The sfincione from Palermo represents one of the absolute protagonists of Sicilian street-food . If you love regional tradition and don't want to miss out on a typical recipe , we invite you to learn about the history and recipe of Sfincione (otherwise known as U Sfinciuni ).
The Sicilian sfincione is much more than a simple focaccia . Distant cousin of pizza , it hides a world of flavors and local raw materials without which it would not be as tasty.
History and origins of the sfincione
Let's go back a few hundred years. Palermo – monastery of San Vito. Legend has it that it was the nuns of the monastery of San Vito who gave life to the soft sfincione . Their intent was to create a rich dish for the holidays with the few poor ingredients they had. Thus starting from flour, water and tomato sauce, they created the first prototype of sfincione, partially modified over time, while maintaining the typical singularities.
It should also be said that initially the sfincioni - prepared exclusively for ecclesiastical festivities - later became a symbol of the appuntamientu (engagement party). As for the name , as for the sfinci, also for the sfincioni the etymological root remains in the balance between Arabic and Latin. However, we are sure about the translation of the terms, which in both cases means sponge . It is probably a reference to the softness and softness of the products that suggest the latter.
The original recipe of the sfincione from Palermo
The Sicilian sfincione, similar to pizza but taller and more seasoned, is a delicacy. Getting lost in the streets of the historic center of Palermo, you can smell it from a distance and be guided towards the ovens or street vendors who offer it hot, ready for tasting. Here's what you need to prepare it.
The ingredients of the sfincione
For the dough:
- Type 0 flour: 500 g
- Water: 350ml
- Brewer's yeast: 5 g
- Malt: 7g
- Extra virgin olive oil: 60 ml
- Salt: 15g
For the seasoning:
- Tomato pulp: 600 ml
- White onions: 3
- Extra virgin olive oil: 50 ml
- Caciocavallo: 150 g
- Breadcrumbs: 40 g
- Anchovies in oil: 60 g
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper: to taste
- Oregano: to taste
Preparation
For a proper Sicilian sfincione , the preparation of the dough plays a fundamental role. Therefore, dedicate all possible attention to it if you want to eat a truly unique focaccia from Palermo .
Dough of the Palermo sfincione
Pour the flour, yeast and barley malt into a maidda or a simple planetary mixer. Mix the powders by first adding the oil and, little by little, also the water (strictly at room temperature). Add the salt and continue to knead until the dough detaches easily from the walls of the container. Once well kneaded, place it on a greased baking sheet and cover it with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel. Let the dough for sfincione rise until it doubles in volume (about 2 hours).
Sfincione seasoning
Cut the white onions into thin slices. Bring a modest quantity of extra virgin olive oil to temperature and fry. Add salt, pepper and water. After a few minutes of cooking, also cook the anchovy fillets until they melt completely. Now add the tomato pulp and again salt and pepper. Continue simmering for about 30 minutes. Now prepare the crumb by toasting it in a pan with a little olive oil. In a dish, prepare the caciocavallo cubes and keep it ready.
Baking
Pick up the dough which, at this point, should have finished rising. Take a baking sheet and grease it with some olive oil. Spread the dough on the pan with the palms of your hands trying to be as delicate as possible. Don't use the rolling pin. Once rolled out, let it rest for another 15 minutes. Pour the sauce you previously prepared. Continue filling the sfincione with the caciocavallo and toasted breadcrumbs. Cover everything with a little oregano. Bake: preheat the oven to 200°C and cook everything for about 50 minutes.
Bake the Palermitan pizza : what you have created is not only a very tasty and ideal dish at any time of the day. It is culture, tradition, love and history. It's like rediscovering a piece of Sicily with every bite.
Sfincione from Bagheria vs from Palermo
Competing for the title of "Capo Sfincione" are the two wonderful Sicilian cities Palermo and Bagheria.
As we have seen, the myth tells that the origins of the sfincione are from Palermo. Bagheria , however, has been able to impose its product so much as to elect the sfinciuni as the representative dish of the town. The difference between the two lies in the filling or, as the Sicilians say, "conza":
Red sphinx
The Palermo one is red. Born on the occasion of the Christmas holidays, it recalls the shades of red. Tomato, anchovies, onion and caciocavallo are the masters, creating a soft and juicy blanket that wraps the underlying bread.
White finch
The original recipe of bagherese sfincione - born from the genius of local bakers - is instead white. Characterized by the layered arrangement of the ingredients and the typically white colour, it is prepared with salted anchovies, extra virgin olive oil, fresh cheese and, dulcis in fundo , flavored and toasted fresh breadcrumbs.
The sfincione in Palermo culture
Any street urchin from Palermo grew up with the cries of " Chi cciàvuru! Càvuru, càvuru! ". Translating it from Sicilian to Italian it means: "What a perfume! Hot, Hot!" It was precisely the sfincionaro shouting this phrase aloud on his Lambretta, who with wheels full of sfincioni went around Palermo to sell his products.
But let's go back in time again. At the beginning of the 1900s it was possible to witness a fact that today we would consider unusual, but which then consisted of everyday life. Although everyone had their own maidda (a wooden tub used for kneading dough) there were few who could afford a private oven.
So how did people bake? There were (and some still exist) common ovens, from the Roman era and with a low vault, which allowed the perfect cooking of many bread-making products. Clearly the owners of the oven were rewarded with products from the land, or in any case food products.
Now that you know everything about the street sfincione aren't you dying to bite into it? All you have to do is try our recipe!
Rino Porrovecchio , CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
