This cousin to pizza originated with Italian-American bakeries in Philadelphia.  Unlike pizza this is generally served at room temperature (like other bakery items) and has little or no topping other than a thick layer of tomato sauce, and it is baked at a lower temperature.  This version was topped with a light layer of Pecorino Romano and is adapted from a recipe at www.2foodtrippers.com.  It will make 4 lunch servings or 8 or 16 pieces as a snack at a party.

The original recipe took about 3.5 hours.  I took about 24 hours as I had an overnight rise in the refrigerator, which gives the crust a better flavor than a shorter rise.  The recipe will work either way, but I am a big fan of slower rises for bread.

This is intended to be baked in a deep 14 x 10 inch pan, such as a Detroit pizza pan.

For the dough

340 g. bread flour

4 g. yeast

221 g. water

9 g. salt

Olive oil to coat the dough

For the tomato sauce

3 cups tomato puree

3 Tbs. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

Salt to taste (I did not add any)

For cooking the pie

3 Tbs. olive oil

Optional toppings (added to top slices of the baked pie)

Pecorino Romano, grated

Dried oregano

Hot chili flakes

Garlic powder

Pepperoni or salami slices

Put the bread flour in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Make a depression in the center and put the yeast in the depression.  Pour the water into the depression and wait 5 minutes, then mix into a rough dough with a dough whisk.  Sprinkle the salt on top of the dough, cover it and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.  Using the dough hook, knead the dough on low until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Put the dough in an oiled doubling container and cover.  Allow to rise on the kitchen counter for an hour and then move to the refrigerator to rise slowly overnight.

The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator about 3 hours before baking.  About 2 hours before baking, coat a 14 x 10 inch baking pan with the 3 Tbs. of oil, and spread the dough out to roughly cover the bottom of the pan.  Cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven with a pizza steel or stone to 400 degrees.

Make the sauce while the dough is rising in the pan.  Put a Tbs. of oil in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for a minute until fragrant.  Add the tomato and stir.  Then add the garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until the mixture is reduced by about a third and will drip slowly off a spoon.  (The sauce should be thick but not burnt on the bottom of the pan.)  Check for seasoning and remove from the heat.

After a 30-minute rest, spread the dough out to fully cover the bottom of the pan and re-cover it.

After this second 30-minute rest top the dough with the tomato sauce leaving a half inch border.  Bake for 15-18 minutes until the bottom is nicely browned.

Remove from the oven and from the pan, placing the baked pie on a wire rack to cool.  Optionally top with Pecorino Romano, spices, salami, etc., but remember this pie is all about the bread and tomato.  The pie can be eaten hot if desired, but is usually eaten at room temperature.