History

Philadelphia tomato pie is a distinct genre from New York pizza or Trenton tomato pie. Square-cut, focaccia-thick, baked on sheet pans without melted cheese, the pie was a 1920s South Philly bakery snack: a way for Italian Market bread bakers to use leftover dough. Sarcone's, Iannelli's, Marchiano's and Cacia's bakeries each kept a tomato-pie program running through the 20th century. The pie is sold by the square at room temperature. The defining details: a sweet oregano-heavy sauce baked into the dough; a fine dusting of grated pecorino or romano on top, never mozzarella; and no toppings, ever.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 30 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g strong bread flour
  • 10g fine salt
  • 5g instant yeast
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar
  • 350ml warm water
  • 60ml olive oil, plus more for the pan
  • 1 x 800g tin whole peeled tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 30g grated pecorino romano
  • Coarse sea salt

Method

  1. Mix flour, salt, yeast and sugar in a stand mixer. Add water and 60ml olive oil. Mix on low 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky. Cover and prove 90 minutes at room temperature.
  2. Oil a half-sheet pan generously. Stretch the dough into the pan, pressing it into the corners. Cover and prove a further 45 minutes.
  3. While the dough proves, hand-crush the tomatoes into a bowl. Add olive oil, garlic, oregano, sugar and salt. Stir to combine; do not cook.
  4. Heat the oven to 240C (465F). Spread the sauce thickly across the proved dough, all the way to the edges. Bake 18 to 22 minutes until the crust is deep gold and the sauce has caramelised at the edges.
  5. Rest 10 minutes. Shower with grated pecorino and a pinch of coarse sea salt. Slice into squares and serve at room temperature.

Tip from the editors. Tomato pie is served at room temperature, never piping hot. Bake in the morning, eat in the afternoon.

Where to eat philadelphia tomato pie

Philadelphia tomato pie in Philadelphia

Sarcone's Bakery ★ 4.7

$ Italian

Sarcone's Bakery in Philadelphia is the 1918 Italian Market brick-oven bakery on South 9th, with tomato pie by the square for 4 dollars and a queue.

TryTomato pie by the square

Directions

Iannelli's Bakery ★ 4.2

$ BakeryItalian Market tomato pie and breadWalk-in only

Iannelli's Bakery in Philadelphia is the East Passyunk Italian Market bakery, a brick-oven holdout next to the cheesesteak corner with the city's second-best.

Worth the queueTomato pie

Directions

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