The Detroit Style Pizza is a rectangular pan pizza 14×10 inches with a thick, crispy, and chewy crust, traditionally topped to the edges with mozzarella and/or Wisconsin Brick cheese (which can be substituted with fontina or scamorza) that caramelizes against the heavy rectangular pan with high sides, and this edge is known as: “frico” .
▶Originally baked in blue steel rectangular pans designed to be used as drip pans in automobiles or to hold small industrial parts in factories, because the pans available at the time were not suitable for the dish.
▶The Detroit-style pizza was born in 1946 at Buddy’s Rendezvous, in Detroit. The original recipe was inspired by the Sicilian sfincione.
▶The dough has a hydration level equal to or greater than 70%, left to rise twice and hand-stretched to the corners of the pan. I used Dexter, my gluten-free sourdough starter.
▶The sauce is added after the pizza is baked, and the style is defined as “red top” because the sauce is the final topping.
Other American pizzas on the blog…
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 5 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 26.5 oz all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 4.5 oz sourdough starter (or 11 g compressed yeast)
- 0.7 oz salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 0.3 oz malt syrup
- 17.6 oz Wisconsin Brick cheese (or provolone or fontina)
- 7 oz shredded mozzarella
- 21.2 oz tomato sauce
- to taste oregano
- 3 cloves garlic
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Baking Pan 14×10
Steps
Start by pouring all the flour into a bowl large enough to hold about three times that amount. For simplicity, divide the water into 2 pitchers, one filled with 2 cups and the other with 1/3 cup and mix the yeast and malt in the 2-cup pitcher.
Create a “volcano” in the center of the flour and add the yeast-water-malt mix. Mix the ingredients using a spoon.
Proceed by adding the remaining water in small doses and only when the previously added water is well absorbed.
Before adding the last part of water, add the salt along with a little water, to facilitate absorption, and continue kneading. It may be necessary to alternate pauses to allow the flour to fully absorb the water.
Once a smooth and non-sticky dough ball is obtained, you can let the dough rest. Let the mass rest for 30 minutes in the bowl covered with plastic wrap.
Bring the dough to the work surface, perform a round of folds to give the dough balls a round shape.
After forming oval-shaped dough balls, oil them, place them in 3-quart proofing containers, and close with their airtight lid. Let them rest at room temperature (68-72°F) for about 2 hours so they double in volume.
Brush both the surface and edges of the pans with plenty of oil.
Dust the work surface and flip the container so that the dough ball lands on the table.
Shape it into a rectangle using your fingertips, trying to “copy” the shape of the pan where it will be placed.
Once each stretched dough reaches about 2/3 of the pan size, place it inside, cover with plastic wrap being careful not to touch the dough, and let rise for about an hour at 75-77°F (the oven with the light on should reach the necessary temperature).
Gently press down on the dough to spread it, perfectly adjust edges and corners, and cover again with plastic wrap.
Let rise for another 2 hours at 75-77°F.
Grate all the cheese so that it can be easily spread over the entire surface of the pan.
Sauté the coarsely chopped garlic with plenty of oil.
Add to the sauté the tomato sauce, oregano, and salt, letting the sauce cook until it’s thick enough.
Preheat the oven to maximum (518-482°F).
Sprinkle the pan with cheese, being careful to distribute it evenly, and bake for 7-8 minutes.
After the first minutes of cooking, lower the temperature to 392°F and continue to bake for another 7-8 minutes
Then remove the Detroit style Pizza from the oven, take it out of the pan while still hot, and place it on an elevated rack so the condensation doesn’t “soften” the golden bottom and it becomes super crispy.
Finish with the sauce you prepared earlier, placing it as you prefer. Long stripes are typically created.
Cut into 6 equal parts.
