I have to admit, I have researched pizza dough an embarrassingly long amount of time.
But let me explain…
I moved to small town Michigan almost 4 years ago, and before that I lived in Cleveland, Chicago, Chattanooga and New York. And while Michigan has some good pizza to offer, Cleveland and Chicago just had classic staple pizzas that I dream about weekly.
Until recently, I did not have my go to pizza place here, so I was then forced to create my own that I could make when I was craving good pizza. And if my husbands testimonial means anything, it’s some of the best pizza he has ever had.
I know its asking a lot to have you create the dough from scratch, wait an hour and then assemble the pizza, but I promise it’s all worth it.
I started testing this dough about a year ago when I wanted to get those crispy edges when it baked. While also getting that fluffy center that has a chew to it. So i knew I had to switch my flour to bread flour. This wont completely change the pizza recipe if you don’t have bread flour, but it will add that extra chew to the crust.
You see, bread flour has more protein in it, which helps create more gluten when you make pizza dough. The gluten then allows the bread to really develop when it cooks and give you a crispy crust with a fluffy middle. You will notice the biggest difference when you go to take a bite and notice the bread rips a little less easily than if it were made with all purpose flour. However, don’t give up on the recipe if you don’t have bread flour. You can interchange all purpose and bread flour without losing the flavor or the rise in the oven.
And let’s be real, the most important part isn’t the chew of the bread but instead, it’s all about the cheese.
And cheese, I pile on…
I’ve had a few Detroit pizzas in my lifetime and noticed a common denominator in their assembly. Which typically goes, cheese first, toppings second, marinara last. This really allows the edges of the crust to get so crispy and have that classic Detroit burnt edge that I love so much.
One of the biggest secrets to Detroit style pizza is turning your oven up as much as it will possibly go. The higher the temp, the better the crust on that bad boy will be. I turn mine up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. Some ovens don’t go that high but if thats the case, just turn it to its highest setting.
To get an extra boost out of my oven, I will take an old sheet pan and place it on the top rack, then put the pizza below on the bottom rack. This helps get the oven a bit hotter and giving it that wood fire crisp on the edges.
One final step that really helps bring this pizza to its fullest potential is a Detroit Style pizza Pan. I use this one. It is the perfect size for this recipe and the material is heavy gauge aluminum with a hard coat anodized finish, which helps keep the dough from sticking to the pan for a quick release once its cooked. It really brings this recipe to the next level and while it is a heavy up front cost, I use this weekly so I would say it has paid off by now!
Of course, if you don’t have a Detroit style pizza pan, you can use any deep dish that you have in your pantry and just improvise!
Classic Detroit Style Pizza
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 cup water
- EVOO as needed (extra virgin olive oil)
For The Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp kosher salt
For The Pizza
- 4 oz. parmesan
- 8 oz. fresh mozzarella
- 12 oz. pepperoni or topping of choice
Instructions
- To make dough by stand mixer: Start by making the dough. Combine bread flour (all purpose works just as well), yeast, salt and water in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix on low until a dough forms, then turn off the mixer and let the dough rest 10 minutes. This allows the yeast to develop.
- To make the dough by hand: Combine the flour, yeast and salt. Then gradually add water and stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms. Let the dough sit 10 minutes.
- Once the dough has rested, knead the dough for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic like. It may be a bit sticky and that is okay. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let it rest for 2 hours to rise.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and stir until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, onion powder, honey and salt. Stir and bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering until the sauce reduces by a third. About 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 550 degrees fahrenheit or as close as you can get it to 550.
- Place the dough in a Detroit Style Pizza pan or any 10×14 inch dish. If you don’t have a pan that big, dividing the dough between two 8 inch round pans works just fine.
- Spread the dough all the way to the edges, being careful to not rip the dough. I usually stretch the dough as far as it will give, let it rest 10 minutes, then finish stretching it all the way to the edges. Waiting in between stretching allows the gluten to develop and the dough to stretch further.
- Spread the parmesan on top of the dough, all the way to the edges. Then pile on the mozzarella, and pepperoni or any toppings you are going to use. Finally spread rows of sauce on top of the toppings. You might not use all of the sauce and if thats the case, save it for another time!
- Transfer to the oven and bake until the edges are nice and crispy and have the classic Detroit Pizza look, about 12-15 minutes. Allow the pizza to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
- Run a spatula around the edges and slide it onto a cutting board to slice and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
