’ll love Sicilian even more! This is the recipe our family makes constantly, and it’s the only thick-crust pizza recipe you’ll ever need. Bonus – You do not need a pizza oven for this recipe, and it is perfect for freezing for easy, quick meals later!
Dough:

• 3½cups (500 g) bread flour
• 1TBS (16 g) salt
• 1package (.25 oz) instant dry yeast
• 5tsp (22 g) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for pan
• 1cup plus 8 TBS (327 g) warm water (110°-115° F)

Toppings:

• 1pkg (8 oz) mozzarella slices
• 7oz pizza sauce (about ½ jar)
• 1bag (8 oz) grated mozzarella cheese
• dried oregano to taste
• pepperoni (optional)

Dough:

Combine flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add 22g olive oil and warm water (measure water temperature with thermometer – should be 110-115° F). Using a spoon, stir until dough roughly comes together. Then, using hands, knead dough in the same bowl just until it begins to feel tacky. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm location for 2 hours or at least doubled in size.

Add a few generous TBS (about 4 TBS) of olive oil to a 13×18 rimmed baking sheet. Spread oil around entire sheet with your hands. Add dough to baking sheet and spread gently with your hands. (It will be very tough to stretch. Do not rip dough.) Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until dough has relaxed and started to spread out toward the edges of the pan, for about 2 more hours. Carefully remove plastic wrap from dough and gently stretch dough to the corners of the pan. Start from the center of the dough and work out, taking care not to rip holes in dough. If a hole forms, try to pinch back together. After dough fills sheet, recover with the plastic wrap and let rest for 1-2 more hours. Dough is ready to bake when puffy and smooth.

Bake:

Preheat oven to 500°F. Add toppings to dough starting with mozzarella slices on bottom, then sauce and grated cheese. Sprinkle some dried oregano on top and any other toppings of your choice.

If your baking sheet is light gray/medium gray, bake on bottom rack of oven for 10-11 minutes. (Check around 6-minute mark to make sure the crust isn’t burning.) If the bottom is getting dark, move to the middle rack to finish baking. If your baking sheet is very dark, you may want to bake solely on the middle rack to avoid a burnt crust on bottom. Don’t worry if it appears as though your crust is sticking to the sheet. After removing it from oven, gently use a spatula to loosen crust and slide pizza off baking sheet. Cut and serve!

Storage:

Wrap pizza and store it in refrigerator for up to 4 days. To freeze, place cooled pizza in an airtight container or food storage bag. Then, I like to wrap again in aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 2 months. To reheat, place pizza on a baking sheet and heat at 375°F for about 5 minutes or until warmed through.