Rhode Island pizza strips

An Italian-American bakery tradition specific to Rhode Island, made without cheese, topped simply with a thick tomato sauce, baked in a tray, cooled, and served cut into strips at room temperature — a distinctly local variant on the wider Northeast tomato-pie family.

• No cheese at all in its most traditional form
• Cut into rectangular strips rather than wedges or squares
• Served at room temperature, typically sold from bakeries rather than pizzerias

Hydration

60-68 percent of flour weight (typically 64 percent of flour weight)

Salt

2-2.5 percent of flour weight (typically 2.2 percent of flour weight)

Oil

2-4 percent of flour weight (typically 3 percent of flour weight)

Bulk fermentation

2-4 hours (typically 3 hours)

Mixing: Machine mixed

Kneading: Moderate kneading

Shaping: Pressed into an oiled rectangular tray

Expected crumb: Moderately open, bread-like

Tolerance: Designed to hold up well at room temperature over several hours

Calculate this dough with the dough calculator →

• Bread flourCommonly usedLimited evidence

  Supports the thick, bread-like tray crust served at room temperature as strips.

1. Press dough into an oiled tray
2. Apply thick tomato sauce
3. Bake
4. Cool
5. Cut into strips

Traditional method: Rectangular tray, bakery or domestic oven, moderate heat

• Rolling pin shapingCommonly usedLimited evidence

  Fills the tray evenly for this room-temperature, cheese-free tray style.

  Domestic alternative: Hand-pressing directly into the tray.

A soft, simple bread base with a thick, sweet-savoury tomato sauce, eaten at room temperature

Sold and served at room temperature, cut into strips

Cut into rectangular strips · Sold by the tray or by strips for a group

Derived from this style’s own structural ingredient data — see the construction order & topping load guide for why order varies by style.

1. Primary topping: Tomato pie sauce

Straightforward at home with a standard tray

• Similar to Philadelphia tomato pie

  Both are rectangular, room-temperature-served, sauce-forward Northeast tomato pies with no or minimal cheese.