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Tomato pie in pan plus one slice.

Philly Tomato Pie

An adapted version of the famous Philly tomato pie, with a focaccia base adapted from Samin Nosrat and a tangy tomato topping.

Course Appetizer/Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword foccacia, pizza, tomatoes
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Fermenting Time 13 hours
Total Time 14 hours 5 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
  • 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
  • 2 1/2 tsp honey
  • 5 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for greasing the pan and topping the foccacia)

For the brine

  • 1/3 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the tomato topping

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 28-ounce can whole Italian tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes)
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • sea salt for topping
  • finely chopped basil leaves

Instructions

For the dough

  1. In a medium bowl, stir together the lukewarm water, yeast, and honey. In a separate larger bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture as well as the 1/4 cup olive oil to the flour; stir just to combine.

  2. Cover the dough and set it aside to rise and ferment for 12-14 hours.

    a bowl of fermented dough

  3. After the dough has risen, prepare a large (12"x18" baking pan) by greasing it with olive oil. Scrape the dough gently away from the sides of the bowl and gently spread it out into a rectangle shape to fill the pan. (You may need to stretch it gently to fit the corners.) Poke finger-shaped indentations across the batter. Pour two tablespoons additional olive oil over the dough.

Adding the brine

  1. Stir the lukewarm water and the salt until the salt dissolves. (This creates a saltwater brine.) Pour the brine over the foccacia. Let the foccacia rise again for another 45 minutes.

  2. Bake the foccacia at 450 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown.

For the topping

  1. While the foccacia is baking, heat a medium pan and add olive oil. Saute the garlic over medium heat for just a minute or two. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, sugar, basil, and thyme. Cook until bubbly. Remove from heat and spread over just-cooked foccacia. Bake foccacia for an additional 2-3 minutes, just until tomatoes are warm. Remove from oven, top with fresh basil and sea salt, as well as grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Cut into rectangles and serve.