The one that lives or dies in the pan
Sicilian Square Pizza
A thick square proofed in an oiled steel pan, so the underside fries as it bakes and the crumb comes out open rather than bready.
A Sicilian is not a thick New York pizza. It is a different dough at a much higher hydration, and it is proofed in the pan it bakes in, so it spends a day slowly filling the corners. When it goes into the oven the film of oil under it is hot enough to fry the base while the top bakes, which is where the golden, faintly blistered underside comes from.
Everything that goes wrong with a Sicilian goes wrong before it reaches the oven. Under-proof it and the crumb is tight and heavy. Over-proof it and it collapses in the pan and bakes flat. Elena racks these by the clock and by feel, and on a hot August afternoon they go in earlier than the clock says.
The corner squares are the best ones and everybody knows it, which is why we cut a tray into twelve rather than nine — four corners is not enough to go round.
What goes on it
The dough
Seventy-two per cent hydration, a much wetter dough than the round pies, pressed into an oiled steel pan and left a full day.
The sauce
The same uncooked crushed tomato, but more of it — a thick pie needs it or the middle tastes only of bread.
The cheese
Whole-milk mozzarella laid to the very edge of the pan so it caramelises against the hot steel and gives you the crisp fringe.
The finish
Grated hard cheese and oregano over the top as it comes out.
How it is made here
Oiled and pressed
A generous film of olive oil in the pan, dough pressed to the corners, then left alone. Pushing it back down after it has risen undoes the day.
Proofed a full day
In the cold room overnight and then two hours at room temperature. It should be domed and wobble when you knock the pan.
Eighteen to twenty minutes
At 550°F, lower and longer than a round pie, because there is much more of it to heat through.
Out of the pan immediately
Left to sit, the base steams itself soft. It comes out onto a rack the moment it is done.
Sicilian Square Pizza — what it costs
- Full tray, 12 squares$34
- Half tray, 6 squares$19
- By the square$4.25
Prices include every topping listed above. Extras are $3 for vegetables and $4 for meats. Prices change when our costs do; the menu here is the menu in the shop.
Before you order this
A shared flour kitchen, and what that rules out. Our kitchen handles wheat flour in open air all day, along with milk, eggs, soy, tree nuts and fish. Flour becomes airborne every time a dough ball is opened, and it settles on every surface in the room, including the peels, the oven floor, the cutting board and the wheel. We can tell you what we put on a pizza, and we will tell you honestly. We cannot tell you that anything leaving this kitchen is free of an allergen, and we will not say it. If a reaction would send you to hospital, this is not a safe kitchen for you, and we would far rather say so than take the order.
The kitchen is one room. Every pizza here is opened on the same bench, baked on the same floor and cut with the same wheel, and that is true of this one as much as any other. The pages on allergens and cross-contact and vegetarian, vegan and dietary questions set out plainly what we can and cannot tell you, including the things most shops leave you to assume.
The rest of the menu
Other things worth ordering
New York Cheese Pizza
The plain pie the whole shop is judged on: a thin, foldable base, a thin bright sauce and low-moisture mozzarella browned in patches.
From $3.75
Pepperoni Pizza
Small-diameter natural-casing pepperoni that curls into cups and chars at the rim, over the plain pie.
From $4.50
Grandma Pizza
Thin, square and pressed straight into the pan: mozzarella first, then stripes of crushed tomato spooned over the top with sliced garlic and oregano.
From $4.25Asked at the counter
Sicilian Square Pizza — questions
Is this the same as a grandma pizza?
No, and it is the question we get most. A Sicilian is thick and proofed in the pan for a day; a grandma is thin and pressed into the pan a few hours before. Different doughs, different pizzas — there is a page comparing all six styles.
Can I get a Sicilian with toppings?
Yes, $3 for vegetables and $4 for meats, per tray. Wet toppings go on after the bake rather than before, or the top never sets.
Do you sell half trays?
Yes, six squares for $19. For anything above two full trays please give us a day's notice — the pans are the limit, not the oven.
Twelve to fifteen minutes, and worth the wait
Order a pie
Telephone the shop and we will tell you honestly how long the kitchen is running before you commit to anything. Collection is always quicker than delivery and the pizza is always better for it. If you are ordering for a crowd, the catering page has the trays and the notice we need.