Detroit Style Pizza and Knives Out

Hello and welcome to Pizza and a Movie! Alex requested a pepperoni Detroit Style Pizza – with its puffy, thick crust, its edges laced with crispy, crunchy cheese. Similar to Chicago Style Pizza, Detroit Style Pizza is made in a deep pan with everything layered on the dough in reverse order: the toppings on the dough, then cheese, topped with dollops (or stripes) of thick red sauce. Possibly, the most characteristic feature of a Detroit Style Pizza is how the cheese goes all the way to edges; climbing the sides of the pan, resulting in an edge of crispy, browned cheese. Let’s get right to it!

Traditionally, this pizza is made in a dark, hard-anodized pan with deep sides. The dark color of the pan helps to get an evenly cooked, crispy-edged pizza. This particular pan is heat safe up to 700 degrees and has a natural non-stick quality to it that requires no pre-seasoning. I found a recipe for Detroit Style Pizza on the King Arthur website, so let’s start with the dough.

The Dough

This pizza dough recipe calls for bread flour, instant rise yeast, kosher salt and lukewarm water. I feel like “lukewarm” is a subjective term, so I found that in my 74-76 degree kitchen, 87 degrees is the sweet spot for my water when making pizza dough. I use my probe thermometer to be sure of the temperature.

Mix the dough ingredients in a stand mixer on low, with the dough hook, until a shaggy dough forms. Then cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Then, uncover and turn the mixer on low and knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, and pulls clean away from the sides of the bowl, about 4 more minutes.

Form the dough into a smooth ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let sit in a warm spot for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Dough and Sauce

When the dough is doubled in size, pour about two tablespoons of olive oil into the pizza pan. Place the dough in the pan and gently stretch the dough to the corners of the pan until the dough begins to shrink back and will not stretch any farther.

Then cover the dough with a clean towel and let rest for 30-40 minutes. At this point, preheat the oven to 500 degrees and position an oven rack in the bottom position. While the dough is having its second rise, we can make the sauce. One 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper, garlic and balsamic make up this simple sauce.

Begin by heating two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and add the minced or pressed garlic. Then add the dried herbs and crushed red pepper. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

Add the can of crushed tomatoes and their juice. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine and bring to a light simmer, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and very thick.

Toppings

Turn your attention next to the toppings. I have 8-ounces of pepperoni, 6-ounces of low moisture mozzarella and 6-ounces of extra sharp cheddar cheese. Cube the cheeses into roughly 1/2-inch cubes. My cheddar happens to be slices, so I just made two stacks of 3 slices and cubed the stacks. It’ll be fine.

Building the Detroit Style Pizza

After its 30-40 minute proofing time, stretch the dough to the edges of the pan. If it still wants to shrink back, cover it and let it proof 15 more minutes, or until it easily reaches the corners of the pan. Then, gently press the dough to release any large air bubbles.

Start by covering the dough with the pepperoni slices, be sure to go all the way to the edges. Then evenly place the cheddar cubes, again going all the way to the edges.

Fill in the spaces with the mozzarella cubes. make sure you get the cheese all the way to the edges, touching the sides of the pan.

The sauce tops the pizza. You can dot the top with dollops of sauce, or you can make three vertical stripes of sauce down the center of the pizza. Try not to get the sauce too close to the edges; we want the cheese to make the edging on this pizza.

Pop the pizza in the preheated oven on the bottom rack and bake for 12-15 minutes.

The pizza is ready when it sits a bit higher in the pan, the cheesy edges are super-dark brown, almost burnt, and the cheese in the center is melted and beginning to get spotty brown.

Detroit Style Pizza

When it comes out, take a sturdy spatula and run it around the edges of the pizza to loosen the sides from the pan, then let the pizza sit for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, carefully slide the spatula under one side or end of the pizza to loosen it from the bottom of the pan, then slide it out on a cutting board.

Use a pizza blade or chef’s knife to cut the pizza into squares. Make straight-down cuts, so as not to drag the toppings across the pizza.

I am sure you can imagine how amazing this Detroit Style Pizza tastes. The extra sharp cheddar adds such a great layer of flavor. The crust is perfectly cooked; it’s puffy and soft, with a crisp bottom and edges. And that edging of cheese – it’s crispy and browned, it adds to the satisfying crunch when you bite into it.

Movie Night: Knives Out

We have our Detroit Style Pizza ready, let’s get to the movie! Knives Out was one of the last movies we saw in the theater before the Covid shutdowns; and I thought it would be fun to re-watch since we recently watched Daniel Craig in his last turn as 007. The ensemble cast includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Chris Evans and Christopher Plummer, among others.

PI Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) attempts to untangle the web leading to the untimely death of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer); everyone in the dysfunctional Thrombey family is a suspect and it’s up to PI Blanc to sift through their red herrings and self-serving lies.

This film is so much fun to watch! Witty dialog and classic family dysfunction go hand-in-glove; Knives Out captures this dynamic so perfectly with its amazing cast and direction. A classic whodunnit updated for modern audiences, Knives Out is a must-see. Available to stream on Amazon.

Thank you all so much for joining me today for Pizza and a Movie. I hope you make this Detroit Style Pizza, it’s really special and I am sure you and your family will totally love it. It’s a great change up from the usual thin crust pizza we do on Pizza and a Movie. Another great alternative to a thin crust pizza is a skillet pizza, try my Meat Combo Skillet Pizza; or my Pan Pizza Supreme. Take care and be well, xo Kelly

Print Recipe

Detroit Style Pizza

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Dinner, Main Course – American/Italian

By Adapted From King Arthur – Serves: 4-8

Prep Time: 2 Hours, 40 Minutes (includes dough proofing time) – Cooking Time: 12-15 Minutes – Total Time: ~3 Hours

Crispy, crunchy cheese edges top pillowy soft dough; pepperoni, cheddar and mozzarella, topped with thick tomato sauce. It's Detroit Style Pizza.

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough
• 2.5 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• 1.5 tsp. Instant Rise Yeast
• 2 tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1 cup Lukewarm Water (87 degrees)
• Olive Oil, for greasing the pan
• Tomato Sauce
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped or pressed
• 2 tsp. Dried Oregano
• 2 tsp. Dried Thyme
• 1 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
• 28-ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes
• Splash of Balsamic Vinegar
• Toppings
• 8 to 12 oz. Pepperoni
• 6 oz. Low Moisture Mozzarella Cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 6 oz. Sharp Cheddar Cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Instructions

Pizza Dough

1

Mix the dough ingredients in a stand mixer on low, with the dough hook, until a shaggy dough forms. Then cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Then, uncover and turn the mixer on low and mix until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, and pulls clean away from the sides of the bowl, about 4 more minutes.

2

Form the dough into a smooth ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let sit in a warm spot for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

3

When the dough is doubled in size, pour about two tablespoons of olive oil into the pizza pan. Place the dough in the pan and gently stretch the dough to the corners of the pan until the dough begins to shrink back and will not stretch any farther.

4

Then cover the dough with a clean towel and let rest for 30-40 minutes.

5

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and position an oven rack in the bottom position.

Tomato Sauce

6

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and add the minced or pressed garlic. Then add the dried herbs and crushed red pepper. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

7

Add the can of crushed tomatoes and their juice. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine and bring to a light simmer, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and very thick.

Build the Pizza

8

After its 30-40 minute proofing time, stretch the dough to the edges of the pan. If it still wants to shrink back, cover it and let it proof 15 more minutes, or until it easily reaches the corners of the pan. Then, gently press the dough to release any large air bubbles.

9

Start by covering the dough with the pepperoni slices, be sure to go all the way to the edges. Then evenly place the cheddar cubes, again going all the way to the edges.

10

Fill in the spaces with the mozzarella cubes. make sure you get the cheese all the way to the edges, touching the sides of the pan.

11

You can dot the top with dollops of sauce, or you can make three vertical stripes of sauce down the center of the pizza. Try not to get the sauce too close to the edges.

12

Pop the pizza in the preheated oven on the bottom rack and bake for 12-15 minutes.

13

The pizza is ready when it sits a bit higher in the pan, the cheesy edges are super-dark brown, almost burnt and the cheese in the center is melted and beginning to get spotty brown.

14

When it comes out, take a sturdy spatula and run it around the edges of the pizza to loosen the sides from the pan, then let the pizza sit for 10 minutes.

15

After 10 minutes, carefully slide the spatula under one side or end of the pizza to loosen it from the bottom of the pan, then slide it out on a cutting board.

16

Use a pizza blade or chef's knife to cut the pizza into squares. Make straight-down cuts, so as not to drag the toppings across the pizza.

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