I lived in Chicago for almost ten years, and I could never get behind Chicago deep dish. It was just too much, and I considered it lasagna disguised as pizza and I just did not like it. I think during my tenure there, I ate it approximately five times. It’s why Chicago kicked me out (kidding, I dumped it…it did not dump me). But Detroit-style pizza has be singing a different tune.
I will not claim to be a pizza connoisseur (in the same way that I claim to be a french fry aficionado). I like what some would consider “bad” pizza: Papa John’s, Little Caesar’s, Domino’s…yes, give me that. But, since moving here to Tree-town and the Detroit metro area, can I say that I have sort of just fallen in love with Detroit-style pizza?
What is Detroit-style pizza, you ask? Well, if you can picture the very thick-crusted pizzas that was a staple at every skating or ice rink of yore, that’s it. It mean that with all affection because damn, I loved those skating rink pizzas. Detroit has perfected it, using extra cheese to make the extra thick crust anything but soggy and fresh ingredients to be anything but stale.
Buddy’s Pizza claims to be the originator of the Detroit pie, which is rectangular rather than round, and has traditionally been cooked in a well-oiled pan that also happened to be a discard from car manufacturers. It is the Motor City, after all. If you find yourself in the area, be sure to order a ‘four-square’ and if you never make it to town, I’m here to help you create it at home with a little help from the folks at Zingerman’s (which is a whole other story in itself).
I’m tweaking that recipe to be my own, adding a little sumpin‘ to the sauce, and spinach and Italian sausage in lieu of pepperoni because that’s how I like my pie. Do as you will with the toppings; what matters here is the crust and the method. It does require a yeast rise, but as I’ve said before, don’t be scared. You’ve got this.
This may require utensils…
Detroit-Style Pizza
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup plus 1 TB all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp instant yeast
- For the sauce:
- 28-ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 TB balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp oregano
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- For the rest:
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or brick cheese)
- 1 lb. Italian sausage, cooked
- 1 1/2 cups frozen spinach, thawed
Directions
- Step 1 Combine the salt and the water and give it a stir. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the flour and the yeast. Add the water mixture and mix it all with a wooden spoon until it looks shaggy. With the dough hook, beat the dough four minutes. Stop the mixer, given it a good mix with the wooden spoon and let beat another 4 minutes. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let sit in a warm place 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours until doubled in size.
- Step 2 While the dough rises, make the sauce. Place all the sauce ingredients in to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and the reduce the heat to simmer about 15 minutes. Set aside while the dough readies itself.
- Step 3 Preheat the oven to 475F.
- Step 4 When the dough is ready, place in a greased 8×8 cake pan. Do not roll the dough! Stretch it out using your fingers until it covers the whole bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese around the edges so that it does touch the side of the pan! This will make the edges nice and crispy. Layer the pizza with the spinach, then the sausage, then about 1 cup of the sauce and cover the whole thing with the mozzarella.
- Step 5 Bake for 15 minutes until the pizza is sizzling. If you want the crust to be really crispy, remove the pizza from the pan and place it directly onto your oven rack, and cook about another 3 minutes.
- Step 6 Cut into four slices and serve, using extra sauce as a dipper.
I’m with you on Chicago deep dish, bleeeeech! Love this recipe, I’ve been making Zingermans Detroit pizza for about a year now and it never disappoints. -Kat
It’s revolutionized my love of pizza! Haha. And the Zing cookbook is great!