Detroit style pizza

Detroit style pizza is always rectangular. It is made on almost a focaccia-like, fluffy, delicious dough, and it's so simple to make at home.

Credit: Mary Makes It Easy

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups (315 g) bread flour
• 1 cup (170 g) semolina flour (or more bread flour)
• 2¼ tsp (8 g) instant yeast
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1½ cups (375 ml) warm water
• 90 ml olive oil, divided
• 1¾ cups (approx. 1 can) crushed tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 3 tsp finely chopped parsley
• 1 tsp finely chopped oregano
• ½ tsp dry Italian seasoning
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 350–400 g brick mozzarella
• Toppings such as fresh pineapple, olives, pickled banana peppers  

Rising time: 1 hour 30 minutes in total. 

Cooling time: 10 minutes.

Instructions

1. Combine the bread flour, semolina (or additional bread flour), yeast, sugar and 1½ teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Stir together the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon then make a well in the centre, pour in the water and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes until a stretchy, wet dough forms.

2. Grease a large clean bowl with 3 tsp of olive oil and transfer in the dough. Lift and stretch the dough onto itself, bringing the edges into the centre to form a tight skinned ball. Flip the dough over, seam side down, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

3. Once the dough has doubled, grease a 23 cm x 33 cm (9x13 inch) baking pan with the remaining oil, punch down the dough and turn it out into the prepared pan, stretching the dough so that it covers the bottom of the pan and reaches into the corners. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm spot to rise for 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, place your oven rack in the lowest position and preheat your oven to 260°C  (500°F).

5. Prepare the sauce by combining the tomatoes, garlic, parsley, oregano and Italian seasoning in a bowl and season with the remaining ½ tsp salt and some pepper. Prepare the cheese by grating half and cutting the rest into 1 cm (½-inch) cubes.

6. When the dough has risen, evenly scatter any toppings you’re using straight onto the crust followed by the grated cheese, making sure to coat the whole crust including the very edges. Scatter the cubed mozzarella overtop, again, paying particular attention to the very edges of the crust. Finally, dot the sauce over the cheese in a 4x3 grid (you can also spoon the sauce onto the pizza in three long lines – the main thing is that you don’t cover all of the cheese or crust with the sauce).

7. Bake the pizza for 15 to 17 minutes or until the cheese has melted, is golden brown all over and is super crispy around the edges. Allow the pizza to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.