Pizzolo di Sortino with grilled vegetables. Halfway between a pizza and a stuffed focaccia, the pizzolo is a Sicilian specialty that has its origins in Sortino, a town in the province of Syracuse. The pizzolo is a disk of leavened bread dough, traditionally baked on a stone and filled with humble, peasant ingredients like vegetables and cheese. The original pizzolo, after a first pre-bake, is split into two disks so it can be filled to taste, and then topped with olive oil, pecorino (today often replaced with Parmigiano) and oregano, and returned to the oven for a few more minutes until its crust becomes golden, crisp and flavorful. If you’re curious and want to discover how Sicilian pizzolo is made, follow me in the kitchen: we’ll prepare a vegetarian version with grilled vegetables and provola, and you’ll see that pizzolo can be not only a complete vegetarian dish, but also a tasty appetizer.

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Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very inexpensive
Rest time: 3 Hours
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Portions: 3
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients to make pizzolo with grilled vegetables and provola

1 1/2 cups re-milled durum wheat semolina
2 cups Type 0 flour (medium-refined wheat flour)
1 1/4 cups water
2 1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast (or 12 g fresh yeast)
2 bell peppers (large)
2 eggplants (large)
2 zucchinis (large)
18 oz smoked provola cheese
to taste extra virgin olive oil
to taste grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
to taste dried oregano

Tools

Bowl
Cast-iron griddle
Baking stone

How to make pizzolo with grilled vegetables

In a large bowl, gather the two flours, make a well and add the yeast, pour in a little water and the sugar (this will help activate the yeast) and mix to dissolve everything. Combine and in one corner add the oil,
the salt and the rest of the water. Mix everything in the bowl using a spoon; if the dough seems too dry add a little more water—everything depends on the flours’ absorption. Let rest for 15 minutes, then turn the dough out onto the work surface, better without adding more flour, and work it by folding using the “slap and fold” technique.
Once you have a quite elastic dough, it does not need to be perfectly smooth and homogeneous. Place it back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place until it triples in size. Time is relative and depends on many factors: in summer it may take about 50 minutes, while in winter it could take more than 3 hours.
While the dough rises, clean the bell peppers by removing seeds and membranes and cut them into 3–4 strips. Place them on a very hot griddle and cook for about 15 minutes, turning as needed. Peel the zucchinis and eggplants, and grill them on each side for 8–10 minutes. Remember to sprinkle with salt.
When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured work surface and, without deflating it too much, divide it into three pieces, shaping each piece into a ball by properly rounding it.
Let the small loaves rise warm for 30 minutes and meanwhile place the baking stone high in the oven and heat the oven to the highest temperature your oven can reach; mine reaches 240°C (464°F). Let the stone heat thoroughly until your oven thermostat indicates the target temperature has been reached. If you don’t have a baking stone, use a smooth cast-iron griddle.
Take the small loaves and, one at a time, stretch them with your hands forming disks slightly thicker at the edges and about 1/4 inch thick in the center.
Proceed like a pizzaiolo, but leaving everything a bit thicker.
Open the oven, pull the stone out slightly and quickly place the dough disk on it (previously pricked with a fork). Alternatively, remove the griddle from the oven, place the focaccia on it and immediately return it to the oven. Bake for 7–8 minutes at the highest temperature and remove when the pizzolo is cooked but still pale.
Reheat the stone or griddle before proceeding with further baking steps.
Once the pizzoli are out of the oven, split them in half carefully so they don’t break, drizzle with a little oil and fill as you like.
I chose grilled vegetables and sliced sweet provola. For the peppers I scraped off the charred skin with a knife.
Cover the filling with the other half of the disk, give an ample drizzle of oil on top, a sprinkle of grated cheese and another of oregano, and return to the oven for 5–6 minutes or until golden.
Repeat with the other pizzoli.
The recipe is ready and the pizzolo is perfect to be enjoyed immediately.
The pizzolo bases, not yet filled and after the first baking phase, can be frozen and thawed as needed.