Detroit-Style Pizza

Will and I enjoyed a yummy Detroit-style pizza at Wrecktangle when Andy was out of town recently, and I wondered about making it at home. The dough had really crisp edges and nice spots where the cheese had kind of burned on the edges of the pan, but was soft and chewy. The sauce had a bit of zip to it.

You can buy a 9"x13" Detroit style pizza pan for $30-$60, but I wanted to use what we already had, so some quick math assured me that using 2 #8 cast iron skillets (9" rim diameter) would be roughly the same cooking area. Of course, you could use a 9" x 13" pan, but I wanted the qualities of cast iron for this, similar to the intended pans.

King Arthur Flour has a published recipe, as does Serious Eats, but I opted to try this recipe from Meredith Deeds published in the Star Tribune:

Detroit Pizza

Dough:

• 2 1/2 c. bread flour

• 1 (. 25 oz.) packet instant yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 tbsp. olive oil, for greasing pan

Toppings:

• 6 oz. high-quality pepperoni 

• 8 oz. Brick cheese, cut into 1/2-in. cubes (Widmer’s Brick cheese, purchased at Lund's)

• 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-in. cubes

• 1 1/2 c. Detroit Pizza Sauce (recipe follows)

Mix together the bread flour, yeast, salt and 1 cup lukewarm water either by hand or mixer until a shaggy dough forms.

Cover the dough, allow it to rest for 15 minutes (this allows the flour to absorb the water), then knead it until it becomes smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a ball, place it into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rest at room temperature until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil into a Detroit-style pizza pan or a 9- by 13-inch baking pan (or in this case, my two cast iron skillets). Use your fingertips to gently push the dough toward the edges of the pan until it starts to shrink back and won’t stretch any farther. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes to allow the dough to relax. Continue to press into the sides and corners of the pan. Cover again with plastic wrap and let rise for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust the oven rack to lowest position. If you’re using a pizza stone, place on bottom rack and preheat oven to 550 degrees.

Lay three-fourths of the pepperoni evenly over top of the dough. Top with cheese, spreading it evenly all the way to the edges of the pan. Spoon sauce over surface in 3 even rows.

Transfer the pizza to the bottom rack of the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and quickly arrange the remaining pepperoni over the top of the pizza and continue to bake until the cheese is bubbly and the edges have turned dark brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Remove the pizza from the oven, run a spatula around the edges to loosen it from the pan, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board, cut, and serve.

Store leftover pizza in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in a 350-degree oven until warm throughout, 10 to 15 minutes.

Detroit Pizza Sauce

Makes 3 cups (enough for 2 9x13 pizzas or 1 pizza with dipping sauce, or freeze a portion)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil

• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning

• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes

• 1 tsp. garlic powder

• 2 tsp. sugar

• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add minced garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add tomatoes, garlic powder and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced to about 3 cups, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add the basil and season with more salt, if necessary.

The end results were very yummy indeed, and the sauce recipe will be good to use for other style pizzas.

Get the cubed cheese all the way to the edges to get that nice almost-burned cheese flavor