Scacciata Catanese Veloce
(skah-CHAH-tah kah-tah-NAY-zay veh-LOH-chay)
Friday Night Street Food: Palermo in a Sheet Pan
While this chapter celebrates Palermo, this magnificent, unapologetic beast of a sheet-pan pie comes from its fierce rival on the eastern coast: Catania. The old-school scacciata was born of pure frugality, a way for grandmothers to stretch the last scraps of bread dough over whatever the garden and the local cheesemaker had lying around. Traditional dough demands hours of waiting, but modern Italian home cooks have a secret for a busy Tuesday night: instant baking powder mixed with a little semolina for that golden, old-world crunch. Stuffed with sausage, broccoli, and a provolone blend that perfectly mimics Sicily's elusive, unaged Tuma cheese, this is a massive, crispy, double-crusted monument to working-class ingenuity.
Before you start
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Generously grease a 13x9-inch rimmed baking sheet or large round pizza pan with olive oil.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour2 cup
- semolina flour1 cup
- baking powder1 tbsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- sugar1/2 tsp
- extra virgin olive oil1/3 cup
- warm water3/4 cup
- extra virgin olive oil2 tbsp
- mild Italian ground sausage1 lb
- broccoli1 med head
- garlic2 med clove
- mild provolone cheese12 oz
- low-moisture whole milk mozzarella8 oz
- pitted black olives1/3 cup
- scallions3 med
- black pepper1 tsp
Method
- 01
Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Heat a splash of olive oil and cook the sausage for 5 to 7 minutes, crumbling it with a wooden spoon until cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the flavorful fat in the pan.
- 02
Sauté the garlic and broccoli in the residual sausage fat.
Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until bright green and slightly tender. If the pan gets too dry, add a splash of water and cover for 2 minutes to steam, then remove from heat and let cool slightly so it doesn't tear the raw dough later.
- 03
Mix the dry dough ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk together the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and sugar.
- 04
Form the dough by adding olive oil and warm water to the dry mix.
Make a well in the center, pour in the 1/3 cup of olive oil and the warm water, and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 3 to 4 minutes until smooth and slightly tacky, adding a few drops of water if it feels too dry. Because we are using baking powder, there is no need to let it rise.
- 05
Divide and roll out the bottom crust.
Cut the dough into two pieces, making one slightly larger than the other. Roll the larger piece out until it can cover the bottom and slightly hang over the edges of your oiled pan, then transfer it in.
- 06
Layer the cheese barrier and the filling.
Lay down half of the provolone and mozzarella directly on the dough to create a fat barrier that melts into the crust and prevents a soggy bottom. Evenly spread the cooked sausage, broccoli, black olives, and scallions over the top, then finish with the remaining cheese and a very generous grinding of black pepper.
- 07
Seal the pie and vent the top.
Roll out the smaller piece of dough, drape it over the filling, and tightly roll and crimp the overhanging bottom edges over the top crust to seal it securely. Poke a dime-sized hole dead in the center to act as a chimney for escaping steam, prick the rest of the crust with a fork, and brush generously with olive oil.
- 08
Bake until deeply golden brown and crisp.
Bake on the middle rack for 30 to 35 minutes. Let the scacciata rest in the pan for at least 15 to 20 minutes before slicing so the molten cheese can set properly.
Notes
Embrace the imperfection.
Traditional scacciate are fundamentally rustic. If the shape is slightly asymmetrical or if a bit of cheese bubbles out of a tear in the dough, it is perfectly authentic and looks exactly as it should.
Seek out semolina flour.
Using a blend of all-purpose and yellow, coarse semolina flour is the secret to replicating the sun-drenched durum wheat crust of Southern Italy. It yields a distinct crispness that prevents the bottom from getting soggy under the dense filling.
Save some for tomorrow.
Scacciata was practically invented to be eaten the next day. It is the ultimate leftover, easily eaten cold or at room temperature straight from the fridge.