Villa Sentieri

Philadelphia-Style Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie is a thick crust pizza dough topped with copious amounts of very thick tomato sauce. No cheese is put on the pie before baking. Some folks sprinkle grated Pecorino on the finished pie. It is usually served at room temperature. If the garlic taste in the sauce is too strong for you, the garlic can be sautéed in a small amount of olive oil before mixing into the tomato puree mixture. It is best to make the sauce a day in advance and refrigerate it. If you don’t have a bread machine, mix the dough in a mixer with a dough hook for about 10 minutes after the dough comes together. You can also mix it by hand which will give you a bit of an upper-body workout.

CoursePizza, Flatbreads, and Savory Tarts, Vegetarian
CuisineItalian-American

Servings	Prep Time
20pieces	15minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
35minutes	24hours

Servings	Prep Time
20pieces	15minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
35minutes	24hours

Ingredients

Sauce

2cups tomato puree
1x 6 ounce can tomato paste
2cloves garlic
1teaspoon dry oregano
1teaspoon saltplus more to taste if needed
1teaspoon sugar

Dough

680g bread flour
440ml water
2 1/2teaspoons salt
45ml olive oil
2 1/2teaspoons active dry yeastor one package

Assembly

2-3tablespoons extra virgin olive oilto oil sheet pan

Instructions

Sauce

Grate the garlic on a Microplane grater or crush to a paste.
Combine all the ingredients for the sauce.
Cover the sauce and refrigerate overnight.
Before using, taste and adjust seasoning.

Dough

Prepare the dough using the dough cycle of the bread machine.
At the end of the cycle put the dough into an oiled bowl or covered container and allow to rise until doubled.

Assembly

Oil a half-sheet pan (13″ x 18″) with a few tablespoons of olive oil.
Stretch dough into the pan.
The dough will spring back. Stretch it out then allow it to rest a few minutes. Stretch more, then allow it to rest a few minutes. With resting in between stretches, the gluten will relax and the dough won’t spring back.
Cover the pan. I invert another half-sheet pan on top.
Allow to rise until doubled, approximately 30 minutes.
Spread all of the sauce on top.
Bake at 350°F until crust is browned and sauce is thick, approximately 35-45 minutes.
Cool in the pan.
Cut into squares and serve at room temperature.
Sprinkle with grated Pecorino cheese, if desired, once cool.

Recipe Notes