Air Fryer Sicilian Pizza

October 27, 2024

Air Fryer Sicilian Pizza

Air fryer Sicilian pizza is a thick, focaccia-like square pizza built in a small oiled metal tin that fits inside a basket air fryer, standing in for the deep steel pans used at pizzerias for real Sicilian pie. The crust is a wet, well-hydrated yeasted dough, pressed out by hand rather than rolled, so it stays thick and airy instead of thin and cracker-crisp.

The defining move is the topping order: mozzarella goes on first, spread right out to the edges, and the tomato sauce goes over it rather than under it. That’s the reverse of most home pizza, and it matters — the exposed cheese at the rim caramelizes into a crisp, almost fried edge, while the sauce sitting on top keeps the crust from turning soggy underneath.

Getting a thick crust to cook through in a basket air fryer takes two stages. The bare, oiled dough goes in first and par-cooks on its own until it’s set and starting to crisp on the bottom; only then does it get topped and finished. Skip that step and the crust stays raw and wet under a load of cheese and sauce.

Sicilian pizza, by way of its ancestor sfincione, is an Italian-American pan-pizza staple, especially on the US East Coast, usually baked in a big rectangular steel pan and cut into squares. This version scales that down to a single small tin and one round in the air fryer — enough for two, with a crisp, oil-fried bottom and a soft, bready crumb under the cheese.

Ingredients

Serves 2

The crust

200 g bread flour (or all-purpose flour, for less chew)
144 g water, lukewarm (72% hydration)
4 g fine salt (about ¾ tsp)
1.5 g instant yeast (about ½ tsp; use a scant ¼ tsp instead for a 12–24 h cold ferment)
10 g extra-virgin olive oil
15–18 g extra-virgin olive oil, to coat the tin generously

The toppings

140 g low-moisture mozzarella, grated
80 g pizza sauce (passata-style, lightly seasoned)
optional: 100 g sweet yellow onion, thinly sliced (about 1 medium)
optional: olive oil, for cooking the onion
optional: 2 anchovy fillets, oil-packed, finely chopped
optional: grated Parmesan (or Pecorino), for finishing
optional: dried oregano (or fresh basil), for finishing
optional: extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions

The crust

Stir the flour, salt, and yeast together in a bowl, then add the water and the smaller measure of olive oil. Mix into a shaggy, sticky dough with no dry flour left — it won’t look like a smooth ball at this stage, and that’s fine.

Cover the bowl. Every 5 minutes for four rounds, wet one hand and fold the dough over itself, rotating the bowl a quarter turn each time. Let it rest for 40 minutes. For the best crumb, refrigerate it for another 12 to 24 hours; if you’d rather bake it the same day, skip the fridge and use the full amount of yeast rather than the reduced cold-ferment amount.

Pour the larger measure of olive oil into the tin and tilt it to coat the bottom and sides generously — this oil is what fries the underside of the crust crisp, so don’t skimp on it. Lay the dough in the tin, turn it once to coat both sides in oil, then press and dimple it out toward the corners. When it springs back and resists stretching further, cover it and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes, then press again. Repeat this press-and-rest cycle until the dough fills the tin corner to corner.

Cover the tin and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, until it looks puffy, soft, and pillowy.

The toppings

If using the onion, cook it in a little olive oil over medium-low heat until soft and golden, about 15 minutes, then stir it into the pizza sauce.

To finish

Air-fry the oiled, un-topped dough in its tin at 350–360°F (175–180°C) for 8 to 12 minutes, until the crust is set, pale golden, and just starting to crisp on the bottom — lift an edge with a spatula to check.

Scatter the mozzarella evenly over the crust right to the edges, tucking the chopped anchovy underneath the cheese if using, then dollop the pizza sauce — or the onion-sauce mixture — over the top of the cheese rather than under it. This cheese-first order is what gives a Sicilian pizza its caramelized rim and keeps the crust from turning soggy.

Return the pizza to the air fryer and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes at the same 350–360°F (175–180°C), until the cheese is bubbling and browned at the edges and the bottom is deep golden and crisp. For an extra-crisp base, give it another 2 minutes.

Run a knife around the inside edge of the tin and lift the pizza out onto a wire rack — this keeps the bottom from steaming and going soft. Let it rest for a few minutes, then finish with grated hard cheese, oregano or basil, and a drizzle of olive oil, if using. Slice into squares and serve.

Notes

Air fryers vary a lot in basket size, wattage, and fan strength, so treat the times above as a starting point and check a few minutes early. A thick crust like this one does better nearer the lower end of the range (350°F/175°C); a stronger fryer may cook faster than the range suggests.
If the top browns before the bottom crisps, lift the tin out and set the pizza directly on the mesh or a parchment liner for the last couple of minutes, so the bottom gets more direct heat.
Use low-moisture, block mozzarella, not fresh — fresh mozzarella releases water as it melts, which makes the crust soggy underneath.
Keep the sauce light and on top of the cheese, not heavy or buried under it. Flooding the pizza with sauce or hiding it beneath the cheese loses the Sicilian character and risks a wet crumb.