Detroit Style Pizza

Yield: Two 9" x 13" Pizzas

Detroit Style Pizza

Detroit Style Pizza
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Additional Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

Dough

  • 5 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 packet instant yeast
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups warm water
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

Pepperoni Pizza

  • 15 oz. crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp red chili flakes
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • Salt + pepper
  • 6 oz Pepperoni
  • 12 oz Mozzarella, low moisture brick cheese, cut into cubes

Fig, Prosciutto and Gorgonzola Pizza

  • 1 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 4 oz. gorgonzola cheese
  • 1 package prosciutto di parma (5 or 6 slices)
  • 3-4 heaping tablespoons of fig preserves
  • 2 oz parmesan cheese

Instructions

This recipe makes two 13”x9” pizzas. One is a mozzarella and pepperoni pizza, and the other is a gorgonzola and fig with prosciutto and balsamic glaze. Combine the flour, yeast and salt into a mixer with the dough hook attachment and set to the lowest setting to mix. Slowly pour in the water until the flour is hydrated (you may not need all of the water) and then increase the mixer speed to knead the dough for five minutes or so until the dough is smooth. Give the dough a few kneads with your hands before forming into a ball. Alternatively, mix the flour and water combination in a bowl by hand until a shaggy dough forms and then turn out onto a floured surface to knead. Divide the dough in half. Place a tablespoon of olive oil into two 13”x9” aluminum baking pans and place each dough half into a baking pan to rise. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 to 2 hours.


Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat and add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer over medium low heat for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

To make balsamic glaze, heat all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan over medium low. Stir frequently, preventing the glaze from bubbling over. Simmer for about 10 to 20 minutes, or until glaze is reduced by half and thickened. Remove from heat.

Once the dough is risen, punch down the dough pieces and stretch out to the corners of the pans, pushing in with your fingers to create divots. Cover and let the dough rest again for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 500°.

To build the pepperoni pizza: lay down a layer of pepperoni first, then place all the cubed cheese, covering the entire surface of the pizza, all the way to the edges. Next, place stripes of tomato sauce, edge to edge. You will use all the sauce for this pizza.

To make the gorgonzola/fig pizza: place dollops of fig preserves all over the dough. Follow with crumbles of gorgonzola. Make stripes of prosciutto by twisting the slices of meat and placing them edge to edge. Top with parmesan cheese. Bake both pizzas at 500° for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden on top. To finish, drizzle the balsamic glaze on the fig/prosciutto pizza before slicing and serving.

Recipe Notes

The only reason I know of the existence of Detroit style pizza is because of Via 313 pizza, based in Austin, TX. When I lived in Austin for a bit, this was a favorite spot. The ingredients in the fig and prosciutto pizza are lifted directly from their Cadillac pizza. According to Eater, the pizzeria will be expanding out of Austin soon. Regrettably, I lost my precious extra large pizza stone by leaving it in an old apartment oven after moving, so this recipe was a good pizza-at-home compromise.

Rating

While the flavors of the fig, gorgonzola, prosciutto and balsamic glaze are otherworldly, I had issues with my dough. The dough worked just fine, but I will make adjustments the next time I make a pan pizza. I would prefer this dough to have the lightness of a focaccia, so I think I’ll add olive oil into the dough itself and approach it as if I were making focaccia instead of pan pizza.

Recipe Attempts

This recipe has been attempted by the author 1 time(s).