The original Cucciddatu of Scicli recipe. The Cucciddatu Scaniatu of Scicli is a rustic bread filled with sausage and lard or ricotta, different from the characteristic Catanese Cucciddatu, made with the dough of Ragusan hard-pasta bread. It is one of the oldest and most distinctive preparations of Scicli’s gastronomic tradition and of Sicilian grandmother-style cuisine in general: a humble recipe, enriched with few simple ingredients that make it rich and flavorful, such as sausage with wild fennel or fresh ricotta and lard, which gives the bread a sort of easy-to-achieve layering, tasty and delightful.
In Scicli homes, the Cucciddatu Scaniatu is a ritual: it is prepared to gather the family, to celebrate the holidays or to bring to the table a flavor that smells of countryside and wood-fired oven.
Just as happens for all the traditional recipes presented on our blog, the Cucciddatu of Scicli also tells of an authentic Sicily, where taste is born from handiwork and memory.

The Cucciddatu of Scicli is a dish that wins you over for its texture and balance of flavors: the golden crust, the soft and succulent center, the enveloping aroma of freshly baked bread. It is perfect to serve as a rustic appetizer, as a one-dish meal on festive days or as a specialty to bring to the table during Easter and Christmas, when the scent of stuffed bread immediately evokes home.
Preparing the Cucciddatu of Scicli means rediscovering a unique specialty, different from the better-known sweet cucciddatu of other parts of the island, and bringing back to the kitchen an authentic masterpiece of the Iblean culinary culture.
If you love typical Sicilian dishes, stuffed breads and traditional recipes from the province of Ragusa, this Cucciddatu is a must, like the Scaccia ragusana. Now let’s run to the kitchen, get our hands in the dough and bring to our table all the rustic and passionate flavor of the truest and simplest Sicily.

Also take a look at these Sicilian recipes:

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low cost
Rest time: 3 Hours
Preparation time: 1 Day 1 Hour
Portions: 6 pieces
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients to make the Cucciddatu of Scicli

2.2 lb re-milled durum semolina
1 7/8 cups water (warm)
1 tsp active dry yeast (or 12 g fresh (about 0.42 oz))
4 tsp salt
2 tsp honey (or malt)
10.5 oz sausage (with wild fennel)
10.5 oz sheep's milk ricotta (well drained)
1 1/3 cups lard (most will melt during baking and will be removed)
as needed egg (beaten, for finishing)
3.5 oz caciocavallo (Ragusano)
2 tsp black pepper

Tools

Mixer

How to prepare the Cucciddatu of Scicli

To make the hard-pasta bread of Scicli you can knead by hand, but I prefer to use a mixer or planetary machine. The dry dough is tough to work, so using the right tools will reduce the effort.

Put the flour, 3 1/2 cups of water, the yeast dissolved in a little water, the malt (or honey) and the salt (kept away from the yeast) into the mixer, start the machine and work for 20 minutes at medium speed. If the dough struggles to come together, add the remaining water, but do not exceed the total amount. The machine may struggle to make the dough a single smooth ball, but after 20–30 minutes at most, turn it out onto the work surface anyway,
and work it a little more by hand until you obtain as smooth a mass as possible. If you can’t manage it, let it rest for another 10 minutes covered with a dish towel and resume kneading, then shape it into a ball and divide it into 6 equal pieces.
Work each piece into a ball and let rest at least 2 hours in a warm place, covered with plastic wrap or until doubled. Prepare a mixture of cheese and black pepper and set it aside.
Once risen, spread the dough and add the lard, incorporating it roughly, avoiding that it gets fully absorbed: stretch it, roll it onto itself like a rope and then form rings. Roll the rings in the cheese mixed with pepper so it adheres well,
Then make little indentations in the “bread crowns” and fill them with pieces of sausage (freed from the casing) or well-drained, dry ricotta.
Let rest for 40 minutes to 1 hour, covered with a dish towel or plastic wrap and once the rise has resumed, brush the surface with the beaten egg and bake in a preheated oven at 428°F for 25–30 minutes, conventional mode. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly and enjoy.
One more thing: the lard will melt during baking and collect on the bottom of the pan, so once the bread crowns are cooked remove it immediately before it is reabsorbed by the bread.