Detroit Red Top

Description §

Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular, thick, and fluffy pizza with a crispy golden brown cheese border. It’s unique because of the two cheeses, white Cheddar and brick, and the blue-steel pans used to bake it. This recipe was created by Shawn Randazzo, who won the International Pizza Challenge with his Detroit-style pizza in 2012.

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Notes §

• Didn’t quite get the dough to the corners
• Used the cup n crisp pepperoni, both bold and not. Didn’t notice too much of a difference after cook

Ingredients §

• 1 (22-ounce/625-gram) ball Master Dough Without Starter
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) extra virgin olive oil
• 13 ounces (360 grams/generous 1½/ cups) ground tomatoes, preferably Tomato Magic or DiNapoli
• 4.5 ounces (125 grams/1/ cup) tomato paste, preferably Bontá or Saporito Super Heavy Pizza Sauce
• 1½/ teaspoons (7 grams) extra virgin olive oll
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• Pinch of dried oregano
• 8 ounces brick cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• 7 ounces white Cheddar chees, preferably Cabot, shredded (2 cups)
• Grated Pecorino Romano cheese, for dusting
• Dried oregano, for dusting
• Garlic Oil (page 29), for drizzling

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Method §

1. Remove the dough ball from the refrigerator and leave wrapped at room temperature until the dough warms to 50°F to 55°F. This should take about 1 hour.
2. Smear the butter in an 81/2 by 121/4-inch seasoned black steel Detroit pan. Spread the oil over the butter.
3. Transfer the dough to the pan and flip the dough to coat both sides with the oil. Using your fingertips, push the dough outward into an even layer. Try to reach the corners, but don’t worry if the dough does not fill the pan.
4. Put the pan in a warm spot for 30 minutes, then push the dough again to fill the corners and to degas it.
5. Let the dough rest for 1 to 11½ hours, until it has risen (the timing depends on the temperature of the room). It will not have doubled. If the dough shrinks away from the edges of the pan, do not press on the dough again or it may not rise properly.
6. Meanwhile, set up the oven with a pizza stone in the top 1/3rd of the ovenand preheat to Convection 500°F for 1 hour.
7. To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan. Set aside.
8. Place the pizza pan on the stone and bake for 6 minutes (the dough will set and be lightly colored).
9. Remove from the oven, if the crust has puffed up push it down so that the surface is somewhat even. Sprinkle the brick cheese evenly over the dough, covering to the edges. Stack Cheddar cheese around the edges of the dough; you want it to rise slightly up the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the remaining Cheddar evenly over the top.
10. Return the pan to the top stone to bake for about 7 minutes. The pizza will be lightly colored and the cheese will be bubbling on the sides.
11. Rotate the pan 180 degrees. Continue to bake for another 7-8 minutes, until the cheese around the edges of the pan is charred.
12. Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce over medium-low heat until hot.
13. Remove the pan from the oven. Use a long metal spatula to chisel and loosen the sides of the pizza, then remove the pizza from the pan and place it on a cutting board.
14. Cut the pizza into quarters. Ladle 2 vertical racing strips of tomato sauce down the length of the pizza and spread it out slightly with the bottom of the ladle. Finish with a dusting of pecorino and oregano and a drizzle of garlic oil.