Do you know those foods that on the first bite take you straight back to childhood? That’s how I feel about Sicilian red mini pizzas. When I was little and went to school, I would always stop by the bakery in the town square to pick something for recess. Red mini pizzas were almost always my choice. I ate very little back then and was very thin, so my mother, besides stuffing me with royal jelly and little bottles, would always make sure I had money to buy something warm from the bakery so I would eat more. That method worked over the years: today, if I enter a Sicilian bakery I would literally buy everything, but back then I limited myself to one very soft and tasty red mini pizza every day. Making them at home is really simple and the result is excellent; let’s see how in the recipe below.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 20
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz 00 (double-zero) flour (about 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp)
- 3.5 oz lard (about 1/2 cup)
- 3.5 oz granulated sugar (about 1/2 cup)
- 3.5 tsp salt (about 3 1/2 tsp)
- 1.8 oz fresh yeast
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 cups tomato sauce (seasoned)
- 1.25 cups fior di latte (mozzarella)
Tools
- 1 Stand mixer
Steps
Start by putting the fresh yeast in a small bowl with about 50 ml of warm water (about 3 tbsp + 1 tsp), add the sugar and let it dissolve. Use the dough hook in your stand mixer. At this point, put the flour into the mixer bowl, add the yeast-sugar-water mixture and start the mixer on low speed. Gradually add the remaining water (about 450 ml, roughly 1 7/8 cups) and let it incorporate well into the dough. Before adding the last portion of water, add the salt. Then increase the mixer’s speed and let it knead for about 2 minutes. Once you have a smooth dough, add the lard in pieces and allow it to incorporate little by little until it’s fully incorporated. Cover the mixer bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size; this will take about 2 hours.
Once the dough has risen, divide it into portions of about 90–100 g each (approximately 3.2–3.5 oz) and roll them into balls. If you make them at 90 g each, you’ll get roughly 18–20 balls. Place the dough balls directly onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving about 4 inches (10 cm) between each, and let them rise again for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 374°F. Cut the fior di latte into small pieces and start assembling the Sicilian red mini pizzas. Take the tray and, using the back of your hand, press into the center of each ball to form a small well, then spoon in the seasoned tomato sauce (seasoned with salt, pepper, a few basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil). Use plenty of sauce so it covers the whole surface of each mini pizza. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. After that time, remove the mini pizzas, distribute a generous amount of fior di latte on each one, and return to the oven for another 10–12 minutes. Your very soft mini pizzas are ready to be enjoyed — enjoy your meal!
Sicilian red mini pizzas are part of Sicilian rosticceria. If you want to make other items from the rosticceria, take a look HERE.
Saby recommends…
Red mini pizzas can be topped however you like, for example with cured meats or a variety of vegetables.
