Review: Corropolese Bakery - Tomato Pie

In Trenton NJ, tomato pie is a synonym for pizza. In Philadelphia and its working class western suburbs, tomato pie is more like a Sicilian pizza (square pie, rectangle slices) without cheese, sold at a bakery and served at room temperature. 

Out of the box, before reheating

For those who did not grow up eating this kind of bakery item, it might seem like an incomplete pizza. But it's adored by locals, with fierce and impassioned arguments over who has the best tomato pie.

Corropolese Bakery - with branches in Norristown, Limerick, and Douglassville PA, has a stellar tomato pie reputation. 

Occasionally, a "quarter sheet" (9 by 13 inches) can be found boxed and for sale in local supermarkets, and that's how I acquired this deep red rectangle for $5.99. (It's only $4.35 at the bakery).

With added cheese and pepperoni, pre-bake

I've had some just-OK tomato pie before, and some excellent stuff from Tony Roni's. While I've come to appreciate the simple marinara approach - just bread and sauce, with a dusting of cheese - I generally want to enhance a Philly tomato pie with cheese and a cured meat topping.

An unadulterated slice

I added whole milk mozzarella, some grated asiago, and pepperoni to most of the pie before heating it in the oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. I understand that many folks prefer room-temp tomato pie, but this one had been sitting in a refrigerated box for 4 days, so I felt it would benefit from a re-crisping in the oven.

The "improved" slices

This pie had a mountain-like cornicione, a high ridge of golden crust. The red sauce was dark and thick, and the dusting of aged cheese (Parmesan?) was evident. I ate an unadulterated slice first to assess the pie as made.

Crisp and golden underside

The first impression was the sauce. Rich, sweet, full, very dense tomato flavor. Reminded me of the rich sauce from other square-slice purveyors, like the monster "upside-down" slice at NY Pizza Suprema or the sauce-heavy slices at Kate & Al's in Columbus, NJ. When you forgo the cheese, you better have sublime sauce, and this tomato pie has it.

Delicate crumb structure

The crust had a satisfying al dente crunch at the cornicione, but the undercarriage was light, airy, and crisp with a delicate flavor. This light but sturdy crust melded wonderfully with that dense and sweet sauce. My doctored slices - with cheese and pepperoni - were also excellent, but I'm not sure they were improvements.

Corropolese makes several specialty tomato pies

It's taken a while, but this superb rendition of a Philly-style tomato pie has brought me around to finally enjoying it as the baker intended (although I'm still hedging on the room-temp approach). This stuff was delicious and uncomplicated; I understand why it's so popular.

Tuscan bread by Corropolese

Corropolese is a full-range bakery, too, with bread, rolls, pastries, hoagies, and more. Bottom line - if you see a Corropolese tomato pie in your grocery, grab it. This is great stuff and certainly underrated outside the immediate Philly region.