- 4
- 180 mins
- 240 mins
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 1/4 tsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. lukewarm water
- 2 cups semolina flour
- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- All-purpose flour, for dusting counter
- Tomato Sauce:
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 cups whole peeled canned tomatoes, with juice
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves, roughly chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt, to taste
- To assemble:
- 8 oz. caciocavallo cheese, thinly sliced (I used Provolone)
Preparation
Step 1
Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, yeast and lukewarm water and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the semolina flour, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the 1⁄2 teaspoon salt until the dough comes together. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. (Dough will start out very dry and crumbly, but keep working it and it will come together as a smooth, moist dough). Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature until doubled in size, about 2 hours. (Dough is very slow rising, as there is very little yeast in it, so be patient).
Meanwhile, pour the tomatoes and their juice into a blender and purée until smooth. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Pour the tomatoes into the saucepan along with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat, stir in the basil, and season liberally with salt and pepper. (When seasoning, bear in mind that the dough has little salt, so be sure that the sauce is well seasoned, so the finished dish is).
Heat the oven to 450° F. Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough into a 1/16-inch-thick, 25-by-18-inch rectangle, and position the rectangle so that a long side is nearest to you. This process will take quite a bit of rolling. If dough seems to be shrinking back after rolling, allow to rest a few minutes, then start rolling again. You will eventually get there (or close). If dough seems so thin it is ripping, stop rolling and proceed.
(I found it handy to lightly mark my dough in 5-inch increments, so I had a visual reminder of where the fifths of the dough was, when spreading the sauce).
Spread half of the tomato sauce over the middle three-fifths of the rectangle (ie: leaving the left and right 5-inches bare), then sprinkle the sauce with half of the caciocavallo cheese slices. Fold the two plain sides of the dough over the sauced center, so their edges overlap in the middle of the rectangle by 2 inches.
Spread the remaining sauce over the left two-thirds of the dough, and sprinkle the sauce with the remaining slices of caciocavallo. Fold the righthand, plain third over the sauce, then fold the lefthand side of dough over, like completing the tri-fold of a letter. Fold the dough crosswise to create a 9-inch-long rectangular pie.
Transfer the pie to the prepared loaf pan, pierce the top with the tines of a fork (to allow steam to escape) and bake until dark brown on the top and lightly charred at the edges, about 1 hour. Immediately invert the pie onto a rack, remove the loaf pan and parchment paper, and let the pie cool in this position for 10 minutes. Invert the pie right-side-up before serving.
Instructions