Detroit Style Pizza

Again, I must give all credit to Kenji over at Serious Eats for this incredible pizza recipe. I read it and knew I had to make it. It involved buying a special Detroit style pizza pan, Wisconsin brick cheese, and special pepperoni, all of which I ordered from amazon because that website is incredible.

The crust of this pizza is both tender and chewy, and the bottom gets ultra-crispy from the fat of the cheese dripping down and the heat conduction of the pan itself. The pan is special: it is 10 by 14 inches and dark in color. The dark color of the metal helps it to retain heat (science is crazy) and the edges are angled. These angled edges allow for the cheese to melt all the way to the edges and for the excess fat to drip down and crisp the crust. Is the pan pricy at 36 dollars? Yes. Is it totally worth it? Yeth (my mouth is full of pizza).

I ordered more of the brick cheese than I needed so I could taste it by itself. This cheese is soft, buttery and salty. I really can’t explain it except to say it was made to be melted on top of a pizza. It isn’t like cheddar or mozzarella; it is a cheese unlike any I have ever known. I feel I owe a great debt to Wisconsin for making something so glorious.

So do yourself a favor; head to Detroit and buy a slice of this style of ‘za, or pluck down some change and order some special goodies to make this incredible pizza for a special occasion. Believe me, you’ll use the pan again; this is a recipe you can’t make just once. 

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 heaping cups of bread flour 

1 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

1 cup water

Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed

Sauce:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium sweet onion, minced very finely

2 teaspoons dried oregano

Pinch red pepper flakes

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder

1 teaspoon granulated onion powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Kosher salt, to taste

Toppings:

12 ounces Wisconsin Brick cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

12 ounces pepperoni, sliced thinly (I sliced my own but you can use pre sliced)

Method:

Dough: Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the water and then turn on the food processor and let the machine run until the dough turns into a ball, about 30 seconds. Continue to run the machine a further 30 seconds (this will knead the dough). Place the dough into a well-oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place to proof until it has doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Pour a few tablespoons olive oil in the bottom of a Detroit-style pan. Put  the dough into the pan. Press down on dough and spread it toward the edges. Do the best you can to get the dough out to the edges but don’t tear the dough. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and set it aside for another 30 minutes.  After this resting period, stretch the dough all the way out to the edges of the pan. Cover the dough once more and whip up the sauce.

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F (550 if you can).

Sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, until you have made a thick onion paste. Add the garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and cook a further 30 seconds. Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder sand sugar. Add tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 30 minutes. Taste it and add salt as needed.

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Final Assembly: Press down on dough with your fingertips to remove any large air bubbles. Lay half of pepperoni evenly on the dough. Top with cheese, tumbling the cubes evenly over the pizza. Top with the remaining pepperoni. Spoon the sauce over the pizza. You will have a lot of sauce left over- use this to dip your pizza!

Transfer to the oven and bake until edges are black and bubbly and exposed cheese on top is starting to lightly brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let the pizza rest on a wire rack in the pan for about 5 minutes before using a spatula to remove it. Slice it up and enjoy!