Grandma’s Sicilian-Style Sheet Pan Pizza
The easy homemade pizza made without a rolling pin. Sheet Pan Pizza is part Sicilian-style; part Detroit but all things good.
Servings 8
Equipment
- half sheet pan; approximately 13" x 18"
Ingredients
For the pizza dough
- 1¼ cup water tap water ok, 105° [see below]
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast do not use fast or quick rising; equals one pack
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 4-4½ cups all-purpose flour or more if needed
- ¼ cup Italian olive oil preferably extra-virgin
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
For the pizza sauce
- 14 oz premade pizza sauce I use
DeLallo's Pizza Sauce - 14 oz can of cherry or Roma tomatoes I use Mutti Baby Roma Tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper or more if preferred
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
For the toppings
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella ripped into pieces
- ½ lb thinly sliced deli provolone I use Boar's Head Picante Provolone
- 8 oz freshly grated whole milk mozzarella
- 6 oz sliced spicy pepperoni or sliced at the deli if available
- fresh grated parmesan
- olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
For the dough
- In a glass measuring cup, sprinkle the yeast over the 105° water and gently stir. Add the sugar and allow to set until the yeast is bubbly up to five minutes. For more information on yeast and making pizza dough, visit my Homemade Pizza Dough recipe.
- Pour the bubbly yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Sprinkle the remaining ingredients over the yeast in the following order: 4 cups of flour, olive oil, and salt. Don't let the salt come into contact directly with the yeast or your dough may not rise.
- With the mixer on low, combine all the ingredients together and once blended, switch out the paddle attachment for the dough hook. Knead the dough for five minutes, adding the remaining flour as needed by the tablespoon as the dough will be quite wet.
- Once the dough forms a nice ball and isn't too wet, remove it from the mixing bowl to another mixing bowl that has been drizzle with olive-oil and gently wiped with a paper towel. Turn the dough over once in the bowl. Cover the whole bowl with plastic wrap and then a clean dish towel and place the whole bowl in a cold oven on the lowest rack. Allow to rise for at least 1½ hours or up to 3 hours if you have time until the dough more than doubles in size.
For the sauce
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
The second rise
- Oil a half sheet pan (approx 13"x18" with a good drizzle of olive oil. Set aside
- Slide the dough into the center of the oiled baking sheet pushing the dough to the edges. If it's fighting you, let it rest for a few minutes and it'll eventually give in. Create a nice rimmed crust.
- Spoon about ½ of the pizza sauce over the dough leaving about ½" rim around the edges.
- Cover the whole pan with plastic wrap and place back into the oven for 45 minutes for the second rise.
Assembling the pizza
- Remove the pizza from the oven and preheat the oven to 450°. Place a rack in them center of the oven.
- Layer on the pizza toppings in the following order: the hand-torn fresh mozzarella, the pepperoni, almost all of the remaining sauce, the grated mozzarella, and the remaining sauce spooned into pockets on the pizza. Drizzle with a little olive oil, a sprinkling of kosher salt and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
- Bake the pizza for 15-20 minutes until the center is browned and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes if you can wait. Just trying to spare you from any burned tongues!
Notes
For the water: I use tap water and run it until a thermometer tells me it's 105˚. If you do it enough, you won't need the thermometer anymore.
Can I use store bought pizza dough? Yes! You can use store bought dough. Just use a smaller sheet pan because odds are it’ll be too small to fit in the half sheet pan I am suggesting for the recipe.
Pizza topping ideas:
- Spicy soppressata, caramelized onions and the cheese trio blend used above
- Italian sausage and black olives
- Meat lover’s with sausage, pepperoni, pancetta, and Italian beef
- Frozen chopped spinach mixed with a little ricotta, garlic and parmesan by the tablespoonful (a Lou Malanati's inspiration)
- Let the dough rise for the first time
- Refrigerate the dough right in the bowl until about an hour and 15 minutes before you plan to bake it.
- Remove the dough from bowl that was in the fridge and let it come to room temp for about 30 minutes.
- Follow the directions for the second rise and on.