Philly Tomato Pie

close up view of sliced tomato pie pizza

5 from 2 votes

Philadelphia tomato pie is a medium thick rectangular pizza topped with a slightly sweet thick tomato sauce and a dusting of grated cheese (typically pecorino Romano). Always served at room temperature, tomato pie is great for entertaining or anytime you want to have a slice of home.

Prep Time40

Cook Time30

Bulk and final rise2

Total Time3 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian American

Servings: slices

Calories: 248kcal

Author: Marie

Equipment

Sheet pan for baking pizza ("half sheet pan"; ~18 inch x 13 inch x 1 inch) OR two "1/4 sheet pans" (~9 inch x 13 inch x 1 inch)
Stand mixer optional but highly recommended
wire cooling rack optional but helpful

Ingredients

For the Dough

484 grams bread flour (see "How to Measure Flour" in Recipe Notes below).
302 grams water
32.5 grams olive oil
9 grams salt
4.5 grams instant dry yeast can also use active dry but must activate it first using a bit of water from this recipe and a pinch of sugar (wait 5 minutes to make sure it foams, which means it's active)
14 grams sugar

For the Tomato Sauce

28 ounce tomato puree can use crushed or whole if you prefer but blend into a puree.
3 tbsp tomato paste optional, if you have it
2 tbsps olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced or grated
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup water may need more after cooking if it's too thick

For the Topping

3 tablespoons pecorino Romano cheese (grated) more if you'd like

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To Prepare the Dough

Add flour, yeast, and sugar into the bowl of a standing mixer and mix until combined.
Slowly add water and mix on low until all the flour has been incorporated.
Add the oil and mix until incorporated.
Cover and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes before adding salt.
After 20 to 30 minutes, add salt and mix on medium speed for about 5 to 6 minutes total. Alternatively you can hand knead for about double the time, taking breaks every few minutes.
To bake the NEXT day (highly recommended), form dough into a large ball and then place in a gallon ziplock or a large bowl covered well with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator.
To bake the SAME day: Allow dough to double in a covered bowl for about 1 hour, at room temperature.

To Make the Tomato Sauce

Add all ingredients to a medium sized pot and bring to a low simmer, reduce heat if necessary and simmer for about 40 minutes. Keep lid slightly ajar so sauce can thicken. May prepare the sauce ahead of time and store in the refrigerator overnight.

To Bake the Pizza

For overnight method: Remove dough from refrigerator, remove from plastic wrap/bowl, and place on a well oiled baking sheet. Pour a little oil on top of dough, cover loosely and allow it to come to room temperature (~60 minutes or so). Stretch to fit into well oiled baking sheet (18 by 13), press finger tip along the sides for form the cornicione (edge/rim), and let rise for 30 to 60 minutes.
For SAME day baking: After the dough has doubled in size, remove dough from bowl, and place on a well oiled baking sheet. Stretch the dough gently to fit into the pan (18 x 13) using a tiny bit of oil on your hands if needed. You may need to let the dough rest between stretches. (It is easier to stretch if you refrigerate overnight.) Form the edge/rim (ie, cornicione) by pressing fingertip along the edge of the dough. After stretching, let rise for about 30 to 60 minutes.
When reading to bake: Preheat oven to 450F and set rack in bottom third of oven (ie, about 8 to 10 inches from bottom). Baking this pizza closer to the bottom of the oven helps to crisp the bottom of the pizza.
Top the dough with about 1/4 of the tomato sauce mixture, taking care to leave a rim about the edges (and reform if needed), and then place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes (check the pizza at 20 minutes - edges should be golden brown and bottom should be golden). It will take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes - everyone's oven is different. If my oven has been on a while it'll take closer to 20 minutes whereas if it has just come to temperature it'll take longer.
After the pizza is done and the edges look golden (also be sure to check if the underneath is golden), remove pizza from oven, add remaining sauce (which should be thick- If it's not thick, continue to cook with lid ajar).
If you have a wired rack, remove pizza from pan and cool on wire rack to keep crisp.
After the sauced pizza cools for at least 15 to 20 minutes, dust liberally with grated cheese. I use about 3 tablespoons
To slice, move pizza to pan or wooden board and cut pizza into 16 equal slices. An easy way to do this is to cut it in half both length wise and widthwise. Now cut each quadrant into 4 pieces.
Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Baker's percentages:

Bread flour 100%
Water 65%
Oil 7%
Sugar 3%
Salt 2%
Dry yeast 1%

Recipe (1x) yields approximately 825 grams of dough for 13 by 18 pan. Baked thickness is approximately 3/4 inch high.

PLEASE NOTE: Kitchen scale is recommended; recipe is based on weight and converted to volume for convenience. Volume amounts are estimates as a measurement of 3.82 cups would not be practical.

How to Measure Flour: If you don't have a kitchen scale, measure flour by spooning flour into a measuring cup and leveling off with a knife. The flour should not be directly scooped as this may result in compacting flour, resulting in adding too much flour.

Nutrition